Blog 3 Columns

  • Calling for a right to resettlement ahead of UN refugee summit

    Calling for a right to resettlement ahead of UN refugee summit1

    During a meeting on how to manage refugees’ expectations, I was reprimanded by my superiors for adding to my introduction in resettlement interviews with refugees that there is no recognized right to resettlement. This is certainly not a shock to most people, but it was a shock to the people I interviewed. It certainly made them upset to hear it. My superiors said it was cruel. Working for a small aid organization, we turned down many in need refugees asking for financial, legal, and medical assistance, and yet none of that was deemed cruel.

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  • What use is gas if we have no water?

    What use is gas if we have no water?4

    As shale gas shipments cross the Atlantic to Scottish shores, the contentious fracking debate may re-ignite calling the Scottish Government to lift its moratorium under the guise of economic and energy security. This should be seen only as a ruse when sustainable options exist that do not needlessly add to an increasing global water crisis.

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  • Saving lives or shirking responsibility? – Scrutinizing “Operation Sophia”

    Saving lives or shirking responsibility? – Scrutinizing “Operation Sophia”1

    According to IOM, up to June 2016 more than 2500 migrants have lost their lives in the Mediterranean Sea in an attempt to flee hunger, persecution, and war. As an effort to fight the business model of migrant smugglers and save lives at sea, the EU has initiated EUNAVFOR Med, also known as Operation Sophia, in June 2015.

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  • Uber will wipe out skills not jobs

    Uber will wipe out skills not jobs3

    Uber’s announcement to add self-driving cars to its usual taxi services in the United States is as unexpected as it is indicative of the automated future of the sharing economy. Governments should limit their efforts to regulate the rapidly-evolving sharing economy and instead focus on developing relevant skills.

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  • It is up to the Commission to guide into the right way to EU democracy

    It is up to the Commission to guide into the right way to EU democracy1

    However desirable it may seem for political organizations to endow themselves with the halo of democracy, the European Union should be cautious to hastily “democratize” in response to the Brexit. Reform efforts to tame spreading Euroskepticism are necessary, yet not according to national standards. The EU will have to develop its own unique, transnational version of democracy.

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  • A stronger Union in an insecure World

    A stronger Union in an insecure World1

    Affairs in which it was possible to write down such words seem worlds away from the situation we live in today, when the very concept of the European Union is challenged and put to a test, especially after the Brexit vote. Precisely because of this, it is important not only to reconsider the future development of EU’s internal affairs and structures, but also the plans and ideas that would redefine the EU as an international actor. Even though it seems the new Global Strategy, adopted two months ago, has come at the right time, the question remains whether it will trigger an adequate new approach to EU’s external affairs.

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The School of Public Policy at CEU