About

Paul Adamson is chairman of Forum Europe and Forum Global and founder of Encompass (previously E!Sharp), an online magazine and discussion space dedicated to covering the European Union and Europe’s place in the world.

Paul is a member of the Centre for European Reform’s advisory board and Rand Europe’s Council of Advisors. He is also a Visiting Professor at the Policy Institute, King’s College London, a Senior Adviser at the Atlantic Council’s Future Europe Initiative and a Senior Fellow at the Centre for Britain and Europe at the University of Surrey. He is a patron of the University Association of Contemporary European Studies (UACES) and a Fellow of the UK Academy of Social Sciences.

In 2012, Paul was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) “for services to promoting understanding of the European Union” and in 2016 he was made a Chevalier in the Ordre national du Mérite by the French government.

Gideon Skinner is Head of Politics Research in Public Affairs at Ipsos where he has worked since 1997. He leads on our research into cross-cutting issues that face all public services, such as public service reform, trust, and research into many political and social trends. As Head of Political Research, Gideon has also been involved in our coverage and analysis of every general election since 1997  including appearing on CNN as the results of the 2024 general election were announced. Gideon contributes to many of our published thought leadership reports, including our Understanding Society publication, our regular Global Advisor international polling series, and is part of the Ipsos Thinks team.

He has presented data to many interested audiences and conferences both in the UK and overseas, to Cabinet Ministers, senior civil servants, business people, and students and schoolchildren, as well as appearing on TV, radio and podcasts to discuss public opinion on current affairs.

Maroš Šefčovič (born in 1966) is a Slovak diplomat, who since 1 December 2019 has served as Vice-President of the European Commission in charge of Interinstitutional Relations and Foresight. In this capacity, he leads the Commission’s work on interinstitutional relations, better policymaking, strategic foresight and the European Battery Alliance. He is also responsible for the European Union’s relations with Western non-EU countries, notably Andorra, Iceland, Monaco, Norway, Lichtenstein, San Marino and Switzerland. He also cochairs the EU-UK Partnership Council under the Trade and Cooperation Agreement and the EU-UK Joint Committee for the implementation of the Withdrawal Agreement.
European affairs have been at the centre of Mr Šefčovič’s career for almost two decades. In 2014, he was elected as a Member of the European Parliament. From 2010-2019, he was Vice-President of the European Commission in charge of first Interinstitutional Relations and Administration, and then the Energy Union. In 2009-2010, he was European Commissioner for Education, Training, Culture and Youth. From 2004 -2009, he was the Permanent Representative of the Slovak Republic to the European Union, contributing to the country’s major integration projects, such as its entry to the Eurozone and the Schengen area. As a diplomat by profession, he served between 1992 and 2004 in Zimbabwe and Canada and as Ambassador to Israel.
He graduated from the University of Economy in Bratislava, Slovakia, and the Moscow State Institute for Foreign Relations. He holds a degree as Doctor of Law and a PhD of European Law from Faculty of Law at the Comenius University in Bratislava, Slovakia. He also undertook training in diplomacy at Stanford University, USA.
He wrote a book “Driving the EU forward – talks with Maroš Šefčovič”, focused on his first mandate as the Commission Vice-President. In 2018, he was awarded the title of Doctor Honoris Causa at the Pan-European University in Bratislava, Slovakia.

Andrew Bounds is EU correspondent of the Financial Times covering Brexit, trade, agriculture and health policies since October 2021, as well as the Netherlands. It is his second stint in Brussels after working there 2004-8. He was North of England and Enterprise editor between 2008-21. He covered the “Northern powerhouse” and the Brexit vote in the UK.

He has worked for the FT since 1997 after starting in local newspapers and was Central America correspondent 2000-2.

He has a degree in International History and Politics from the University of Leeds, UK.

Nick Collier joined the City of London Corporation as its new Managing Director of the Brussels office in March 2019. He was previously Global Head of Government Relations at Refinitiv (Thomson Reuters) and before that worked at a range of organisations in the financial services sector, including Morgan Stanley and the Bank of England and, until recently, served as Chair of TheCityUK’s Public Affairs Group as well as Deputy Chair of the International Regulatory Strategy Group. Nick is chair of diplomatic engagement at the International Business and Diplomatic Exchange.

Henry Foy is the FT’s Brussels Bureau Chief, leading coverage of EU affairs and managing a team of correspondents reporting on European politics and policy. Henry is also the lead writer of Europe Express, the FT’s agenda-setting weekday newsletter on European affairs. Previously he was Moscow Bureau Chief, where he interviewed president Vladimir Putin and charted his regime’s descent into repression. He has also been posted in Warsaw and London. Henry joined the FT in 2013 from Reuters, where he was a correspondent in India.

Nick Collier joined the City of London Corporation as its new Managing Director of the Brussels office in March 2019. He was previously Global Head of Government Relations at Refinitiv (Thomson Reuters) and before that worked at a range of organisations in the financial services sector, including Morgan Stanley and the Bank of England and, until recently, served as Chair of TheCityUK’s Public Affairs Group as well as Deputy Chair of the International Regulatory Strategy Group. Nick is chair of diplomatic engagement at the International Business and Diplomatic Exchange.

Paul Adamson is chairman of Forum Europe and Forum Global and founder of Encompass (previously E!Sharp), an online magazine and discussion space dedicated to covering the European Union and Europe’s place in the world.

Paul is a member of the Centre for European Reform’s advisory board and Rand Europe’s Council of Advisors. He is also a Visiting Professor at the Policy Institute, King’s College London, a Senior Adviser at the Atlantic Council’s Future Europe Initiative and a Senior Fellow at the Centre for Britain and Europe at the University of Surrey. He is a patron of the University Association of Contemporary European Studies (UACES) and a Fellow of the UK Academy of Social Sciences.

In 2012, Paul was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) “for services to promoting understanding of the European Union” and in 2016 he was made a Chevalier in the Ordre national du Mérite by the French government.