European Union

Freedom of expression and peaceful protests are in dangerous decline even in "established democracies" in Europe, according to the 2021 edition of the annual CIVICUS Monitor index published on Wednesday (December 8).

US President Joe Biden and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin held a two-hour teleconference on a secured channel which mostly focused on Ukraine. The very fact that they talked is reassuring. Now as the dust has settled, we will try...

Belarus's President Alexander Lukashenko says that he discusses the Balkans, and in particular Serbia, at most meetings with the Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Spokespersons for Parliament and for political groups will hold a briefing on the 13-16 December plenary session this Friday at 11.00, in Parliament’s Anna Politkovskaya press room.

Source : © European Union, 2021 - EP

Spokespersons for Parliament and for political groups will hold a briefing on the 13-16 December plenary session this Friday at 11.00, in Parliament’s Anna Politkovskaya press room.

Source : © European Union, 2021 - EP

MEPs want to ensure toys sold on the EU market do not pose risks for children.

Source : © European Union, 2021 - EP

MEPs want to ensure toys sold on the EU market do not pose risks for children.

Source : © European Union, 2021 - EP

The European Union has passed the first part of its rulebook on climate friendly investments, which from next year will define which activities can be labelled as green in sectors including transport and buildings.

MEPs want to strengthen current rules and market surveillance to ensure that all toys sold on the EU market, including from non-EU countries and online, are safe.
Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection

Source : © European Union, 2021 - EP

MEPs want to strengthen current rules and market surveillance to ensure that all toys sold on the EU market, including from non-EU countries and online, are safe.
Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection

Source : © European Union, 2021 - EP

The EU executive has tabled a long-waited rulebook for the gig economy at a time when the business model of these companies is leading to contradicting court decisions across the bloc.

The ongoing energy price crisis has exposed the vulnerability of low-income households, many of whom struggle to access financial support, experts said in a roundtable organised last week (2 December) by the Brussels-based Coalition for Energy Savings.

With the European Green Deal, the EU is increasing its climate ambition and aims to lower energy use by 9% below 2020 levels before the end of the decade. In this special report, EURACTIV looks at European Commission plans to ramp up energy savings.

The revised Energy Efficiency Directive (EED) must ensure that EU member states take action in the short term and do not delay their efforts until the end of the decade, says the EU lawmaker responsible for drafting the European Parliament’s position on the draft legislation.

Written by Marcin Grajewski.

The current crisis on the Poland–Belarus border and renewed attempts by migrants to cross the Channel from France to the United Kingdom have put a new spotlight on the dilemma of how the European Union should deal with refugees escaping repression and poverty in countries such as Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria, and some parts of Africa. In Belarus, authorities have allowed migrants to take flights into the country to purposely transfer them to their borders with the neighbouring EU Member States of Latvia, Lithuania and Poland. Meanwhile, London and Paris are discussing ways to clamp down on migrants’ attempts to cross the Channel. The Turkish and Mediterranean migration routes from Africa to Italy and Spain also remain active.

This note gathers links to the recent publications and commentaries from many international think tanks on migration in Europe and on debates on how to reform its rules.

Migration crisis on the EU Eastern border: How the EU can protect borders and human rights
European Council on Foreign Relations, November 2021

No quiet on the eastern front: The migration crisis engineered by Belarus
European Council on Foreign Relations, November 2021

When security in Europe conflicts with democracy in Poland
Brookings Institution, November 2021

Britain and France should stand together
Centre for European Reform, November 2021

Poland’s many problems and how to solve them
Centre for European Reform, November 2021

Lukashenka is the problem, not the migrants
Centre for European Reform, November 2021

Lukashenko uses migrants to exploit Europe’s vulnerability
Carnegie Europe, November 2021

Libya’s migrants and crimes against humanity
Brookings Institution, November 2021

Cities and their networks in EU‑Africa migration policy
Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik, November 2021

The politicization and framing of migration in West Africa: Transition to democracy as a game changer?
Brussels School of Governance, November 2021

Lithuania’s reactions to the escalating migration crisis
Centre for Eastern Studies, November 2021

