The European elections in June 2024 mark the starting point for a new cycle in EU politics. In this European Policy Analysis, political scientist Valentin Kreilinger (SIEPS) explores the renewal of key institutions and the formation of a new EU leadership for the next five years, a period that looks set to be marked by economic challenges, enlargement and internal reforms. (2024:6epa)

How can the EU better support the ‘greening’ of supply chains? One way, writes Mats Engström, is by building stronger partnerships with the low- and middle-income countries where the factories, farms, and green raw materials are often located. (2024:5epa)

A proposal to regulate the use of health data in the EU – to create a ‘European Health Data Space’ – is currently being negotiated. David Fåhraeus, Jane Reichel and Santa Slokenberga explain the proposal and consider the implications for those affected: patients, medical practitioners, private firms and public administrations. (2024:2epa)

EU Member States have legal obligations towards people seeking protection. These stem from having joined the EU and the Council of Europe as well as having signed and ratified international human rights conventions. In this report, Professor of Law Elspeth Guild and Lecturer in Law Maja Grundler set out the minimum standards of international protection applicable to EU members. (2024:1)

The 2022 energy crisis triggered a raft of market reforms. Professor Leigh Hancher (Tilburg University) outlines these changes and assesses whether they deliver on the EU’s three long-standing aims: sustainability, affordability, and security of supply. (2024:1epa)

A more circular economy and improved resource efficiency can bring significant benefits to the environment and to the economy. However, it can be argued that EU industrial policy has so far focused more on the transition to low-carbon production than on greening the demand side or increasing recycling rates. In this Perspective, SIEPS senior advisor Mats Engström suggests what a better policy mix might look like. (December 2023)

EU decision-making requires that member states cooperate. In this European Policy Analysis, four political scientists at the University of Gothenburg analyse the patterns for cooperative relations between the member states in the Council of the EU. The authors also test different explanations for why some pairs of states form closer relations. (2023:15 epa)

At the Gothenburg summit in 2017, EU leaders agreed on a set of principles to strengthen citizens' social rights and reduce inequalities within the Union. In this analysis, political scientists David Bokhorst and Sven Schreurs consider EU social and economic policymaking since the summit. They find that there has been a substantive change and reflect on whether it is likely to endure. (2023:14epa)

On 15 October, Poland will decide: four more years of strained relations with Brussels, or a government which will seek rapprochement? With just over a week to go, Natasza Styczyńska (Jagiellonian University) describes the state of play, how Poland got here, and where it might be heading. (2023:13epa)

European leaders are increasingly seen moving from airplanes to the negotiation table and on to photo opportunities. Summits have become commonplace. Could the increasing frequency of high-level political meetings be a symptom and a cause of power shifts? Daniel Tarschys considers and sets out some questions about contemporary statecraft. (2023:12epa)