The EU

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 […]

by Thomas Ewert Last year’s report by Transparency International EU (TI EU) about asset restitution in Europe showcases what is a rather ‘unequal race’. On the one hand, we have autocrats and officials from non-EU countries attempting to hide their illegally acquired assets (tens of billions of dollars) in the European Union (EU). On the other hand, we […]

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 […]

Why do some European citizens support sharing economic resources across national borders within the EU while others do not? While the EU and its supporters stand for ‘solidarity across borders’, opponents to increased economic integration argue that the money is better spent at home, exemplified by the Brexit leave campaign’s slogan “we can spend our […]

The European Union (EU) has at times presented itself as a beacon of hope and admiration within and beyond Europe. Some of the stories that it has told about itself have implied that Europe’s integration experience is successful and useful for other regions, and assumed that other regions were drawing on the EU experience.

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 […]