The evolving security environment will demand more involvement and commitment from Belgian Defence, for which it is not yet sufficiently […]
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Category: Publications
“Global Governance at a Turning Point”, Ettore Greco, Nicola Bilotta, Fabrizio Botti (eds.) (IAI, Italy)
This book collects contributions from international leading experts on how the Italian Presidency of the G20 in 2021 could advance […]
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Video Podcast: “Brexit has ended the Golden Age of the City of London”, Brendan Donnelly and Graham Bishop (The Federal Trust, United Kingdom)
In this video, Federal Trust Council member Graham Bishop and our Director, Brendan Donnelly, discuss the Chancellor of the Exchequer […]
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“The Strategic Committee on Belgian Defence: How to Read the Report”, Jonathan Holslag, Nina Wilén and Sven Biscop (Egmont, Belgium)
A band of hardliners with a shopping list: that is how we came across after the debate in the media […]
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“Macron, a story of lost illusions”, Francis Ghilès (CIDOB, Barcelona)
French regional elections ended in the highest abstentionism than in virtually any other poll since the founding of the Fifth […]
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“Strengthening rather than merging Belgian intelligence services”, Thomas Renard (Egmont, Belgium)
Right-wing extremist Jurgen Conings has been on the loose for two weeks, raising fundamental questions about radicalisation in the armed […]
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“The climate and energy transition component of the Spanish National Recovery and Resilience Plan”, Enrique Feas and Federico Steinberg (Elcano, Spain)
This paper analyses in detail the climate and energy transition components of the Spanish National Resilience and Recovery Programme. Over […]
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“‘Greening’ the EU’s cultural diplomacy: Uncovering the potential of the culture-climate nexus”, Vadim Kononenko (Egmont, Belgium)
The EU made its first forays into the field of public and cultural diplomacy when the European External Action Service […]
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“In Search of EU Strategic Autonomy: What Role for the Western Balkans”, Matteo Bonomi (IAI, Italy)
There is a danger today that the window of opportunity for proceeding towards the political and territorial unification of Europe, […]
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“The EU Conditionality Regulation: Variations on Procrastination”, Petra Jeney (EIPA, Maastricht)
In its resolution of 10 June 2021 the European Parliament made it clear that it is starting preparations to take […]
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“Review of ‘The President on Trial: Prosecuting Hissène Habré'”, Valérie Arnould (Egmont, Belgium)
Over recent years, hybrid courts have experienced a renaissance of sorts. After their initial popularity in the early 2000s, when […]
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“Next Generation EU: Germany focuses its climate policy on hydrogen and sustainable mobility”, Christoph P. Kiefer (Elcano, Spain)
This paper discusses the key green transition elements in Germany’s Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), that amount to 42.7% of […]
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“Developments in the Field of Transitional Justice”, Valérie Arnould (Egmont, Belgium)
For a long time, transitional justice has been described as a ‘nascent’ or ‘emerging’ field. While it is true that […]
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“Assessment of Public Support for Ukraine’s Euro-Atlantic Integration and Policy Recommendations” (Razumkov Centre, Ukraine)
This report presents the results of a nationwide sociological survey and expert assessments of public opinion on a wide range […]
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“European digital sovereignty: the EU had it, but did not retain it”, Andrés Ortega (Elcano, Spain)
Europe falls behind in the technology and digital sector depending on the exports of other countries such as the US […]
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“Differentiation and the European Union’s Foreign and Security Policy”, Marco Siddi, Tyyne Karjalainen and Juha Jokela (IAI, Italy)
Differentiation is a frequent modus operandi in European foreign, security and defence policy. EU treaties have introduced legal frameworks for […]
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“Decolonising human rights protection in Africa: impunity rhetorically repackaged?”, Stef Vandeginste (Egmont, Belgium)
Pointing out the need to decolonise human rights protection in Africa, authorities at the level of the African Union (AU) […]
