European Council on Refugees and Exiles

Name

European Council on Refugees and Exiles

Legal name

European Council on Refugees and Exiles (AISBL)

Website

https://ecre.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1974

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Humanitarian Advocacy and Legal Support Services

NAICS

Offices of Lawyers (541110), Business Associations (813910)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Legal Services (8111)

akta.pro primary industry

Immigrant & Refugee Rights Advocacy (BPAGAFAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

Migrant & Refugee Legal Aid and Documentation Services (BPADAHAE)

Keywords

• Refugee rights advocacy
• Asylum legal support
• Humanitarian policy research
• Strategic litigation services
• Migration policy analysis

Headquarters

HQ city

Sint-joost-ten-node

HQ country

Belgium

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Philanthropic Foundation Grants: Funding from philanthropic foundations including Adessium Foundation, Oak Foundation, Open Society Foundations, Rockerfeller Brothers Fund, Sigrid Rausing Trust, Porticus, Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust, and European Philanthropic Initiative for Migration.
2. EU Funding Programs: Funding from EU programs including Asylum Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF), Citizens Equality Rights and Values Programme (CERV), Erasmus+, Horizon Europe, Justice Programme, and Rights Equality and Citizenship (REC) programme.
3. Political Foundation Grants: Funding from Heinrich Böll Foundation.
4. UNHCR Strategic Partnership: Strategic Partnership with UNHCR from 2016 to 2023 covering advocacy and litigation, supporting UNHCR's consultation of civil society.
5. Membership Fees: ECRE's member organisations contribute to its funding through the payment of membership fees.
6. Pro Bono Contributions: In-kind contributions and pro bono advice from companies and institutions including DLA Piper, Mayer Brown, BPP University, Queen Mary University of London, VUB, University of Turin, University of Cologne, and Ghent University.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels11 records

Core offering

ECRE is a pan-European alliance of 126 NGOs operating in 40 European countries that protects and advances the rights of refugees, asylum seekers and displaced persons. The Brussels-based secretariat delivers legal support and strategic litigation, advocacy on EU asylum policy and external action, and communications to influence public and policymaker audiences. It also develops and manages three core knowledge assets: the Asylum Information Database (AIDA), the European Database of Asylum Law (EDAL), and the European Legal Network on Asylum (ELENA) forum of approximately 500 lawyers across 38 states.

Product overview

ECRE offers a suite of interconnected information resources and networks for asylum legal professionals rather than a unified software product. The core offerings include the Asylum Information Database (AIDA) covering asylum procedures across 23 countries, the European Database of Asylum Law (EDAL) containing case law summaries from European courts, and the European Legal Network on Asylum (ELENA) connecting 500+ legal practitioners across 38 countries. These are complemented by regular publications including the ECRE Weekly Bulletin, ELENA Legal Update, and ECRE Press Review newsletters, plus the Caring to Include project providing trauma-informed care training resources.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Asylum Information Database (AIDA): A database managed by ECRE containing information on asylum procedures, reception conditions and detention across 23 countries (19 EU Member States and 4 non-EU countries).
• European Database of Asylum Law (EDAL)
• European Legal Network on Asylum (ELENA)

Products and services

• Asylum Information Database (AIDA) A database managed by ECRE containing information on asylum procedures, reception conditions and detention across 23 countries (19 EU Member States plus Switzerland, Serbia, Turkey and the United Kingdom), including detailed country reports, comparative reports, fact-finding visits, and legal briefings. Used by lawyers, researchers, advocates and policy-makers working on asylum.
• European Database of Asylum Law (EDAL) An online database managed by ECRE compiling summaries of refugee and asylum case law from courts of 22 EU Member States, the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) and the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), published in English and in the relevant Member State's national language. Used by lawyers and courts across Europe.
• European Legal Network on Asylum (ELENA) A forum of legal practitioners who promote the highest human rights standards for the treatment of refugees, asylum seekers and other persons in need of international protection in their daily individual counselling and advocacy work. The network extends across most European states and involves approximately 500 lawyers and legal counsellors.
• ELENA Legal Update (ELU) A weekly legal update providing information about important recent developments in international and European asylum law, distributed to nearly 5,000 subscribers consisting primarily of legal practitioners and member organisations.
• ECRE Weekly Bulletin A weekly newsletter providing information about the latest developments in asylum and refugee protection, distributed to nearly 20,000 subscribers.
• ECRE Press Review A weekly overview of the latest news in the areas of asylum and migration, distributed alongside the Weekly Bulletin.
• Caring to Include A three-year Erasmus+ funded project that helps reduce the impact of trauma and stress on the social inclusion of refugees and migrants, while strengthening the mental well-being of NGO staff and volunteers through trauma-informed care tools, training and resources.
• Caring to Include Toolkit A toolkit developed within the Caring to Include project, consisting of a Training Manual on Work and Well-being, a Team Building Diversity and Resilience Manual, and a Template for Developing a Well-being Strategy and Policies.
• ECRE Publications A comprehensive publication suite including Policy Notes, Comments Papers, Policy Papers, Working Papers, Legal Notes, and AIDA Publications covering asylum law, border policies, and refugee rights.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 100 legal queries from lawyers on individual cases answered annually
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered core and supportive.

