In 2009, IRIS was awarded a five-year contract by the European Parliament (EXPO/B/AFET/FWC/2009-01/Lot1/01) and has since then written notes and conducted studies on the European foreign policy (its enlargement, its Eastern neighbours and its relations with Russia). IRIS leads a consortium of 13 think tanks and universities from the European Union, from candidate countries and from countries included into the European Neighbourhood Policy, the works of which aim to provide the European Parliament with an expertise on foreign policy issues, more especially on the questions regarding the enlargement of the European Union and the relations it maintains with its Eastern neighbours and Russia.