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“What is at stake for Spain with the new EU-US Trade & Technology Council?”, Raquel Jorge-Ricart (Elcano, Spain)
In 1966, the Italian Foreign Minister, Amintore Fanfani, called on Washington, DC, to establish a “technological Marshall Plan” among NATO […]
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“The EU–UK Partnership and Implications for Differentiation Within the EU and Between the EU and Third Countries”, Jannike Wachowiak and Fabian Zuleeg (IAI, Italy)
The UK’s departure from the EU represents a unique process of disintegration that fundamentally changes EU–UK relations. This paper discusses […]
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“How 2400 pages of tech industrial policy will change transatlantic relations”, Tobias Gehrke (Egmont, Belgium)
The currently 2400-page long ‘US Innovation and Competition Act’ making its way through Congress is about one thing only: China. […]
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“Video podcast: Brexit: Which Way Back Into Europe For The UK?”, Brendan Donnelly and Michael Lloyd, The Federal Trust (United Kingdom)
In this video conversation, Dr Michael Lloyd of Global Policy Institute and The Federal Trust Director Brendan Donnelly discuss how, […]
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“Stability, Sustainability and Success in the Sahel: The Next Steps for the Czech Engagement”, Ondřej Horký-Hlucháň, Jan Daniel and Ondřej Ditrych (IIR, Czech Republic)
As a follow-up up to the military involvement of the Czech Republic in the region since 2013 and the consequent […]
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“The European Parliament and the Right of Initiative: Change Practice, Not Powers”, Edward Best (EIPA, Maastricht)
Should the European Parliament have more power to propose EU laws? As the Conference on the Future of Europe was […]
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“Beyond Stability: A United Libya will Not End the Migration Challenge for Italy and the EU”, Luca Barana, Dario Cristiani and Asli Selin Okyay (IAI, Italy)
Migration can easily find its way back to the top of the European political agenda even in the con-text of […]
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“Lost in translation? The Comprehensive Agreement on Investment and EU–China trade relations”, Guillaume Van Der Loo (Egmont, Belgium)
The Discussion Paper analyses the scope and contents of the ambitious Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI) between the EU and […]
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“Can Confidence Building Measures Help End the Cyprus Deadlock?”, Mustafa Çıraklı (IAI, Italy)
The discovery of hydrocarbons in Eastern Mediterranean waters was quickly followed by a resur-gence in territorial disputes and nationalistic fervour […]
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“The Slovenian EU Presidency: time to move forwards”, Ilke Toygür, Funda Tekin and Nicoletta Pirozzi (Elcano, Spain)
On 1 July 2021 Slovenia took over the Presidency of the Council of the EU from Portugal. COVID-19 is one […]
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“Why North Africa is slowly decoupling from Europe”, Francis Ghilès (CIDOB, Barcelona)
Akin to a very slow moving of tectonic plates that never produces something as dramatic as a volcanic eruption or […]
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“Romanian Journal of European Affairs, vol. 21, no. 1, June 2021” (EIR, Romania)
The June edition of the Romanian Journal of European Affairs proposes to its readers topics such as: the reform of […]
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“Art and Politics. The Streets of Rome”, Eleonora Poli (IAI, Italy)
An era in which images, rather than words, are used as vehicles of messages and ideas, street art, which was […]
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“Belgium: clearly pro-CoFoE, but unclear on the details”, Benjamin Bodson and Francesca Colli (Egmont, Belgium)
Prime Minister Alexander De Croo tweeted on 9 May 2021 that music festivals might resume at the end of the […]
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“Threats and Challenges in the Post-Qaddafi Libya”, Erzsébet N. Rózsa (IWE CERS, Hungary)
In the past decade, the post-Qaddafi Libya—its transition, the struggle for accessing its natural resources, and the fight against terrorism—has […]
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“Making Sense of Italy’s Renewed Economic Diplomacy Towards Libya”, Dario Cristiani and Silvia Colombo (IAI, Italy)
Rome is seeking to revive its economic complementary with Libya, which is seen as the most effective card that Italy […]
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“EU-MENA Trade Relations After COVID-19: State of Play and Scenarios for Modernising the EU-MENA Free Trade Areas”, Guillaume Van Der Loo (Egmont, Belgium)
The economies of both the European Union (EU) and the countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region […]
