European Union

China has passed drastic changes to Hong Kong's electoral system that tighten Beijing's grip on the city, while leaving a facade of democratic structures in place, The Guardian writes. Beijing has amended Hong Kong's Basic Law, or constitution, to almost halve the proportion of directly-elected representatives in the city's legislature, which already had limited powers, and require all candidates to be vetted for political loyalty.

The European Committee of the Regions and the Under2 Coalition - representing 220 governments worldwide committed to keep global temperature rises to well below two degrees - on Tuesday signed a joint 2021-2022 action plan to promote climate action cooperation. One of the key objectives is to ensure that the Covid-19 recovery pushes the climate agenda forward, fostering the participation of regional governments in priority activities aimed at reducing emissions.

The World Health Organization and 25 countries have backed a call for an international treaty on pandemics - first announced by the European Council president Charles Michel. "The next pandemic is not a question of 'if', but 'when'," he said.

Earlier attempts to unite Europe's far-right parties have failed because of domestic rivalries and deeply diverging views on Russia.

The UK says it has an "exclusivity deal" with the British-Swedish pharmaceutical firm. The EU says no other contract overrides its own.

Jean Monnet went from his father's Cognac business, to masterminding the First World War shipping channels, to founding the EU. The bloc could do with some of his business acumen right now.

Behind each product with a EU quality seal penalised by Nutriscore, there are smallholder farmers, producers, agricultural workers and a whole industry hit hard by Covid-19.

The United States led a chorus of concern on Tuesday (30 March) over a WHO-backed report into the origins of the coronavirus in China, with accusations swirling that Beijing failed to give proper access to investigators.

The leaked version of the revised Taxonomy delegated act on climate change mitigation and climate change adaptation is still miles away from the industry’s needs.

The international pandemic treaty currently in the making should serve as a framework for future preparedness against global health threats, said European Council president Charles Michel, who originally came up with the idea.

The second round of European Union-mediated talks between Georgia's ruling party and the opposition failed Wednesday (31 March) to resolve a political impasse sparked by elections last year, an EU mediator said.

Airbnb on Tuesday (30 March) welcomed the agreement reached between European Union (EU) member states to create a common tax reporting framework for digital platforms, which will require sales to be reported to the tax authorities.

Germany will deploy AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine for general use only for over-60-year-olds, the government said Tuesday, imposing restrictions for younger people taking the jab after several severe clotting cases. Under-60s can still decide to take the vaccine but only following...

Difficulties never come alone in the EU. The German Constitutional court’s decision to halt the ratification of the EU’s recovery fund on 26 March is the latest challenge faced by the EU in the battle against the Covid-19 pandemic.

Written by Marcin Grajewski,

© JEGAS RA / Adobe Stock

An increasing number of politicians and analysts argue that the European Union should boost its ‘strategic autonomy’ and/or develop a higher degree of ‘European sovereignty’. These concepts encompass a greater potential for independence, self-reliance and resilience in a wide range of fields – such as defence, trade, industrial policy, digital policy, economic and monetary policy, and health policy – following a series of events in recent years that have exposed Europe’s vulnerability to external shocks.

The debate emerged in the late 2010s, after the French President, Emmanuel Macron, called for a conscious ‘European sovereignty’ and the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, said that Europe would have to take its destiny into its own hands, as it could no longer necessarily rely on the United States to protect it. This latter statement followed President Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the landmark nuclear deal with Iran, in which the EU had invested significant political capital. In parallel, there is growing concern about the implications for Europe of the progressive hardening of positions between the US and China, on both economic and political fronts.

This note offers links to recent commentaries, studies and reports from international think tanks on the European issues related to European strategic autonomy and sovereignty.

The Conference on the Future of Europe: Comparing the Joint Declaration to institutions’ expectations
European Policy Centre, March 2021

Steady as she goes: Key takeaways from the Commission’s new fiscal guidance
European Policy Centre, March 2021

Money talks: EU strategic autonomy requires a strong euro
European Policy Centre, March 2021

Lessons from the battleground: EU strategic autonomy after the ‘vaccine wars’
European Policy Centre, February 2021

Stepping into the driver’s seat: The EU should double down on US-Iran diplomacy
European Policy Centre, February 2021

Fostering Europe’s strategic autonomy – Security and defence policy: Time to deliver
European Policy Centre, October 2020

