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).
Security and defence are high on the EU's agenda for the new political cycle. Katarina Engberg analyses the initiatives within the EU that point towards a total defence as well as the challenges and opportunities this brings.