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“Ukraine-EU: Path to Political Association” (Razumkov Centre, Ukraine)
The analytical paper composed of four chapters in which outlines concisely major stages of the development of the partnership of […]
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“Understanding public relations to cybersecurity incidents”, Alberto Gomez (Elcano, Spain)
Against the widespread belief that public opinion is likely to panic in response to severe cybersecurity incidents, the relevant scholarship […]
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“Biden and Europe, values and interests”, Sven Biscop (Egmont, Belgium)
Before his trip to Europe, President Biden spoke of its purpose as “rallying the democracies”. But international politics is not […]
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“Getting Fit for Public Procurement: The Push for Professionalism”, Gracia Vara Arribas (EIPA, Maastricht)
Public procurement is a key policy area for the proper functioning of the internal market, accounting for 14 % of […]
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“Building up Cybersecurity Policies in the Visegrad Region: Which Cooperation?”, Federica Cristani (IIR, Czech Republic)
The Visegrad region has been the target of cyberattacks, both in the public and private sectors, in the last years. […]
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Video Podcast: “Brexit – So little said, so much to say”, Brendan Connelly (The Federal Trust, United Kingdom)
In this video, The Federal Trust Director Brendan Donnelly criticises British political parties for their reluctance to talk about Brexit. […]
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“Improving the EU Policymaking Process: The Dos and the Don’ts”, Felice Simonelli and Nadina Iacob (IAI, Italy)
On 29 April, the European Commission published a new Communication on better regulation aiming to improve the EU policymaking process. […]
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“Grand Strategy in 10 words: A Guide to Great Power Politics in the 21st Century”, Sven Biscop (Egmont, Belgium)
In a world that has returned to great power rivalry, understanding the grand strategy of these powers is crucial. This […]
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“World politics in 2021: Infected by rivalry”, Sven Biscop (Egmont, Belgium)
If China is rising, it must be seeking world domination. If Russia is declining, it must be plotting revenge. The […]
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“Soft power put to the test”, Raquel Jorge-Ricart (Elcano, Spain)
Just a few weeks ago, China’s president, Xi Jinping, called for a more “loveable” image for China during the Chinese […]
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“Implications of the COVID-19 Pandemic for Africa–EU Partnership on Migration and Mobility: A Developmental Perspective from West Africa”, Aderanti Adepoju (IAI, Italy)
The far-ranging effects of COVID-19, and subsequent impacts on migration drivers, trends and governance, have already produced significant implications for […]
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“Analysing the EU Global Strategy on foreign and security policy”, Sven Biscop (Egmont, Belgium)
In his contribution to the 4th edition of the CSDP Handbook, Sven Biscop, of the Egmont Institute, analyses the genesis […]
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“Does China pose a challenge to our liberal democracies?”, Andrés Ortega (Elcano, Spain)
The US is embarking upon a strategy of definition against China, based on a broad domestic consensus predating Biden, but […]
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“Hungary – The People’s Map of Global China”, Ágnes Szunomár (IWE CERS, Hungary)
The Hungarian People’s Republic and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) were both established in 1949, on 20 August and […]
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“Biden’s Visit: Five Must-Dos in Brussels”, Sven Biscop (Egmont, Belgium)
Trump’s approach to international organisations reminded one of Groucho Marx: “I refuse to join any club that would have me […]
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“Seizing the Moment: European Strategic Autonomy and the Biden Presidency”, Riccardo Alcaro and Nathalie Tocci (IAI, Italy)
The European Union was increasingly ill at ease in the world in which Covid-19 unleashed social and economic devastation in […]
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“The UK’s Integrated Review and the future of cyber”, Danny Steed (Elcano, Spain)
The long-awaited Integrated Review was released in March by the British government, promising the most radical shakeup in the UK’s […]
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“Russia-EU economic relations: from moderate pull to normative push?”, Richard Connolly and András Deák (IWE CERS, Hungary)