How Brussels sees the future of Europe after Covid-19
European Policy Centre, September 2020

Differentiated cooperation in European Foreign Policy: The challenge of coherence
European Policy Centre, August 2020

Breaking the law of opposite effects: Europe’s strategic autonomy and the revived transatlantic Partnership
Egmont, March 2021

For a new NATO-EU bargain
Egmont, February 2021

The EU-MENA partnership: Time for a reset
Egmont, February 2021

No peace from corona: Defining EU strategy for the 2020s
Egmont, January 2021

Ten reflections on a sovereignty-first Brexit
Centre for European Reform, December 2020

The EU can’t separate climate policy from foreign policy
Bruegel, March 2021

Strategic autonomy or strategic alliance?
Bruegel, February 2021

The geopolitics of the European Green Deal
Bruegel, February 2021

US separates climate concerns from financial oversight in contrast to EU activism
Bruegel, February 2021

Résilience : La nouvelle boussole
Bruegel, January 2021

Getting America back in the game: A multilateral perspective
Bruegel, January 2021

From self-doubt to self-assurance: The European External Action Service as the indispensable support for a geopolitical EU
Friedrich Ebert Stiftung; Swedish Institute for European Policy Studies; Centre for European Policy Studies, January 2021

From scale to purpose? The EU’s support for start-ups in the global race for tech dominance
Bertelsmann Stiftung, January 2021

European strategic autonomy and third countries: The defence industrial dimension
Globsec, January 2021

Europe and Biden: Towards a new transatlantic pact?
Wilfried Martens Centre, January 2021

The strategic compass charting a new course for the EU’s Security and Defence Policy
Wilfried Martens Centre, December 2020

Deglobalisation in the context of United States-China decoupling
Bruegel, December 2020

Europe is losing competitiveness in global value chains while China surges
Bruegel, November 2020

What if… not? The cost of inaction
European Union Institute for Security Studies, January 2021

Fostering Europe’s strategic autonomy: A question of purpose and action
Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, European Policy Centre, December 2020

Time to go beyond the meta-debate on EU strategic autonomy in defence
Jacques Delors Centre, December 2020

Sovereignty over supply? The EU’s ability to manage critical dependences while engaging with the world
European Union Institute for Security Studies, December 2020

Climate superpowers: How the EU and china can compete and cooperate for a green future
European Council on Foreign Relations, December 2020

A new transatlantic bargain: An action plan for transformation, not restoration
European Council on Foreign Relations, November 2020

Protect, constrain, contest: Approaches for coordinated transatlantic economic and technological competition with China
LSE Ideas, January 2021

Unlocking European defence: In search of the long overdue paradigm shift
Istituto Affari Internazionali, January 2021

The quest for European strategic autonomy: A collective reflection
Istituto Affari Internazionali, January 2021

Space as a key element of Europe’s digital sovereignty
Istituto Affari Internazionali, December 2020

Europe of defence in the new world (dis)order: Choices for Italy
Istituto Affari Internazionali, November 2020

Going transatlantic: The EU’s lean walk towards strategic relevance
Istituto Affari Internazionali, November 2020

Pourquoi l’Europe doit-elle être stratégiquement autonome?
IFRI, December 2020

Are Europe’s leaders ready for a Biden presidency?
Clingendael, November 2020

Rebuilding the transatlantic relationship: Transatlantic policy forum in review
Europeum, November 2020

The EU’s strategic compass and its four baskets: Recommendations to make the most of it
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Auswärtige Politik, November 2020

Read this briefing on ‘The EU strategic autonomy debate‘ in the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.

The European Commission may "have to go further" on introducing more robust rules for Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies that pose a risk to fundamental rights, a letter written by President von der Leyen to MEPs, obtained by EURACTIV, states.

The EU treaties give the European Union certain powers. Learn about the EU’s competences and how it works with its member states.

Source : © European Union, 2021 - EP

The EU treaties give the European Union certain powers. Learn about the EU’s competences and how it works with its member states.

Source : © European Union, 2021 - EP

At the start of the year, Scottish independence looked more likely than ever before. Opinion polls consistently suggested that a majority of Scots would vote for independence should a second referendum be held. The EU, meanwhile, might soon be restored...

Facebook has told Irish lawmakers that proposed new rules in the country to regulate online political advertising should be held off until the European Commission presents its own legislation in the field.