integration

The paper looks at the challenges Brexit poses for EU studies as well as European politics. It discusses the exit of the UK from the European Union as a ‘wicked problem’ and the Brexit negotiations as tightly coupled ‘multi-level games’. By...

Parliamentary cooperation has long been a stepchild of the Franco-German relationship, but the creation of the Franco-German Parliamentary Assembly (FGPA) in 2019 has closed this gap: For the first time, a separate parliamentary body monitors the...

Did the Covid-19 crisis prompt a turn in German EU policy? Investigating the long-term development of German preferences on the European integration of core state powers, we find striking continuity. German governments persistently seek to minimise...

Donald Trump’s presidency has substantially undermined the transatlantic partnership, leading to an erosion of trust by many Europeans. These concerns have led to a debate in the European Union (EU) about its role in the world and its position in...

The COVID-19 pandemic has deeply shaken the European Union (EU) and exacerbated existing prob- lems. How can the EU gain more autonomy in an ever-changing world order, especially when it comes to international supply chains and health security? To...

This article analyses the concept of compulsory but flexible “solidarity” within the new migration and asylum pact of the European Union (EU). Presented by the European Commission in September 2020, the pact interlinks EU asylum and return...

This article analyses the most important issues and decisions of the German EU Council Presidency, but also its “leftovers”. Almost beyond expectations, the German Government proved to be a successful mediator and honest broker for viable...

On 1 January 2021, Portugal took over the rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union for the fourth time. The preceding German Presidency was able to broker agreements on crucial topics such as the EU budget, Brexit and the new EU...

The problem of democratic backsliding as well as instruments to protect the rule of law have been acknowledged at the EU level for several years. However, no agreement on the introduction of a rule of law conditionality could be reached among the EU...

The difficult negotiations on the multiannual financial framework (MFF) of the European Union have so far been characterised by continuity and path dependencies. Now, the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the framework, the conditions, the topics and...

The article explores some legal issues regarding comprehensive trade and mixed agreements of the European Union (EU). The concept of mixed agreements is special to the EU legal order and under strain after the opinion 2/15 of the Court of Justice of...

Sanctions are one of the toughest and most coercive tools available to the European Union (EU). They are increasingly used in order to respond to breaches of international norms and adverse security developments in the neighbourhood and beyond....

Five years after the “EU-Turkey statement” it is time for a review. This statement of 29 November 2015 has defined a comprehensive roadmap for deepening EU-Turkey relations. It is perceived to represent an institutional shift from a rules-based...

The COVID-19 pandemic poses new challenges for the European Union (EU). It is not a repetition of previous crises of European integration. The expectations, but also the confidence of the EU citizens are higher. Divergences between Member States...

In March 2018, the European Commission introduced two Directive proposals to target tax challenges in the era of digitalization. The first Directive proposal suggests to introduce a digital services tax of 3 percent on gross revenues from digital...

Three months after the initially scheduled start of the Conference on the Future of Europe (CoFoE) its design remains unclear. While the European Parliament proposed a rather ambitious concept of a “European Convention 2.0”, the European Council...

In an increasingly intergovernmental European Union (EU), minilateral formations can reduce the complexity of EU decision-making. However, block formation can also complicate it. Therefore, bilateral diplomacy has to build bridges between these...

The COVID-19 pandemic is not only putting European financial solidarity to the test, but also the common values of the European Union (EU). In Hungary and Poland, the governments are using the situation to undermine democratic principles and expand...

Although the euro area looks back at a phase of comprehensive reforms, its fiscal institutions still lack a consistent shape. The article analyses how the competition between two distinct models of a European Fiscal Union (EFU) has created the...

The Brexit negotiations constituted unchartered political and institutional territory for the European Union (EU). This analysis shows how a new institutional approach enabled the EU-27 to present an unusually united front. The “Barnier method”...

Based on a new anthology on the future of Europe in the light of Euroscepticism, this article examines how the increasing prominence of Eurosceptic and nationalist parties is affecting the thinking of mainstream parties, their representatives in...

Recently, there has been a renewed interest in infringement procedures as a tool against dismantling the rule of law and democracy in Member States of the European Union (EU). Against this background, this article analyses all seven rule of...