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by Michele Chang (Director of the Transatlantic Affairs Programme & Professor at the European Political and Governance Studies Department, College of Europe) When Enrico Letta and Mario Draghi submitted their reports in 2024 (Much more than a market and A competitiveness strategy for Europe, respectively), they warned of the dangers of complacency and the need […]

This article is based on research presented at the UACES Graduate Forum Research Conference 2025 (29-30 May, Panteion University, Athens, Greece).  By dr. Maaike Geuens (Assistant Professor Public Management Open Universiteit) and ms. Duygu Sahin (Tilburg University). Constitutional identity is an increasingly contested notion within the European Union’s legal and political landscape. Codified in Article 4(2) of […]

For any nation, the procurement of weapon systems has significant economic, political, and security implications and thus involves many trade-offs. Unsurprisingly, the different figures from government, the military, and industry that are involved in defence procurement decisions can have conflicting interests. Yet, the drivers of specific weapon system decisions often remain shrouded, despite the implications […]

Czechia, as most countries of Central Europe, is not famous for welcoming immigrants with open arms. Czechs consider foreigners as people taking their jobs, their safety and their culture. However, since the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, around 370 000 Ukrainians have come to Czechia to, at least temporarily, seek a new home here. This […]

In a significant and politically charged development within the European banking sector, UniCredit, Italy’s second-largest financial institution, undertook a calculated and strategic acquisition of shares in Commerzbank, Germany’s second-largest publicly listed bank. The move, unfolding over the course of late 2024, marked a bold assertion of UniCredit’s long-standing vision for cross-border banking consolidation within the […]

The political attachment many Europeans feel towards the EU has become increasingly fragile. In the 2024 European elections, just half of eligible voters cast their ballots, and the rise of Eurosceptic parties signals a growing erosion of trust. At the same time EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen sees in contrast to Putin and […]

Passengers boarding planes in Europe today enjoy the benefits of deregulated and integrated air transport network – thanks to the creation of the EU single market in air services in the 1990s. But the EU aviation policy did not stop at regional borders. Having been repeatedly dismissed in the past, the European Commission now conducts […]

In 1997, a little-known Russian political thinker, Aleksandr Dugin, published The Foundations of Geopolitics. Inside, he laid out a blunt and chilling plan. Russia, he argued, would not rise again through tanks and bombs alone. It would use propaganda, political subversion, disinformation and destabilisation, especially across the West. One of Dugin’s most striking claims was […]

Vanessa Aichstill On 7 May 2025, the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) Court delivered its highly anticipated ruling in Joined Cases E-1/24 TC and E-7/24 AA, offering crucial guidance on the interpretation of European Economic Area (EEA) rules on access to beneficial ownership information. The questions arose: how should this provision, originally part of the […]

The team of the Salzburg Centre of European Union Studies (SCEUS) will bring you fresh commentaries and analyses on current challenges to European integration. We are an interdisciplinary group focusing on the economic, legal, and political developments of the European Union and currently a Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence. It is through the Centre of […]