Friedrich Merz’s high ambitions on spending and speed have already clashed with harsh realities. Political Scientist Valentin Kreilinger (SIEPS) sheds light on the difficult tasks facing the soon-to-be German Chancellor when balancing election promises with responsibilities towards Germany and Europe.
In the shadow of recent moves to impose trade tariffs, US President Donald Trump has attacked EU digital market regulations. Johannes Jarlebring, senior researcher at SIEPS, identifies three possible ways for the EU to take action in response.
As researchers in the United States face budget cuts and political interference with their work, European universities see opportunities to attract more talent to Europe. Bernd Parusel, senior researcher in political science at SIEPS, and Lisa Lundgren, intern at SIEPS, ask what the EU could do to support such initiatives.
The decision-making bodies of the EU are negotiating a revised EU-framework to prevent and counter the facilitation of unauthorised entry, transit and stay – a phenomenon commonly called smuggling of migrants. In this analysis, Gabriella Sanchez (Georgetown University) takes a critical look at the planned legislation.
How will the EU’s decision-making processes be affected if the number of member states grows significantly? This issue has been discussed since enlargement once again became a priority for the EU. In this analysis, Piret Ehin (University of Tartu) assesses the effects of three enlargement scenarios on the balance of power in the Council.
EU speeches and policy documents feature many political concepts, both recurrent and new ones. What do these concepts imply – and what is it that EU leaders and institutions want to achieve by using them? SIEPS has asked leading experts to take a critical look.
A long trend of increasing gender balance in the European Parliament was broken with the 2024 election results. Johanna Kantola, Professor at the University of Helsinki, analyses the state of gender equality in the European Parliament.
The stakes are high when Germany holds snap elections on 23 February 2025. For the EU, both domestic and European policies in the most populous country in the Union are of great importance. Valentin Kreilinger (SIEPS) analyses what the parties' positions, the possible coalitions and the upcoming policy decisions mean for Europe.
EU enlargement will have consequences for where foreign investment is made. Colin Wren (Newcastle University) examines past enlargements and draws conclusions about future ones: which countries will be most attractive to invest in as the EU grows?
EU leaders have asserted that enlargement is an investment ‘in peace, security, stability and prosperity’. However, for such an investment to pay off, the promise of EU membership must be credible, writes Christophe Hillion (Professor, University of Oslo and College of Europe).