integration

This article examines the structural challenges hindering institutionalised security and defence cooperation between the United Kingdom (UK) and the European Union (EU) post-Brexit. At the end of the tumultuous Brexit process, the UK under Boris...

The European Union (EU) as a key actor in international economic and trade policy is facing new challenges in the era of geopolitics. Acknowledging this altered context, the article makes three contributions: First, it conceptualises what can be...

The European Union promotes democratisation in the European neighbourhood. Despite this policy, however, the region is characterised by de-democratisation and autocratisation. The authors explain this by behavioural, institutional and structural...

Liberal democracy is under massive pressure worldwide due to the transformation of party systems, economic and welfare state models, and disruptions to the global power structure. In view of these internal and external disruptors, research is...

The 2024 reform of the Stability and Growth Pact promises nothing less than a radical reset of European fiscal policymaking. Aimed at addressing the mounting debt burdens of certain member states of the European Union, the reform emphasizes greater...

In the 2024 European Parliament elections, far-right parties made gains in many member states and won a higher overall seat share than ever before. In addition, the much discussed “rise of the far right” also changed the debate among the other...

The European Union (EU) and South Korea have maintained intensive relations for more than 60 years, which have been institutionalised at a political, economic and security policy level. Both sides are very similar in terms of value orientation,...

With NextGenerationEU (NGEU), macroeconomically significant debt has been incurred via the European Union (EU) budget for the first time. It is controversial whether this marks the start of continuous EU debt. This article analyses the interests of...

Over the past decade, an increasing number of states have adopted a feminist foreign policy approach. Cooperation in this area between state, civil society and academic actors is developing very dynamically. Against this background, and in view of a...

In this article, we provide a systematic overview of developments in European social policy under the first von der Leyen Commission (vdL Commission). We analyse the developments in the areas of regulatory, distributive and coordinative social...

Town twinning comes with great expectations. Pursued after the Second World War as an instrument of reconciliation on the European continent, they are supposed to strengthen political and social cohesion in Europe. However, classic partnerships are...

The case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) on the values of Art. 2 Treaty on European Union (TEU) and the protection of the rule of law marks an important step in protecting the integrity of the European Union (EU). Moreover,...

How refugees are received in Europe depends not only on where they arrive, but above all on where they come from. This article discusses these disparities of solidarity and asks how they can be explained. It is based on collaborative ethnographic...

In this article, we assess the latest initiative to bring members of the European Union (EU) and non-members closer together: the European Political Community (EPC) that met for its first summit in Prague in October 2022 at the suggestion of French...

For some years now, officials in Brussels have labelled abstentions in the Council of the European Union as “German vote”. Contrary to this attribution, an analysis of all votes cast from 2010 to 2023 shows that members such as Poland, Hungary...

On 25 April 2024 President Emmanuel Macron described in his second Sorbonne speech the current state of the European Union (EU) in drastic terms and presented solutions to protect Europe and its model of peace, politics, social welfare and...

Data is increasingly recognized as central in addressing social, political, and economic challenges. This article utilizes the concept of boundary work to illustrate how the European Union (EU) advances its strategic interests through data and...

The efforts of the European Union (EU) to promote democracy abroad has come under increasing pressure, especially in the countries of its Eastern and Southern Neighbourhoods. Even prior to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and the...

European democracy is undergoing profound change. The various crises of the past 15 years and the transformations associated with modernisation, globalisation, geopolitics and Europeanisation are threatening the trust of citizens in political actors...

This contribution analyses possible consequences of the expected gains of far-right parties in the election year of 2024 on the politics of the European Union (EU). It discusses what goals far-right parties pursue and whether they might gain...

To date, there is no set procedure for the allocation of seats in the European Parliament. On a meeting of the Committee on Constitutional Affairs (AFCO) in February 2024, the establishment of a permanent system was addressed based on three...

What kind of European Union (EU) emerges from the “polycrisis”? This article argues that the EU is developing into a “reinsurance polity”. In this system of public reinsurance, the nation states remain the direct insurers of their citizens...