European Union

MEPs in charge of controlling EU spending on Thursday (7 May) said Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš should stay out of negotiations towards the bloc's future budget until a probe into a possible conflict of interest was resolved.

Hydrogen will be a “central element” in the Energy System Integration Strategy that the European Commission will present in June, the EU’s energy chief kadri Simson has said. During an online debate on Tuesday (5 May), Simson flagged the upcoming...

The political attacks against the Hungarian Government's response to the coronavirus work against a strong and unified Europe, argues Judit Varga.

In the context of the Covid-19 crisis, the truck transport industry that ensures the security of supplies and food on our tables deserves praise, and an honest and transparent discussion, away from protectionist stereotypes, writes Petar Vitanov.

Written by Marcin Grajewski,

© luxpainter / Adobe Stock

A number of European countries have now started, or will soon start, relaxing the lock-downs put in place to slow the spread of the lethal coronavirus. The goal is to begin the process of reviving their economies, which have been hit very hard by the crisis, without prompting a further upsurge in the pandemic. While still assessing the immediate impacts of the crisis and actively examining various ‘exit strategies’, analysts are also shifting their focus towards identifying the medium- and long-term legacy of the crisis, the likely shape of the ‘world after coronavirus’, and the best policies for the future.

This note offers links to recent commentaries and reports from international think tanks on coronavirus and related issues. Earlier publications on the topic can be found in the previous edition in this series, published by EPRS on 28 April.

Salvaging globalisation
European Council on Foreign Relations, May 2020

IMF needs new thinking to deal with coronavirus
Chatham House, May 2020

Coronavirus has shown us a world without traffic. Can we sustain it?
Brookings Institution, May 2020

Inequality and repression undermine democracy and market economy worldwide
Bertelsmann Stiftung, April 2020

Covid-19 provides China a historic chance to tilt the world in its favor, but it may not last long
Atlantic Council, May 2020

The health and economic impacts of Covid-19 interventions
Rand Corporation, May 2020

Le déconfinement: Quelques enjeux
Institut français des Relations internationales, April 2020

Where in the world is the EU now?
Carnegie Europe, April 2020

Saving European defense from the coronavirus pandemic
Carnegie Europe, April 2020

Facts, not words: The EU role in the de-confinement phase
Bruegel, April 2020

Europe’s hidden weapon in combatting Covid-19: The Single Market
European Policy Centre, April 2020

Racing against Covid-19: A vaccines strategy for Europe
Bruegel, April 2020

Can protest movements in the MENA region turn Covid-19 into an opportunity for change?
Chatham House, April 2020

Covid-19: Le monde d’après est déjà là…
Institut français des Relations internationales, April 2020

Building a post-pandemic world will not be easy
Bruegel, April 2020

Covid-19 bends the rules on internal border controls: Yet another crisis undermining the Schengen acquis?
Finnish Institute for International Affairs, April 2020

The Coronavirus pandemic is a defining moment for the EU and its relations with China
German Marshall Fund, April 2020

The Hong Kong way to combat Covid-19: ‘Take things in our own hands’
Heinrich Böll Stiftung, April 2020

Le Covid-19 dans la relation Europe-Chine
Institut français des Relations internationales, April 2020

The national debt dilemma
Council on Foreign Relations, April 2020

How is the Coronavirus pandemic changing thinking on security?
German Marshall Fund, April 2020

Latin America’s Covid-19 moment: Differences and solidarity
Chatham House, April 2020

La défense française face au Covid-19 : Quels défis par-delà l’horizon?
Institut français des Relations internationales, April 2020

Les crises du Covid-19 en Afrique australe : Inquiétudes et premières conséquences
Institut français des Relations internationales, April 2020

What world post-Covid-19? Three scenarios
Atlantic Council, April 2020

The impact of Covid-19 on emerging markets
Bruegel, April 2020

Assessing the early response to Beijing’s pandemic diplomacy
Council on Foreign Relations, April 2020

How testing can provide a way out of coronavirus shutdowns
Atlantic Council, April 2020

Society max: How Europe can help Syrians survive Assad and coronavirus
European Council on Foreign Relations, April 2020

Showing true illiberal colours: Rule of law vs Orbán’s pandemic politics
Centre for European Policy Studies, April 2020

A Covid-19 moment for technological sovereignty in Europe?
Istituto Affari Internazionali, April 2020

Covid-19: N’enterrons pas trop vite l’Occident !
Institut Montaigne, April 2020

La Russie face à un triple défi : réforme constitutionnelle, chute du prix du pétrole et Covid-19
Institut français des Relations internationales, April 2020

