European Union

The bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers investment bank on 15 September 2008 was the biggest bank crash in US history and is widely seen as the catalyst for the ensuing global financial crisis. Commentators explain why ten years after the stock-market chaos the financial sector is still vulnerable.

The protest against the planned pension reform in Russia shows no sign of abating. Thousands of people demonstrated in several cities on the weekend despite a ban. The jailed Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny had called for marches to be held on Saturday, when regional elections were set to take place. Is a storm brewing in Russia?

The industry’s proposal on alcohol labelling has some legal issues and does not satisfy the need to fully inform EU consumers, a European Commission spokesperson told EURACTIV.com,  raising fresh doubt as to how and when labelling will eventually be regulated.

Before Jean-Claude Juncker's final State of the Union address to this European Parliament on Wednesday (12 September), EURACTIV takes a look at his first speech from 2015 to see how the Commission president has done over the last three years.

Russia launches the largest military manoeuvers in its history on Wednesday (12 September), with the participation of nearly 300,000 military from all kinds of armed forces plus Chinese soldiers, disregarding NATO's criticism that it is a rehearsal for a "large-scale conflict."

On Wednesday morning (12 September), Jean-Claude Juncker will deliver his final State of the Union address to this European Parliament. Stay tuned for EURACTIV's coverage before, during and after the speech.

IR
SOPO
Dismissal of a Catholic doctor from a managerial position by a Catholic hospital due to his remarriage after a divorce may constitute unlawful discrimination on grounds of religion

Austrian leader Sebastian Kurz has said his party's MEPs will vote in favour of sanctions against Hungary in the European Parliament on Wednesday.

Greece's biggest migrant camp faces closure next month unless authorities clean up "uncontrollable amounts of waste", the regional governor said, citing public health risks.

Written by Marcin Grajewski,

©European Union

The President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, will deliver his last State of the Union address to the European Parliament on Wednesday 12 September, a little more than eight months before the next European elections. In this annual speech in Strasbourg, President Juncker is expected to take stock of the state of play on his ten priorities for the 2014-2019 political cycle and present his remaining initiatives on building a ‘more united, stronger and more democratic Union’. Juncker’s 2017 address was marked by cautious optimism: since then, whilst the European economy has continued to recover, several other challenges have proved persistent.

This note offers a selection of links to commentaries, studies and reports from major international think tanks on the state of the EU and possible reforms. Brexit-related publications can be found in a previous edition of ‘What Think Tanks are thinking’ from July 2018. Papers on migration are available in an earlier edition in this series, published in June. Those on euro-zone reform appear in a previous publication in June.

The EU needs to rethink its approach to liberal order
Carnegie Europe, August 2018

Does Europe have an alternative to populism?
Carnegie Europe, August 2018

La Cour de Justice de l’UE et la Pologne: Premiers frémissements
Institut Jacques Delors, August 2018

Flexibility is not the miracle solution
Carnegie Europe, August 2018

Competing visions of Europe are threatening to tear the Union apart
Chatham House, August 2018

The nightmare of the dark: The security fears that keep European awake at night
European Council on Foreign Relations, July 2018

PESCO: Un pas vers l’autonomie stratégique
Confrontations Europe, July 2018

In the face of the European Union’s political crisis: The vital cultural struggle over values
Fondation Robert Schuman, July 2018

Europe’s surprising economic success story
Centre for European Policy Studies, July 2018

European young leaders
Friends of Europe, July 2018

EU income inequality decline: Views from an income shares perspective
Bruegel, July 2018

Au gré des ‘vents mauvais’
Institut Jacques Delors, July 2018

L’urgence d’une réforme de la fiscalité en Europe
Confrontations Europe, July 2018

In Europe, the split between open and closed has not replaced traditional politics
Chatham House, June 2018

Mieux vaudrait laisser les gouvernements libres de tenter les politiques de leur choix
Bruegel, June 2018

Système à plusieurs niveaux de l’UE : Renforcer les voix parlementaires
Institut Jacques Delors, June 2018

