integration

With the adoption of the macro-regional strategies for the Baltic Sea, Danube and the Adriatic-Ionian regions in 2009, 2011 and 2014 respectively, the European Union has in⁠troduced a new concept in EU regional policy. Building on the EUROPE 2020...

The European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) and the Eastern Partnership (EP) are controversial issues among political actors and the Public. This article identifies three contentious issues: sovereign statehood, international alliance capacities and the...

The paper offers a critical survey of Hungary’s EU membership through analysis of key expected benefits, including trade, free circulation of persons and capital, impact of EU transfers and full-fledged participation in the decision-making process...

For a long time, French politicians have viewed France’s participation in European integration as a justification for the preservation of its power through the framework of Europe. However, France’s position in the European Union seems to become...

The European sovereign debt crisis is widely perceived by the German public as a dangerous threat and has great potential for domestic political mobilisation. The German Federal Government, therefore, faces particular pressures to explain and...

The European Union is faced with mounting challenges in both the Eastern and Southern neighborhood. At the beginning of this new institutional cycle, it should, therefore, adjust its foreign policy toolbox to meet the new challenges. In concrete...

Prior to the European elections in 2014 expectations and fears were great. Some authors hoped that the elections would result in a democratic revolution establishing EU-level parliamentary democracy, as a result of the “front-runners,” which...

Against the background of the ongoing crisis in the euro zone over the past several years, the Institut für Demoskopie Allensbach conducted a series of four representative surveys in Germany, France, Spain and Great Britain in order to examine...

Parties on the European level so far have not been able to sufficiently fulfil their mission under art. 10 par. 4 TEU to “contribute to forming European political awareness and to expressing the will of citizens of the Union.” Although European...

When the former Ukraine President, Viktor Yanukovych, chose not to sign the Association Agreement with the European Union, peaceful protest arose in Kiev. The protest turned into a violent situation that resulted in the overthrow of the Ukrainian...

Expectations were high regarding the European elections 2014: some hoped for a renewed impulse for the democratisation of the European Union, while others feared that gains for the Euro skeptic parties would allow these parties to impede the...

In the second half of 2014, the Italian government holds the Presidency of the Council of the EU. It is facing a number of challenges at the European and national levels: the Lisbon Treaty altered the Council Presidency’s responsibilities; new...

The Lithuanian Presidency of the Council of the EU in 2013 took place in a challenging period with two main deadlines: to finish as much legislative work as possible before the European elections, and to adopt the legislation required for the next...

Since the 1990s, the development of the EU treaties has been accompanied by an increase in differentiated integration. Based on a new dataset pertaining to differentiation in EU primary law, we show that differentiated integration is driven mainly...

Considering the present and future framework of the European Union, José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, analyses the intricacies of the challenges and opportunities of the EU. The EU currently needs to redefine the power and...