A global agreement on medical equipment and supplies to fight Covid-19
European Centre for International Political Economy, April 2020

Covid-19 and Europe-China relations
Clingendael, April 2020

The revived centrality of the G20
Bruegel, April 2020

COVID-19 is causing the collapse of oil markets: When will they recover?
Bruegel, April 2020

The economic impact of Covid-19 on the EU: From the frying pan into the fire
European Policy Centre, April 2020

Governing in times of social distancing: The effects of Covid-19 on EU decision-making
European Policy Centre, April 2020

EU trade in medical goods: Why self-sufficiency is the wrong approach
Bruegel, April 2020

How is EU cooperation on the Covid-19 crisis perceived in member states?
Centre for European Policy Studies, April 2020

We can afford more stimulus
Brookings Institution, April 2020

Coronavirus and farmworkers: Is the food supply at risk?
Council on Foreign Relations, April 2020

Bankruptcy and the coronavirus
Brookings Institution, April 2020

India: Fighting Coronavirus in an informal economy
Council on Foreign Relations, April 2020

Will the Coronavirus endanger foreign aid?
Council on Foreign Relations, April 2020

Coronavirus has exposed the United States’ own political virus
Atlantic Council, April 2020

Putin’s societal distancing: Prioritizing power in the corona pandemic
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Auswärtige Politik, April 2020.

Read this briefing on ‘Coronavirus: From lock-down to de-confinement, and beyond‘ in the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.

Read all EPRS publications on the coronavirus outbreak

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and nine Central and Eastern European foreign ministers took a swipe at Russia on Thursday (7 May), denouncing what they described as "a regrettable effort to falsify history".

Lawmakers in the European Parliament's Civil Liberties committee have signalled their disapproval at the UK's participation in a fingerprint data exchange scheme with EU member states after the country's decision to withdraw from the bloc.

Since the attempted coup in Turkey in summer 2016, the number of asylum applications submitted by Turkish citizens in Germany has increased significantly. In 2019, Turkish asylum seekers were the third-most-registered group, after Syrians and Iraqis, according to the country's agency for migration and refugees (BAMF). EURACTIV Germany reports.

In today's edition of the Capitals, find out more about Croatia's now-former defence minister resigning hours after saying a plane crash that killed two Air Force members was part of a regular training flight, France's deconfinement plan, and so much more.

The European Commission on Thursday (7 May) proposed scrapping the usual conditions for countries using the eurozone’s bailout fund as they try to revive their economies hit by the coronavirus epidemic. The proposal may make the fund more palatable for...

European Central Bank chief Christine Lagarde has responded to a recent German court ruling that challenged the bank's authority by saying the ECB is an independent institution, accountable to the European Parliament, that will continue to do whatever it takes to deliver its mandate.

Curfews have paralysed traffic as the COVID-19 pandemic hit many cities, which have started to use this opportunity to promote the bicycle revolution and ban cars from their inner cities. EURACTIV Germany takes a look at Paris, Brussels and Berlin.

The EU on Thursday (7 May) defended agreeing to let Beijing censor an article by European ambassadors published in Chinese media to remove a reference to the coronavirus originating in China.

As authorities across Europe prepare for a stepwise lift of coronavirus lockdown measures, they are facing a make-or-break moment for urban mobility. Yoann Le Petit details four proven strategies that should keep cities free of pollution as normality starts to return.

For the first time since 2003, the US-based NGO Freedom House hadn't ranked Serbia among "semi-consolidated democracies" in its report. Instead, the NGO put Serbia in the "hybrid regimes" category based on authoritarianism as a result of incomplete democratic change.

The United Kingdom is preparing to walk away from trade talks with the EU and blame the impasse on the coronavirus pandemic, EU Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan said on Thursday (7 May)

Since the beginning of the week,  cafes and restaurants with open-air spaces, as well as beaches have opened in Hungary outside of Budapest, where strict restrictions continue to apply. This has prompted many Hungarians with summer homes outside the capital to consider leaving the city for the countryside.

For the newly established European Public Prosecutor's Office to be a real game-changer, it must have sufficient financial resources and enough full-time European delegated prosecutors to conduct independent investigations in the member states, chief prosecutor Laura Codruța Kövesi said in her first exclusive interview in the new position.

German court ruling gives ECB a fright, global leaders pull together with all of their might, and in some places it seems a lockdown end is in sight.

From Sunday (10 May), Belgian citizens will be allowed to receive up to four other people at home, always the same ones. Upon announcing the new relaxed measure, experts and politicians said the government is counting on people’s common sense...