EPIN Commentaries


1 - 11 of 11

Romanian politics: Struggling with the grass roots and digging for democracy
29 August 2012
Agnes Nicolescu

Romania was on a good trajectory to meet the European standards in democracy. This process began before the country’s accession to the EU in 2007 and has continued since thanks to the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism (CVM). The recent political turmoil has put in danger this trajectory. 2012 will continue to remain a very difficult year for Romania, economically and politically, especially in light of the referendum’s result invalidating the suspension of the President and the upcoming parliamentary elections due to take place at the end of this year.

From Integration to Competition: Britain, Germany and the EU’s New Group Dynamics
30 April 2012
Roderick Parkes

Sociological research on group dynamics highlights how easily the EU, originally set up to pursue closer integration, might become an arena for competition for ‘dominance’ between its members. This EPIN Commentary looks at the clash between the German and UK governments in December 2011 and again in March 2012, as a case study of this emerging political dynamic between the EU’s core members and the outliers.

Roderick Parkes is Head of the Brussels Office, Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (SWP), the German Institute for International and Security Affairs.

Why the Czechs did not sign up to the fiscal treaty
07 February 2012
David Král

The recent EU summit, which endorsed the treaty on stability, co-ordination and governance in the economic and monetary union, also produced one rather unexpected twist: the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, Petr Nečas, refused to sign up to the treaty.

A European External Action Service of the whole Union? Geographical and gender balance among the heads of EU delegations
28 November 2011
Paul Ivan

The nationals of some member states are overrepresented among the heads of EU delegations, while those from other member states are not represented at all, or are underrepresented. At the same time women still account for less than 20% of all heads of EU delegations. This paper offers a snapshot of the geographical and gender distribution of staff at the level of heads of EU delegations (HoDs).

The author Paul Ivan is a Research Assistant at the Centre for European Policy Studies.

Euroscepticism finds fertile ground in the Dutch Parliament
26 July 2011
Adriaan Schout

Once regarded as a cornerstone of the European project, the Netherlands now figures as one of its severest critics. This commentary by Adriaan Schout argues that one reason for this reversal in position is that the Dutch Parliament has been skirting European problems. He laments that debates about the EU have come too late and been conducted with insufficient depth, leaving the public with feelings of uncertainty, for example about whether their taxes are being wasted on Greece and on an ineffective EU budget. Such uncertainties create a fertile breeding ground for discontent.

No longer a model pupil in European politics? Finland’s EU policy after the general elections
29 April 2011

Juha Jokela , Kaisa Korhonen

Finland’s political landscape changed significantly following its parliamentary elections on April 17th. The landslide victory of the EU- and euro-sceptic True Finns Party brought to an end the hegemony long enjoyed by the three main parties with distinctively pro-European sympathies. This EPIN commentary offers insights into the implications of the Finnish elections for both key domestic policies as well as the country’s European policy.

Lisbon five months on: Surveying the new EU political scene
29 April 2010
Piotr Maciej Kaczyński

The Treaty of Lisbon entered into force five months ago, introducing six major institutional innovations that were supposed to make the Union more efficient, more transparent and increase its legitimacy. Twelve authors from the European Policy Institutes Network consider how the ‘new’ Europe is shaping up and whether it is likely to have any more appeal for European citizens.

Sorting out Finland's complicated attitude towards NATO
11 April 2009
Toby Archer

Ever since the end of the Cold War, and particularly since the demise of the Soviet Union, the question of whether Finland could or should join NATO has always been in the background of the country’s public discourse. Drawing on history, and particularly the history of neutrality, Toby Archer, a researcher at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs, explains how Finland can be positive about the idea of NATO and actively take part in the alliance's missions, and yet still not want to become a member.

Latvia: Extreme political turbulence
09 February 2009

Iveta Kažoka, Dace Akule

This EPIN Commentary by two researchers at the Centre for Public Policy PROVIDUS based in Riga, Latvia, looks for possible explanations and the consequences of the extreme political turbulence that has rocked Latvia in recent months.

What can be expected from the Czech EU Presidency?
12 January 2009
David Král

The Czech Republic assumed the rotating Presidency of the European Union on 1 January 2009, following France and as only the second new EU member state after Slovenia to hold the position. This EPIN Commentary finds that the plans of the Czech Presidency do not lack ambition, for a mid-sized EU member state taking its turn at a rather complicated time for the EU. The Czech government has already re-evaluated its priorities and it now seems ready to focus even more on confronting the major challenges such as the global economic crisis or the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty.

Lisbon Treaty Ratification: Will the Aland Islands become Finland's Greenland?
12 May 2008

Pia Alilonttinen, Savino Ruà

In a curious twist of historical, constitutional and legislative provisions, the future of the Åland Islands, the Finnish archipelago located between Finland and Sweden in the Baltic Sea, may be strongly implicated in the future of the Lisbon Treaty and vice versa.