For quite some time now, the EU Member States have tried to mold the EU into a socially more acceptable form. This has largely remained big words and solemn declarations, but the Lisbon Treaty establishes the EU as a social market economy.

The Commission’s Fifth Cohesion Report provides a wealth of new data on social, economic and territorial trends in Europe. This gives an excellent basis for discussing the future of cohesion policy, but the questions asked by the Commission in its consultation are too narrow.

The EU budget should be reviewed 2008 / 09. The author proposes a "Zero Base" approach in which no expenses or income is considered sacred, but are tested as if they were suggested for the first time.

In discussions on priorities in the European Union, a formula often invoked is that of European added value. The present study seeks to shed light on this concept by tracing its intellectual origins, examining its use in three policy areas and suggesting ways of converting it from an all-purpose mantra into an efficient tool for priority-setting and policy choices.

The countries in "the class of 2004" are now full-fledged members of the European Union, with equal rights to participate in the policy process shaping its future. This implies a quality leap in their political status.

Denna studie ifrågasätter tre centrala antaganden som ligger bakom EU: s strukturpolitik och hävdar att de regionala skillnaderna i EU-15 är mycket mindre än de normalt uppges vara, att de strukturpolitiska åtgärderna har en mycket begränsad påverkan på konvergens, och att konvergens har en mycket begränsad inverkan på sammanhållningen. Tre alternativ till den nuvarande politiska ramen förtjänar allvarlig diskussion.