The Outermost Regions: Challenges and prospects
The construction of Europe begins in 1957, with the signature of the Treaty of Rome. The initial aim is, then, to build a Union equipped with institutions and common values, […]
European Affairs
Publications
Commentaries
Reassessing Belgium’s “Failed” Counterterrorism Policy
Following the terrorist attacks in Paris (November 2015) and Brussels (March 2016), Belgium was subject to numerous criticisms. Belgium-bashing has now passed out of fashion, but it continues to shape […]
Commentaries
How Belgium overcame the threat from returning foreign terrorist fighters
Two years ago exactly, Belgium was struck by the worst terrorist attack in its history. The cell behind these deadly attacks was mostly composed of foreign fighters returning from Syria […]
Is there an escape from ‘Ever Closer Union’?
The EU Treaty objective of establishing ‘an ever closer Union among the peoples of Europe’ means that European integration is a step by step process requiring the use of supranational […]
Returnees: who are they, why are they (not) coming back and how should we deal with them? Assessing policies on returning foreign terrorist fighters in Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands
Some 5000 men, women and children have travelled from Europe to Syria and Iraq since 2012. An estimated 1500 of these foreign terrorist fighters (FTF) have returned so far. Belgium, […]
Commentaries
Semantics matter: Why the European Monetary Fund is a welcome idea, but a bad name
The willingness to complete our Economic and Monetary Union has been given much welcome impetus in recent months. One of the key ideas is to transform the existing European Stability […]