Where in the world are we today? And tomorrow?
The right to asylum is explicitly stated in the EU Treaties. Article 18 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union states, “the right to asylum shall be guaranteed”. This ethos is repeated in Articles 67(2) and 78 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). It is against EU... Continue Reading →
“Efficiency comes through optimal adaptation to an existing environment, while resilience requires the capacity to adapt to disruptive changes in the environment.” Efficiency and resilience have long been opposite concepts in various fields, including business management and public administration. The chart below further illustrates that the concept of sustainability could be expressed as a trade-off... Continue Reading →
Many of the European problems essentially boil down to the conflict between intergovernmentalism (the member states wanting to maintain their sovereignty) and supranationalism (the EU’s tendency towards a higher level of political integration). Churchill’s big-bang approach for a United States of Europe failed, and Monnet’s proposal for a limited economic integration prevailed instead. The Constitutional... Continue Reading →
As far as the European market is concerned, the New Member Countries (NMC) have significant advantages over their extra-EU competitors. This argument is based on two sets of strong evidence: (1) statistics indicating the share of imports originating from inside and outside the EU, and (2) distinct benefits that NMCs enjoy but are not attainable... Continue Reading →
The Lisbon Strategy, also known as the Lisbon Agenda or Lisbon Process, was an action and development plan devised in 2000, for the economy of the European Union between 2000 and 2010. Europe 2020, on the other hand, is a 10-year strategy proposed by the European Commission on 3 March 2010 for the advancement of... Continue Reading →
This is my response to Conceptualizing the Domestic Impact of Europe by Tanja A. Börzel and Thomas Risse (2003). Börzel and Risse address the fundamental question: ‘How do the member states influence the Europeanisation process, and how does the Europeanisation process influence them in return?’ The authors provide a comprehensive tool for understanding the dynamics... Continue Reading →
This article is my response to Stanley Hoffmann's Obstinate or Obsolete? The Fate of the Nation-State and the Case of Western Europe (1966). First of all, it should be mentioned that Hoffmann was somewhat sceptical of the regional integration movement in Europe. Considering the timing of this writing—when Charles de Gaulle was making significant moves... Continue Reading →
Sustainability is the most imminent and urgent issue faced by the EU. Recognising the progress EU has shown towards sustainable development and challenges thereof, this essay considers the importance of global partnerships, particularly multi-stakeholder partnerships (MSP) and policy coherence for development (PCD). Lessons from Millennium Development Goals Throughout human history, the powerful used development as... Continue Reading →
In the wake of the Brussels terrorist attack of 2016, the Juncker Commission made considerable efforts towards an effective and genuine Security Union. This article assesses the outline of the Security Union as envisioned by the Juncker Commission. It then examines the fundamental changes that emerged with the inauguration of the von der Leyen Commission,... Continue Reading →
The European Union has always been evolving in its institutional reform and enlargement, to bring European nations together as an ever-closer union. At the same time, nationalist movements have emerged in recent decades, notably in Scotland, Catalonia and Flanders, among others. The possibility of smaller regions breaking off from existing European countries and rejoining the... Continue Reading →
