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Should Sweden abandon its neutrality policy?0
- International Relations and Global Affairs, Op-ed
- 22/06/2016
Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 as well as Russian verbal threats and provocations towards NATO and non-NATO members, have put European leaders on edge. Talks of a new Cold War have revitalized the role of NATO and made Sweden question its neutrality. But is the threat from Russia towards Sweden substantial enough for Sweden to abandon its neutrality policy? No, and here is why.
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The European Pillar of Social Rights: towards a fairer Europe?0
- Op-ed, Social and Economic Policy
- 20/06/2016
On 8 March 2016, the European Commission presented a first preliminary outline of the European Pillar of Social Rights, as part of the on-going work for a deeper and fairer Economic and Monetary Union. But does this first draft actually present the potential to meet the existing expectations on the social field for a fairer Europe?
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Brexit: The bigger environmental picture0
- Environment and Energy, Op-ed
- 20/06/2016
UK environmental organisations are urging a vote to stay in the upcoming Brexit referendum. They believe it will be better for nature. If we look at the bigger picture and consider the UK government’s record on environmental issues; is the conclusion that they might be wrong? Or might a last ditch effort to secure a stay vote actually turn things around?
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History replaying: Greece and the policy of settling refugees0
- Human Rights and Migration, Op-ed
- 17/06/2016
The refugee crisis is certainly not only a Greek problem, although direct consequences affect it as the host country. The host country has to apply policies in order to settle and provide with all the necessary the refugees from the first moment of their arrival. But does Greece have to act for the whole of Europe alone?
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Brexit’s forgotten alternatives: are they feasible?0
- EU Governance and Politics, Op-ed
- 16/06/2016
Far from providing a solution to UK’s frustrations in terms of immigration, payments to the EU and red tape, a withdrawal from the EU would wipe out the exceptional benefits which the UK already enjoys under EU membership.
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How long is ‘temporary’? – The renewed extension of the State of Emergency in France0
- Human Rights and Migration, Op-ed
- 14/06/2016
The French parliament has recently voted in favor of the third extension of the nationwide state of emergency which now lasts until the end of July. The decision from May 19, 2016, has been justified as being the only way to safely carry out the major sports events taking place in France this summer: the Euro 2016 and the Tour de France. While the safety of those involved in these events has top priority, it is questionable whether the introduced measures are proportional.
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Time to say goodbye to the SGP?1
- EU Governance and Politics, Op-ed
- 13/06/2016
The Stability and Growth Pact was designed to ensure sound budgetary balances and low public debts in the European Union, ultimately achieving fiscal policy coordination. 18 years after its inception, overburdened by an opaque and intricate web of flexibility clauses, the Pact is de facto dead. Could this be the opportunity to rethink European fiscal governance?
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The irony of a UK exit that Brexiters are missing0
- Environment and Energy, Op-ed
- 08/06/2016
As pro-Brexit voters push for Britain to leave the EU, their arguments fail to take into consideration the paradox that their leaving might cause: the UK’s move from prominent policy maker within Brussels, to being at the whim of decisions made in the EU without their input. The UK march for autonomy would in fact be undermined by the geography and trade links that would likely ensure a sustained close relationship between the UK and the EU, governed by the very EU energy policy that the ‘out’ campaign are trying to escape.
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Brexit: David Cameron’s credibility problem0
- EU Governance and Politics, Op-ed
- 07/06/2016
Leave or stay? The history of the Eurosceptic movement in Britain is easily exploitable for the Leave campaign. In contrast, the Prime Minister who struggles to assuage fears of an “Ever Closer Union” suffers from his past strategy aimed at an appeasement of the Eurosceptics within his own party.
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