Since the Treaty of Lisbon, the EU has had an express competence in humanitarian aid. This development entails numerous legal and institutional challenges, which this timely report analyses, while identifying ways to address them.

Russia’s intervention in eastern Ukraine and annexation of Crimea in 2014 sent shock waves through Europe. It also exposed the inadequacies of the EU’s relationship with its most powerful neighbour, Russia.

Numerous bilateral investment treaties (BITs) were signed between the incumbent Member States and the Central and Eastern European Member States prior to the latter becoming full Union members. While motivated at the time, the compatibility of these BITs with the internal market is in question.

This European policy analysis provides an overview of how smuggling has been framed over time in the European Union, and questions what the effects are of criminalising human smuggling for the protection of international migrants. The author finds that policies that effectively aim at reducing human smuggling must consider the push and pull factors for migration.

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.