Support for Lukashenka: Russia’s response to the migration crisis
Centre for Eastern Studies, November 2021

Young people’s priorities on climate migration
Chatham House, November 2021

From debunking to prebunking: How to get ahead of disinformation on migration in the EU
European Foundation for Progressive Studies, November 2021

Migration, borders, and the EU’s capacity to act
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Auswärtige Politik, November 2021

Migration as coercion
Barcelona Centre for International Affairs, November 2021

Philanthropy and migration in Europe: What role for foundations?
Institut français des relations internationales, October 2021

Statelessness is a big problem, so let’s revive ‘Nansen’ passports
Friends of Europe, October 2021

Europe’s new walls
Carnegie Europe, October 2021

Philanthropy and migration in Europe: What role for foundations?
French Institute of International Relations, October 2021

Can the new European Pact on Immigration and Asylum respond to the next migration challenges?
Fondation Robert Schuman, October 2021

Back to Geneva: Reinterpreting Asylum in the EU
Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies, October 2021

Vital yet vulnerable: Europe’s intra-EU migrant caregivers
European Foundation for Progressive Studies, October 2021

Why Europe must end limbo for Afghans seeking asylum
Chatham House, October 2021

Global migration: Working together
Istituto per gli Studi di Politica Internazionale, October 2021

How we talk about migration: The link between migration narratives, policy, and power
Migration Policy Institute, October 2021

Updating the global refugee regime
Carnegie Europe, September 2021

Bringing border cities into the center of migration governance
German Marshall Fund, September 2021

How half-hearted sanctions put the future of Belarus at risk
European Council on Foreign Relations, September 2021

European added value of EU legal migration policy and law
Centre for European Policy Studies, September 2021

The European Commission’s legislative proposals in the New Pact on Migration and Asylum
Centre for European Policy Studies, September 2021

EU sanctions on Belarus as an effective policy tool
Centre for Social and Economic Research, September 2021

Support for Lukashenka: Russia’s response to the migration crisis
Centre for Eastern Studies, September 2021

‘Diversifying’ social investment: European welfare states and immigrant integration
Migration Policy Institute, September 2021

Healing the gap: Building inclusive public-health and migrant integration systems in Europe
Migration Policy Institute, September 2021

Pushed to the limit? Italian and Spanish lessons from the migration crises
International Centre for Defence and Security, September 2021

The legacy of state socialism on attitudes toward immigration
Zentrum für europäische Wirtschaftsforschung, September 2021

A ‘new’ pact on migration and asylum? The European migration policy path-dependency
Europeum, September 2021

Humanitarians’ migration conundrum
Clingendael, August 2021

Dependent on the ‘kindness of strangers’: Britain’s post-Brexit border reality
European Council on Foreign Relations, August 2021

Europe and asylum: From a protection area to a protected area
Jacques Delors Institut, August 2021

Migration: Portraits from a world that is on the move
Chatham House, August 2021

Grand redesigns: Explainer on the EU’s New Pact on Migration and Asylum
Irish Institute of International and European Affairs, August 2021

Structured approach: How the EU can prepare itself for the next wave of migration
European Council on Foreign Relations, July 2021

A new migration crisis may be brewing
Centre for European Reform, July 2021

Future scenarios for global mobility in the shadow of pandemic
Migration Policy Institute, July 2021

‘When Mayors Make Migration Policy’: The future of city diplomacy
European Policy Centre, June 2021

The women, peace and security agenda in EU border management
Österreichische Institut für internationale Politik, June 2021

Read this briefing on ‘Migration: Latest challenges‘ in the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.

Europe is set for a record $100 billion investment in the tech sector by the end of the year, according to a new report.

The EU institutions adopted a recast version of the roaming regulation on Wednesday evening (8 December), extending for ten years the legislation that allows Europeans to use their phones inside the bloc without extra charges.

Solemn undertaking before the Court of Justice of the European Union given by two new Members of the European Court of Auditors

Germany has a new government. Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) and his cabinet comprising members of the coalition with the Greens and FDP were sworn into office on Wednesday. Europe's press is eager to see how the change of leadership in Berlin will impact the EU's course.