In this chapter, the authors examine the nature of economic relations between the Russian Federation and European Union. They describe […]
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“How Should Europe Address Iran’s Missile Proliferation Activities”, Azriel Bermant (IIR, Czech Republic)
One of the criticisms that has been levelled at the Iran nuclear agreement officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan […]
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“Exploiting and transcending the Johnson binary: the prospects for an electoral pact”, Andrew Blick (The Federal Trust, United Kingdom)
Division has been central to the electoral strength of the Johnson Conservative Party. It might also prove key to understanding […]
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“Pivoting Stabilisation in the Sahel: competing visions and implementation checkpoints”, Delina Goxho (Egmont, Belgium)
EU Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell has recently announced greater transparency from (and better conditionality with) Sahelian leaders following a […]
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“A moment to reflect: Creating Euro-Mediterranean bonds that deliver”, Haizam Amirah-Fernández and Eduard Soler I Lecha (CIDOB, Barcelona)
In times of the pandemic, humankind faces a global crisis. The Euro-Mediterranean area is no exception to this. Looking back […]
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“Quo vadis media pluralism in Europe? A contextualization from an Austrian perspective”, Florian Woschnagg (ÖGFE, Austria)
Although media policy is a fundamental issue for European democracies, the European Union has only limited competence in this field, […]
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“Iran’s presidential election 2021: what to expect from Ebrahim Raisi’s first term”, Luciano Zaccara (Elcano, Spain)
This analysis explores the implications of Ebrahim Raisi’s victory in the 2021 Iranian presidential election. First it analyses the process […]
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“Six Principles to Guide EU Action in the Western Balkans”, Majda Ruge (IAI, Italy)
Amid uncertainty about future EU enlargement prospects and the US’s continued shift towards the Indo-Pacific, one of the few axioms […]
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“A new start for EU-US relations?”, Jim Cloos (Egmont, Belgium)
The election of President Biden was greeted by sighs of relief across Europe and offered the promise of a renewed […]
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“Digitalisation with decarbonisation”, Gregorio Martín Quetglas and Andrés Ortega (Elcano, Spain)
This Working Paper analyses the overall contribution of information and communications technology (ICT) to the fight against climate change, as […]
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“Measuring Legislative Activity during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Introducing the ParlAct and ParlTech Indexes”, Ittai Bar-Siman-Tov, Olivier Rozenberg et al (Sciences Po CEE, France)
This research note introduces two novel indexes designed to measure legislative activity (ParlAct) and use of digital devices to maintain […]
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“Subsidies for renewable energy sources: an acid test for a climate-friendly EU”, Dorothea Herzele and Susanne Wixforth (ÖGFE, Austria)
There is no alternative to tackling climate change head on. Therefore, at the turn of the century, the European Union […]
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“Mistakes, misunderstandings and miscalculation: Reducing the risk of NATO/Russia military incidents and escalation”, ELN-LIIA round table report (LIIA, Latvia)
Ahead of the NATO and Biden-Putin Summits, the European Leadership Network (ELN) and Latvian Institute of International Affairs (LIIA) convened […]
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“The Impacts of Executive Responses on Democracy During the Coronavirus Crisis in Croatia, Slovenia and Austria”, Hrvoje Butković (IRMO, Croatia)
In Croatia, Slovenia and Austria, the coronavirus crisis raised pre-existing deficiencies in the democratic orders to the surface, i.e., issues […]
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“H2 Med: hydrogen’s geo-economic and geopolitical drivers and barriers in the Mediterranean”, Gonzalo Escribano (Elcano, Spain)
This policy paper aims to offer a preliminary assessment of the geo-economic and geopolitical drivers and barriers for the development […]
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“Small States and the European Migrant Crisis: Politics and Governance”, Tómas Joensen and Ian Taylor (IIA, Iceland)
This edited book examines the experience of small states in Europe during the 2015–2016 migration crisis. The contributions highlight the […]
