Commentaries
Solidarity: Three Takeaways for the Year Ahead
Solidarity is a complex concept with deep roots in legal and social theory. At its core, it reflects a fundamental commitment: to act together in the face of shared adversity, […]
European Affairs
Located in Brussels at the heart of EU political decision-making, the European Affairs Programme provides in-depth as well as policy-oriented analyses on a wide range of themes of relevance to EU and Belgian policy makers. Topics that are – or ought to be – central to the EU policy debate are given special attention. Aside from a constant focus on institutional matters, various substantive EU policies dominate the Programme’s research agenda, such as the Green Deal, the digital agenda, the consolidation of an inclusive social model, the protection of people and the defence of rights, and the promotion of Europe’s interests in the world.
The Programme also deals extensively and in a forward-looking way with the impact of the multiple crises the EU has had to address over the last decade. They all had an impact on its policies, its decision-making processes, and more generally its architecture, which is proof of the resilience of the European project.
With the aim of reaching the broadest audience possible, the European Affairs Programme seeks to share its expertise and stimulate the debate through a variety of publications as well as by organizing round tables, expert-seminars, and conferences.
Publications
Commentaries
The European Parliament Compels the EU to Address Arctic Security
The European Parliament, by an overwhelming majority, urges the European Union to adopt a robust and security-focused Arctic strategy. It stresses that the Arctic is no longer a remote periphery, […]
Commentaries
Belgium is Right: Borrow… Get the Money… Don’t Get Emotional
Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever and the Belgian government are absolutely right in proposing that the EU should borrow the money required to sustain Ukraine in its valiant fight […]
Commentaries
Navigating the Population Change in the EU: Possible Pathways to Demographic Resilience
Our world is undergoing serious demographic shifts that are expected to increase significantly in the next three decades. The European Union will be confronted with a serious fall in fertility […]
Commentaries
The EU Enlargement Test: Dilemmas of Geopolitics, Conditionality, and Public Concerns
Russia’s full-scale war on Ukraine has changed the European Union’s attitude towards the prospects of enlargement. While in previous years, European leaders remained skeptical about the EU’s absorption capacity and […]
Commentaries
Hall of Mirrors: How U.S.–China Export Controls Feed Each Other
On October 9, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce sent shockwaves through global supply chains by announcing sweeping export control measures on rare earth elements (REEs), adding five new categories to […]