Current Affairs

In her impassioned speech to the European Parliament on Thursday, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen laid out the most ambitious plans in the EU’s history. In response to the devastating Covid-19 pandemic, the President said that: “Europe has done more in the last four weeks than it did in the first four years of […]

Drawing from political transnationalism of African migrants in France, Dr Tshimpaka argues that France-based African migrant combatants from Francophone countries, transnationally network within the 'Rassemblement des Africains et Afro-descendants pour la Souverneite’ de Afrique' (RAASA) to contest the European narrative on African migration, that they deem to be misleading.

Given the ravages of the coronavirus crisis, the future of Europe cannot be one of permanent division between its northern and southern states. We are going through the gravest European crisis since the integration project began. The divisions which emerged during the European Council on March 26th are unprecedented in the history of the European […]

In my last blog, I have introduced Gourevitch’s (1986) description of critical juncture to analyse the COVID-19 crisis as a critical juncture in breaking the routine and the normality, which the large part of the World was enjoying since the WWII.  While Gourevitch (1986) argues critical junctures are ‘open moments’ where political actors make ‘system […]

While the European Parliament (EP) is the only EU institution that is directly elected by EU citizens, its legal power to set the legislative agenda is still limited. A commitment by President von der Leyen combined with the EP’s strong calls for reform, might change this, explains Tatjana Evas. Should the European Parliament, like many […]

The Hungarian Parliament this week voted by a large majority to suspend democracy and press freedom indefinitely. The reason given is to control the coronavirus. But it’s clear that the real reason is to control the people, and to ensure that the Hungarian government under the authoritarian rule of Prime Minister, Viktor Orbán, is not […]

As much as people talk about Brexit at all right now, much of what you hear is the cry that an extension of the Withdrawal Agreement’s transition period must happen. I’ve not seen a single industry representative, negotiation expert or academic say anything different for the past month, and I’m not about to go against […]

My original plan was to write about Polish Presidential elections today, expected to take place in May 2020, despite the calls for its cancellation after the outbreak of the pandemic: COVID-19. The acceleration of the spread of coronavirus, however, have succeeded in drifting my attention to the refugees and migrants.  Particularly their survival in the […]

As many better scholars than me have noted, it’s hard not to get caught up in a social panic. Just I’ve written many posts about “why is anyone thinking about anything but Brexit?”, so I now get to read endless materials about how coronavirus is the only thing that matters. Yesterday’s budget is a case […]

Britain’s greatest war leader, Sir Winston Churchill, was one of the first to call for the creation of a ‘United States of Europe’. He is recognised as one of the 11 founders of today’s European Union. In the immediate years following the Second World War, Churchill was convinced that only a ‘united Europe’ could guarantee peace. His […]