The Swedish Riksdag is one of the most powerful parliaments in terms of engagement in EU affairs. It could however do better – by prioritising the most important issues and debating them publicly. Katrin Auel is Associate Professor at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Vienna, Austria.
The goal of entering the EU used to unify the Visegrad countries. Today, they are increasingly critical of the EU, especially concerning migration. Behind the unity there are however key differences.
In the discussion about EU’s future, a euro area reform is one of the main priorities. Regarding the scope of the reforms, the position defended by Germany will be crucial, but the EMU members’ differing views of the Economic and Monetary Union also need to be considered.
The Member States should take greater ownership of EU agricultural policy. A co-financing model would also close the funding gap caused by Brexit, writes Professor Alan Matthews.
No society is free from corruption. According to a new study, weak governance structures are also closely related to the considerable socio-economic differences across EU regions.
Italy was selected to join the euro among the first group of EU member states. The country’s experience of the single currency is however mixed, which has led to a sceptical attitude towards the euro reforms proposed.
Since the 1990’s, the number of EU agencies has increased steadily and rapidly. While they have been given more discretionary powers, the mechanisms of control and accountability have not kept up with this development.
Sweden currently benefits from being a euro outsider. This conclusion is drawn by Martin Höpner, a political scientist at the Max Planck Institute in Germany. At the same time, Höpner explains, Sweden should be prepared to explain and defend its choice to keep the krona.
The EU is facing a range of significant long-term challenges with budget implications. In this context, both the EU institutions and the Member States seem intent on focussing more on the concept of European added value. One much debated budget instrument is policy conditionality.
The 2013 reforms of the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) introduced a “greening component” with regard to agricultural practices beneficial for the climate and the environment.