• Dutch Council for RefugeescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLead coordinator of the Caring to Include project (2024-2027), an Erasmus+ funded initiative to reduce negative effects of trauma on social inclusion of refugees and migrants while improving mental health of NGO staff and volunteers.
• Centre for Peace Studies (Croatia)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProject partner in Caring to Include project, working on trauma-informed support for refugees and migrants in Croatia.
• Cyprus Refugee CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProject partner in Caring to Include project, hosting transnational meetings and providing clinical psychology expertise on trauma-informed care.
• Estonian Refugee CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProject partner in Caring to Include project, contributing HR expertise and social protection technical leadership.
• Greek Council for RefugeescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProject partner in Caring to Include project, providing coordination for Reception and Interpretation Unit and programme management.
• Hungarian Helsinki CommitteecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProject partner in Caring to Include project, hosting Budapest meeting in June 2025 and contributing refugee programme expertise.
• aditus foundation (Malta)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProject partner in Caring to Include project, providing human rights legal expertise as a small Maltese NGO working with refugees.
• UNHCRcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic Partnership from 2016 to 2023 covering advocacy and litigation, supporting UNHCR's consultation of civil society on refugee protection matters.
• DLA PipersupportiveOthersMajor international law firm providing pro bono legal advice and support to ECRE.
• Mayer BrownsupportiveOthersMajor international law firm providing pro bono legal advice and support to ECRE.
• Queen Mary University of LondonsupportiveOthersUniversity providing academic expertise and in-kind contributions to ECRE's work.
• Free University of Brussels (VUB)supportiveOthersUniversity providing academic expertise and in-kind contributions to ECRE's work.
• University of TurinsupportiveOthersUniversity providing academic expertise and in-kind contributions to ECRE's work.
• University of ColognesupportiveOthersUniversity providing academic expertise and in-kind contributions to ECRE's work.
• Ghent UniversitysupportiveOthersUniversity providing academic expertise and in-kind contributions to ECRE's work.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS): International Catholic NGO accompanying, serving, and advocating for the rights of refugees and forcibly displaced people in over 50 countries; comparable to ECRE in accompaniment model, legal support, and pan-European advocacy presence.
• Danish Refugee Council: European-headquartered international NGO providing direct assistance and advocacy for refugees and displaced people; directly comparable to ECRE in mission, geographic focus on European asylum, and policy advocacy work.
• Norwegian Refugee Council: Large international NGO operating across Europe and globally on refugee rights and displacement; shares with ECRE the operational and advocacy focus on refugee protection in Europe and is among the largest NGOs working in this space.
• Refugee Council (UK): UK NGO advocating for refugees and asylum seekers through legal support, policy work, and frontline services; comparable to ECRE's mix of legal aid, advocacy, and policy-influencing activity at the national level.

Broad incumbents

• International Organization for Migration (IOM): UN-related organization on migration governance with global data products (Migration Data Portal) overlapping ECRE's AIDA on asylum-related migration; both work closely with EU institutions on policy and operational frameworks.
• Human Rights Watch: International NGO conducting research and advocacy on human rights, including refugee and asylum rights in Europe; comparable to ECRE in producing authoritative reports, strategic litigation, and policy engagement with EU institutions.
• UNHCR (UN Refugee Agency): UN agency with global mandate for refugee protection; ECRE was a UNHCR strategic partner from 2016 to 2023, and both operate databases (UNHCR Refworld vs ECRE's AIDA/EDAL) covering asylum law and practice across multiple jurisdictions.
• Amnesty International: Global human-rights organization with extensive refugee and asylum advocacy work, including country research and strategic litigation; overlaps with ECRE on European asylum policy critique and litigation at European courts.

Emerging players

• Migration Policy Institute (MPI): Think tank producing data-driven analysis of immigration and refugee policy globally and in Europe; overlaps with ECRE on policy research, comparative country analysis, and engagement with European policymakers.

Regional players

• Center for Migration Studies (CMS): US-based research institute on migration with strong comparative data products; partially comparable to ECRE's data/analysis mission though focused primarily on the Americas rather than Europe.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xbsky.app/profile/theecre.bsky.social
• Facebookfacebook.com/theecre
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/european-council-on-refugees-and-exiles
• Instagraminstagram.com/theecre

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about European Council on Refugees and Exiles