Is Europe’s problem illiberal majoritarianism or creeping authoritarianism?
Carnegie Europe, June 2018 

Merkel et la réforme de l’UE: Décryptage
Institut Jacques Delors, June 2018

EU Budget: Why the new budget plan should urgently provide European added value
Bertelsmann Stiftung, May 2018

Between Rome and Sibiu: A trajectory for the new European narrative
Egmont, May 2018

A new direction for the EU: Comparing its deficits to concrete progressive proposals
Foundation for European Progressive Studies, April 2018

Can Europe save the world order?
European Council on Foreign Relations, May 2018

Separation anxiety: European influence at the UN after Brexit
European Council on Foreign Relations, May 2018

What European “power”?
Fondation Robert Schuman, May 2018

Emmanuel Macron, France and Europe “France is back in Europe”: on which terms?
Fondation Robert Schuman, May 2018

Europe needs a broader discussion of its future
Bruegel, May 2018 

Populism report
Policy Solutions, Foundation for European Progressive Studies, May 2018 

Europe’s populist challenge: Origins, supporters, and responses
Center for American Progress, American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, May 2018 

The EU must realize that populism is a symptom of real policy failure
Chatham House, May 2018 

The other democratic deficit
Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, April 2018

The EU remains unprepared for the next migration crisis
Carnegie Europe, April 2018

Un moment européen
Fondation Robert Schuman, April 2018

The future of the United States and Europe: An irreplaceable partnership
Chatham House, April 2018

The cost of non-Europe, revisited
Centre d’études prospectives et d’informations internationales, April 2018

Models of integration in Europe
Fondation Robert Schuman, April 2018

Involving millennials in politics
Foundation for European Progressive Studies, April 2018

Reprendre le contrôle de la mondialisation: L’intégration européenne comme instrument de souveraineté
Fondation Robert Schuman, April 2018

The rocky road ahead for the Franco-German reform drive
Open Europe, April 2018

The middle class in focus: Priorities for the 2019 elections and beyond
Wilfried Martens Centre, March 2018

EU member states and Russia: National and European debates in an evolving international environment
Finnish Institute of International Relations, March 2018

L’Europe face au défi de l’identité: qui sommes ‘nous’?
Fondation Robert Schuman, March 2018

More initiative for Europe’s citizens
Bertelsmann Stiftung, March 2018

For a regional solidarity policy after 2020
Institut Jacques Delors, March 2018

Is there an escape from ‘Ever Closer Union’?
Egmont, February 2018

Crisis and cohesion in the EU: A ten-year review
European Council on Foreign Relations, February 2018

How to govern Europe better: Reflections on reform of the European Parliament, Commission and Council
European Policy Centre, February 2018

Reforming the European Parliament
Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik, February 2018

Reforming the European Union: A political and democratic imperative
Fondation Robert Schuman, February 2018

The brown chameleon: Europe’s populism crisis and the re-emergence of the far right
Observer Research Foundation, February 2018 

Europe is back: Economic, financial, social and technological trends in a changing world
European Political Strategy Centre, January 2018 

A more democratic European Union: Propositions and scope for political action
Institut Jacques Delors, January 2018 

Globalization and European integration: Threat or opportunity? Perception, knowledge and policy preferences of European citizens
Bertelsmann Stiftung, January 2018

Inequality in Europe
Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, January 2018

 

Download the PDF version of this briefing on ‘The State of the Union‘.

A deal is "not far" away and some 80 percent of the withdrawal agreement has been agreed, EU Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier said at the Bled Strategic Forum conference in Slovenia on Monday. He acknowledged that difficult issues such as the border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland are not solved but called it "realistic" to expect a deal in six to eight weeks.

Moderate leader Ulf Kristersson moved Monday one step further away from forming a new Swedish government, after correction of a human error in vote counting shifted one seat from the Centre party to the Sweden Democrats. It leaves the centre-left, led by PM Stefan Lofven with 144 seats against Kristersson's 142 seats. The error occurred when votes from a local election were reported by mistake as votes for the Riksdag.