While there are many benefits to free mobility, it may also facilitate cross-border criminality. Human trafficking is today the third biggest international criminal activity and it is also one of the most profitable.

Unauthorized immigration is on the rise again in the EU. This European policy analysis surveys economic aspects of irregular immigration to the EU and draws on important lessons from the U.

The consequences of the Eurozone crisis has spurred increased coordination of member state public finances at European level. This also entails the scrutiny of socio-economic issues within the framework of the European semester.

Contentious changes in the laws of Poland and Hungary have deepened concerns about disregard for the rule of law in the European Union. This analysis suggests that Member States have entrusted the Union with a legal mandate and means to ensure respect for the rule of law, including at national level.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of EU-China diplomatic relations, a relationship that today is one of the world’s most important bilateral partnerships. In this publication, the authors sheds light on this strategic partnership by, among other things, analysing the underlying differences between the two actors in regard to their respective views on sovereignty, power, and foreign policy.

The European Energy Union is a political strategy aimed at ensuring communitarian energy transition, security of supply, a fully integrated European energy market and increased energy efficiency. However, the origin and content of the strategy is simultaneously well rooted in the EU’s external relations.

Managing the problem with gas interruptions to several EU countries in Central and Eastern Europe is one of the explicit goals of the European Energy Union. In order to enhance the diversification of energy suppliers, the Energy Union therefore emphasizes the extension of infrastructure and interconnections of pipelines between member states.

The European Commission has presented the European Energy Union as an indispensable instrument for the creation of a coherent European energy policy. This includes among other things giving the commission a bigger influence over member states’ energy deals with third countries.

In February 2015, the European Commission adopted its strategy for a European energy union. The document calls for “a fundamental transformation of Europe´s energy system” in order to provide all consumers in Europe with “secure, sustainable, competitive and affordable energy”.

The free mobility of EU citizens imply a right to be treated equally with respect to social benefits in the new host country. However, some member states have attempted to restrict the ability of economically non-active persons to make use of these benefits.