Politics and Institutions


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07 February 2012

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.



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.



Jan is a visiting Marie Curie research fellow from the University of Osnabrueck (INCOOP Programme). A political scientist by training, Jan has worked as a researcher on the establishment of the REACH Regulation at Maastricht University. He has completed traineeships in the Department for International Financial Institutions of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs and one in the Energy Policies Unit of the General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union.

27 January 2012

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.



Participation in CEPS Lunchtime 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.



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



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.

20 December 2011

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.



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.

15 December 2011

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:



Launch of a SIEPS Report. 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.

28 November 2011

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. Exceptionally, 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. 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. A sandwich lunch (€6) will be served before the event, from 12.30 onwards.

27 October 2011

Transparency means proactive action: by adding a provision for a legislative footprint that identifies which interest-representatives key actors met, received, and heard from, Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) have a chance to turn the EP into a role model for parliamentary transparency in a pluralistic democracy.



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.



Miguel (ES + DE, 1984) received his MA degree in 2009. His main research interests are the role of the European Union as an international actor, interregionalism and the promotion of regional integration, the institutional development of the EU and EU inter-institutional affairs. Miguel has worked as student assistant at Freiburg University’s Department of Political Science. As intern at a German research institute focusing on research into developing countries, he contributed to research projects dealing with Latin America.

19 October 2011

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.
 



In 2008 and 2009 CEPS conducted two studies commissioned by the Office of the Committee for the European Integration (UKIE) on policy planning of the preparations for the rotating presidency of the Council performed by Poland in 2011 (July-December).

 



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

 



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.

 

26 September 2011

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.



This Marie Curie Initial Training Network EXACT is an EU wide Ph.D. and professional training programme for 12 young researchers, academics and professionals in the field of EU External Action funded by the European Commission. It provides the opportunity to realise an individual research project leading to a double Ph.D. ("co-tutelle") issued by two universities. It started in October 2010 for a period of three years including local and network-wide activities provided by the partner institutions of the network.



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.



In cooperation with VoteWatch.eu. The event will be held in English and French.



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

26 July 2011

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.

08 July 2011

Despite the formal role laid out for the General Affairs Council (GAC) in the Treaties, it has been weakened since it was extracted from the General Affairs and External Relations Council (GAERC) and set up to function on its own. Its current uneven composition is leading to further marginalisation. The Policy Brief argues that reforming the GAC can bring it to the centre of gravity of the Council proceedings and address a number of problems in the current institutional structure.