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External shocks such as the financial and migration crises, the Coronavirus pandemic, as well as internal and external security threats from terrorism as well as Russia's war against Ukraine emphasise that the EU, which has developed to be more heterogeneous, has become increasingly fragile. In line with a reduced willingness and ability of Member States to integrate further, the EU is becoming incapable of action and therefore is in danger of losing the trust of its citizens. Against this background, it is important not to gloss over the problems and to develop constructive solutions. This blogpost offers several possible solutions.

Call for Applications of Leiden University, Netherlands. Deadline: June 12, 2023

"It's a cacophony. It's ridiculous". This is how an EU diplomat described the flow of EU statements following the outbreak of the war between Israel and Hamas. The divergent reactions reveal the existence of institutional tensions about the Union's external representation, which undermine the coherence and credibility of the EU's external action. The war between Israel and Hamas concerns issues of foreign and security policy. Whether one likes it or not, this is an area where the Commission has a more limited role – also with respect to external representation. A certain restraint or, at the very least, closer coordination with the Member States and the European External Action Service could have been expected.

The responsiveness of governments to the preferences of their citizens is a fundamental characteristic of democracy. With the rapid and seemingly unstoppable integration of the European Union, many citizens doubt whether their governments still can be responsive—while trust in the EU has been faltering at the same time. In 2015, only 33 % of Europeans trusted the EU, while over 54 % of Europeans distrusted it. In 2008, fully 62 % of Europeans did not believe that their governments listened to them when it came to European issues, and those who perceive themselves to be voiceless on that matter have remained the majority as of 2017. Europeans believe that governments do not act in their citizens' interest when they decide (usually behind closed doors) over policies in the EU. Despite these bleak numbers, this contribution argues that there are reasons to be both more optimistic and pessimistic at the same time.

Soeben ist das Buch „Germany and the European Union – How Chancellor Angela Merkel Shaped Europe“ von Prof. em. Gisela Müller-Brandeck-Bocquet bei Springer erschienen. Das Buch von Prof. em. Gisela Müller-Brandeck-Bocquet​​​​​​​ präsentiert eine kohärente Analyse der deutschen Europapolitik während der Kanzlerschaft Angela Merkels. Zugleich zeichnet es die Entwicklung der EU im Zeitraum 2005-2021 nach. Die europäischen […]
Der Beitrag Neue Publikation: Germany and the European Union – How Chancellor Angela Merkel Shaped Europe erschien zuerst auf mainEUropa.

By Raphael Oidtmann. What legal principle – that may also be derived from its treaty framework – determined and guided EU support towards Ukraine? This contribution argues that at least certain streams of EU assistance for Ukraine in countering the Russian Federation's aggression – namely those aimed at ending impunity for international crimes – have been organized within a distinct rule of law context.

Sie sprach über vieles, aber nicht über Chatkontrolle. – Alle Rechte vorbehalten European Union 2023In ihrer vermutlich letzten Rede zur Lage der Union feierte Kommissionspräsidentin von der Leyen die EU als weltweite Vorreiterin für digitale Rechte. Sie lobte abgeschlossene Gesetzesvorhaben und drängte auf einen Abschluss des AI Acts. Ein wichtiges Thema aber ließ sie aus.

Supreme or constitutional courts regularly step in to protect the democratic process by deciding election disputes. It is remarkable that the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has so far barely been engaged concerning the European Parliament (EP) elections. Using Hungary as an example, I will argue in the following that the CJEU is institutionally well-positioned to help protect the integrity of the 2024 EP elections via preliminary ruling procedures. Hungarian democracy has been in decline, according to the EP, the Commission and various democracy indices. The problems include the lack of a level playing field, targeted action by authorities against opposition parties, overlaps between the activities of the government and the governing party, state funding of campaigning and party financing in general, lack of media pluralism, and the different means of voting for citizens living abroad (postal vote for some and not for others). I argue that the CJEU could and should be engaged to protect the fairness of the EP elections in Hungary.

EU-Kommissionspräsidentin Ursula von der Leyen bei ihrer letzten Rede zur Lage der Europäischen Union. – Alle Rechte vorbehalten European Union 2023 / Mathieu CUGNOTBis zum Ende des Jahrzehnts soll es überall in der EU moderne Netze geben. In ihrem ersten Zwischenbericht zur "Digitalen Dekade" mahnt die EU-Kommission Deutschland zu einem höheren Tempo. Dabei helfen könnte die "Gigabit-Richtlinie 2.0", zu der nun erste Zahlen vorliegen.

By Kathleen Schlütter and Eva Ommert (Research Centre Global Dynamics, Leipzig University). Report on the Roundtable "The Future of the Archive(s): Digital Infrastructures Across Regions"

(17.11.2023 at the University of Regensburg (Department for Interdisciplinary and Multiscalar Area Studies) & Leibniz Institute for East and Southeast European Studies (IOS) and online, NFDI4Memory in cooperation with CrossArea e.V.)

On 16 July, the European Commission and the Tunisian government signed a new strategic partnership on migration, sparking outrage by European parliamentarians, researchers and civil society actors given Tunisia's autocratic turn since 2021 and the recent flaring up of racial and xenophobic violence. The deal is emblematic of the blind spots of trans-Mediterranean migration cooperation over the past decades: First, a growing reliance on informality and symbolic politics at the expense of accountability; and second, a persistently Euro-centrist perspective that overlooks the dynamics South of the Mediterranean, with dire policy consequences.

Media freedom has many dimensions. Whereas the EMFA deals directly with media oversight bodies and the likes, the proposed anti-SLAPP (strategic lawsuits against public participation) directive weighs into a more niche but crucially important topic: the silencing of journalists through bogus litigation. Such bogus litigation - or SLAPPS - does not intend to "win" cases but to slowly but steadily dry out journalists financially, emotionally, and socially. Currently, the Council of the European Union and the European Union Parliament are working on their proposals of the directive. It is crucial that the Commission's proposal will not be watered down.

Vielverdiener: Der EU-Abgeordnete Axel Voss – Alle Rechte vorbehalten European Union 2019 – Source : EPWenn die EU das Netz reguliert, dann ist der konservative Parlamentarier Axel Voss nicht weit. Doch sein Abgeordnetengehalt bessert der CDU-Mann mit Nebenjobs auf, die Interessenskonflikte vermuten lassen. Transparenzorganisationen fordern ein Ende dieser Praxis.

Welches sind die aktuellen und strukturellen Probleme des Schengen-Raums und warum ist eine Reform zur Lösung dieser Probleme politisch unwahrscheinlich? Dieser Frage geht Daniel Schade, Assistant Professor für European Union Studies an der Universität Leiden, in seinem Essay nach. Er erläutert umfassend, wie der Schengen-Raum funktioniert und welche Spannungen ihm zugrunde liegen, wie die politische... Weiterlesen »

verfasst von Jana Berg Immer wieder wird Rassismus in der österreichischen Polizei kritisiert (vgl. Amnesty International 2009) und die tendenzielle Zunahme von Rassismus und Antisemitismus in Europa (vgl. European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights 2013) und speziell Österreich (vgl. Kantor Center 2015: 6, 73) festgestellt, was sich auch in einem...