About Us

The Europa Institute is a unique center of excellence at Bar-Ilan University in Israel, focusing on the relations between Europe and Israel.  We specialise in a wide range of security issues and topics relating to Israel and Europe and to the political and security systems in the European Union.

The central mission of the Institute is to develop knowledge and discourse in security issues of importance to Israel and Europe, reinforcing the security cooperation between Israel and Europe, initiating and carrying out research and other projects in these fields, and effectively disseminating this knowledge to decision-makers on all levels. The Europa Institute was founded by Prof. Ilan Greilsammer, who headed the Institute for many years until his retirement. 
In 2017, Prof. Shlomo Shpiro was appointed as the new director of the Institute. The Europa Institute comprises of senior research fellows, researchers, and an international advisory board.

One of the principal activities of the Europa Institute is the 'European Roundtable', which meets regularly throughout the year. The European Roundtable is a joint initiative of the Europa Institute and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Israel. In the meetings of the European Roundtable, senior experts meet with decision-makers, diplomats and senior officials from the governmental, public and private sectors in Israel, to discuss key issues in the relations between Israel and Europe. Some of the topics included in recent Roundtable meetings include the rise of right-wing political parties in Europe and its impact on Jewish communities, the cooperation between Israel and NATO, Israel's relations with countries of the eastern Mediterranean, in view of recent developments in the fields of energy and security, and cyber threats to democracy, the economy and society.

Another initiative in which we are very deeply involved is the Zagreb Security Forum (ZSF).  The ZSF convenes every year in Croatia as an international forum for research and policy discussions on security, hybrid threats, modern warfare and protection of critical national infrastructures.  Now in its 6th year, the ZSF has enjoyed the support of NATO and is becoming a central security dialogue platform in Europe and beyond.

The Institute also works extensively on deepening the cooperation between academia, industry and the high-tech sector, through joint initiatives in projects of the European Union's research programs and other forms of cooperation.