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“Russia’s nationalities policy before and after the 2020 constitutional amendments: Is the “ethnic turn” continuing?”, Veera Laine and Konstantin Zamyatin (FIIA, Finland)
In January 2020, Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed a set of constitutional amendments, aiming to secure the continuity of his […]
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“Estonia’s Interests and Opportunities in the Arctic”, Kristi Raik, Frank Jüris, Aimar Ventsel and Tõnis Idarand (EFPI, Estonia)
This policy paper explores Estonia’s interests in the Arctic. In recent years, the Arctic has become an increasingly important region […]
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“Special section: Small States and the Corona Crisis”, Anna-Lena Högenauer, Külli Sarapuu and Nicos Trimikliniotis (CERE)
The aim of the section is to explore the small state governance of COVID-19. While the COVID-19 pandemic has been […]
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“Open RAN: an opportunity for European digital and like-minded cooperation?”, Ugo Armanini (Elcano, Spain)
The concept of Open RAN is progressively acquiring greater visibility in the media and the public debate. The concept aims […]
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“Decoding the past: the ‘myth’ of the Soviet archives and the Cyprus issue”, Argyrios Tasoulas (CEIA, Cyprus)
One of the most intriguing research enigmas of the post-Cold War era is the possibility to acquire access to declassified […]
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“Comprehensive Security and New Challenges: Strengthening the OSCE”, Monika Wohlfeld and Fred Tanner (IAI, Italy)
The Organization for Security Cooperation in Europe’s comprehensive security approach, developed in the 1970s, continues to guide its work on […]
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“A green recovery starts in cities”, Hannah Abdullah and Thorfinn Stainforth (CIDOB, Barcelona)
EU Member States recently published their National Recovery and Resilience Plans. These plans will form the lion’s share of EU […]
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“Digitalization as a common good. Contribution to an inclusive recovery”, Julia Pomares, Andrés Ortega and María Belén Abdala (Elcano, Spain)
The outbreak of COVID-19, and the way it has been confronted, has not only accelerated the digitalizaton of large parts […]
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“Natural gas price control: Theoretical issues and world case studies”, Sergio Ascari (RSCAS-EUI, Italy)
The book focuses on existing price controls that still prevail worldwide in end user markets. It provides an overview of […]
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“Health Crises and the Growth of EU Agencies: The Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic”, Christoph Klika (EIPA, Maastricht)
Health crises have often triggered the creation of EU agencies. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), for […]
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“Conclusions on contestation of EU foreign policy: diverse causes, various modes and multiple effects?”, Elodie Thevenin, Lina Liedlbauer and Franziska Petri (IES, Poland)
This conclusion brings together insights from the seven contributions to the Special Issue “Contestation of EU Foreign Policy” focusing on […]
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“How Effective is Differentiation in the EU Economic Policy Field?”, Andreas Eisl and Eulalia Rubio (IAI, Italy)
So far, most research on differentiated integration has focused either on its causes or on its broader consequences for the […]
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“Beyond Sanctions: A Proactive Strategy for Nord Stream 2”, Alan Riley (CIDOB, Barcelona)
The European Union and the United States should co-operate to develop a credible proactive energy security strategy to permanently disarm […]
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“EU arms export policy: achievements and current challenges”, Kyriakos Revelas (CIFE)
The EU regime for conventional arms exports, with its common criteria and commitments binding on Member States, aims at a […]
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“Reforming the governance of the Economic and Monetary Union: the issues”, Carlos Martínez Mongay et al (Elcano, Spain)
This paper sets out a series of questions for the EMU reform debate, including the Banking Union, the Capital Markets […]
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“How sick is British democracy?: a clinical analysis”, Richard Rose (RSCAS-EUI, Italy)
Forecasts of the death of democracy are often heard and the United Kingdom is on the death watch list. This […]
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“Enforcing EU chemicals policy: the multi-level pursuit of zero tolerance”, Christoph Klika (EIPA, Maastricht)
