The CEPS Annual Conference is the main event in the CEPS calendar. It regularly attracts a senior cross-section of the Brussels and European policy circles, including officials from the EU and the member states, Members of the European Parliament, diplomats, academics, and members of the press. Click here to see the programme.

The Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) for the post-2013 period is one of the most sensitive topics presently under discussion in the European Union. Budget negotiations are always complex and divisive for the parties concerned, but an additional factor in the current round is the impact of the euro crisis, which is evident throughout the process. The reactions to the European Commission’s proposal are mixed, with some finding it excessively ambitious and others finding it lacking in reform.

In cooperation with the Austrian Institute for European Law and Policy. Click here to see the programme. To register, please send an email to dialogue@legalpolicy.eu

This report was commissioned by the Swedish Institute for European Policy Studies (SIEPS), with the aim of assessing Poland’s Council Presidency in the second half of 2011. The first part of the study looks at the evolution of Poland’s presence in the European Union since 2004. In the second part, Poland’s preparations for the Presidency are examined in detail, including the set-up of the national coordination mechanisms, the role of the Trio Presidency and programming of the priorities.

This report contains the main findings and recommendations of a major study carried out by CEPS on the European Commission’s external communication activities, tools and structures. The objective of the study was to provide analytical insight and research-based recommendations to the Screening Working Group of the European Commission concerned with the institution’s public communications. The overall questions addressed included:

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.

Participation in CEPS meetings is a benefit of membership. Non-members may be admitted for €50, paid in cash at registration. A sandwich lunch (€6) will be served before the event, from 12.30 onwards.

Ms. Bogdana Depo is a Marie Curie Fellow researching the Eastern Partnership in the framework of her PhD. She is currently being hosted by EIPA (Maastricht) and CEPS (Brussels) during a period of professional training. Ms. Depo has a Master’s Degree in European Interdesciplinary Studies from the College of Europe and from Kyiv National University in International Public Law. In Ukraine, Ms. Depo has worked for the International Centre for Policy Studies.  She is also actively involved in civil society movements in the Eastern Partnership countries and on a European level.

In this Commentary, Piotr Maciej Kaczyński looks at seemingly different recent political developments in Poland and Slovakia, but draws a common lesson: any new party entering the political scene needs some time to consolidate internally before it enters the government. Both the Slovak and the Czech governments have suffered recent instability due to their political backing by newly emerging actors. He warns that Poland should not make the same mistake.
Piotr Maciej Kaczyński is a Research Fellow at CEPS.
 

CEPS wrote a report on the above issues, which drew its findings from an EU-wide questionnaire.

This paper considers the most important changes brought by the Treaty of Lisbon to the functioning of the Court of Justice of the European Union. These changes concern the internal organisation of the institution, the appointment of its members and the extension of its jurisdiction in the areas of freedom, security and justice, foreign and security policy, as well as its new power to protect fundamental rights.
 

The paper is written in French, prefaced by a two-page synopsis in English.

Launch of a CEPS paperback book. Participation in this meeting is free of charge. A sandwich lunch (€6) will be served before the event, from 12.30 onwards.

Participation in CEPS meetings is a benefit of membership. Non-members may be admitted for €50, paid in cash at registration.