In October 2020, the European Commission published a ‘Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability’. The Communication is subtitled ‘Towards a Toxic-Free Environment’, […]
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“EU Trade Policy: Principles versus Pragmatism. The Cases of Vietnam and Cambodia”, Angela Pennisi di Floristella (IAI, Italy)
European Union (EU) trade policy has appeared rather contradictory recently towards countries in which there are instances of human rights […]
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“Africa doesn’t yearn for Europe: rewriting narratives on migration”, Oriol Puig Cepero (CIDOB, Barcelona)
The situation in Ceuta may suggest otherwise, but (most of) Africa does not yearn to come to Europe. Many more […]
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“Social ties and Jihadist terrorism: what turns violent radicalisation into terrorist involvement?”, Álvaro Vicente (Elcano, Spain)
An analysis of the social ties that link a group of young people, radicalised into Jihadism in Spain, to various […]
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“Environmental performance of foreign firms: Chinese and Japanese firms in Myanmar”, Roman Vakulchuk, Indra Øverland and Thiri Shwesin Aung (NUPI, Norway)
Little is known about how the environmental approaches of foreign investors in developing countries are formed. The objective of this […]
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“Deep Causes behind Brexit”, Somai Miklós (IWE CERS, Hungary)
In an in/out referendum, held on 23 June 2016, the British electorate chose to leave the European Union. This paper […]
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“Towards a Human and Humane Approach? The EU Discourse on Migration amidst the COVID-19 Crisis”, Stefania Panebianco (IAI, Italy)
In the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, the EU discourse on migration has acquired a humanitarian dimension that deserves investigation. […]
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“The weaponisation of migration”, Blanca Garcés-Mascareñas (CIDOB, Barcelona)
With the irregular crossing of more than 8,000 people, the Moroccan government wanted to show what would happen if the […]
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“Israel’s Trilemma”, Haizam Amirah-Fernández (Elcano, Spain)
A trilemma occurs when three elements cannot exist at the same time. Israel has been living in one of those […]
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“Climate, Peace and Security Fact Sheet Mali”, Cedric de Coning and Florian Krampe (NUPI, Norway)
Mali is characterised by short-term climate variability, and is vulnerable to long-term climate change due to high exposure to the […]
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“Contestation of European Union foreign policy: causes, modes and effects”, Franziska Petri, Elodie Thevenin and Lina Liedlbauer (IES, Poland)
This Special Issue presents an overview of how and why European Union (EU) foreign policy is contested. Particular attention is […]
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“The Visegrád Countries and Brazil”, edited by Sándor Gyula Nagy (IWE CERS, Hungary)
The book aims to strengthen economic, cultural, scientific and human connections between Brazil and the Visegrád countries, and to contribute […]
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“Navigating a COVID World: The European Union’s Internal Rebirth and External Quest”, Riccardo Alcaro and Nathalie Tocci (IAI, Italy)
The world on which COVID-19 has unleashed its destructive force is one where the partly supranational and multilateral-minded EU is […]
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“The EU Non-Financial Reporting Directive and corporate narrative disclosure practices: the case of the fashion industry”, Lela Melón (CIDOB, Barcelona)
The present work tackles the crucial issue of global sustainability and the challenge of policy coherence around sustainability, focusing on […]
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“Crisis between Morocco and Spain: the risks of Trump’s gift”, Haizam Amirah-Fernández (Elcano, Spain)
Morocco had been showing for weeks signs of discomfort and anger with Spain for the reception in a hospital in […]
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“COVID-19 and lower skilled migrant workers: which lessons for Europe?”, Flo Van den Broek (CIFE)
This paper explores how the COVID-19 crisis exposes the EU’s sectorial approach to labour migration and why it is so […]
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“Forging Political Identities and Becoming Citizens: The Political Preferences and Engagement of South American Immigrants in the United States and Spain”, Narayani Lasala-Blanco et al (Sciences Po CEE, France)
Research in the United States has emphasized the importance of anti-immigrant and anti-Hispanic hostility to galvanize shared identities and a […]
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