Policies of the European Union

This research area covers topics and policies which are considered significant for the development of the EU.

Below you will find a selection of our work in this research area. Find more under Publications and Seminars. (For material in both Swedish and English, go to the Swedish web site).

Restoring the Borderless Schengen Area: Mission Impossible?

The increase in border checks within the Schengen zone, since 2015, has prompted a recent EU strategy to ‘save Schengen’. But according to expert on EU law Steve Peers, the ongoing changes are unlikely to restore a fundamentally border-free travel area. (2024:12epa)

CBAM: Bending the carbon curve or breaking international trade?

The EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) is a cornerstone of the EU’s trade and climate policy. Alexandra Buylova and Naghmeh Nasiritousi present the tool, consider its potential global impacts, and discuss how the EU can minimize unwanted side effects. (2024:9epa)

The European Health Data Space: Challenges and Opportunities

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)

Missing Links: how EU industrial policy can better support resource efficiency

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)

Should They Stay or Should They Go? Frontex’s fundamental rights dilemma

Condemned for complicity in illegal practices, Frontex recently lost its executive director over accusations of misconduct. A dilemma faces his replacement: where fundamental rights are at risk, should the agency stay, and attempt to remedy the situation, or withdraw, to avoid being complicit? (2022:22epa)

Stronger EU Partnerships for Sustainable Supply Chains

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)

Europe’s Social Revival: From Gothenburg to Next Generation EU

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)

Open Strategic Autonomy: New Challenges for the EU’s Common Commercial Policy

The global economy and international trade have changed significantly since the fall of the Berlin wall. In this analysis, Christoph Herrmann (University of Passau) outlines how the EU has responded to the new geo-economic situation. He argues that while pursuing strategic autonomy is reasonable, in doing so the EU risks overstepping the bounds of legality. (2023:9epa)

A New Phase in EU Climate Geopolitics: Steps Forward and Back

For the EU, climate policy is a source of economic growth and modernisation, but also an integral part of its common foreign and security policy; its geopolitics. In this European Policy Analysis, Richard Youngs (University of Warwick) takes stock of the EU’s thinking and action on climate geopolitics, noting the impacts – positive and negative – of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. (2023:8epa)

From self-doubt to self-assurance: The European External Action Service as the indispensable support for a geopolitical EU

The rivalry of today’s world should induce the EU to act as a cohesive force. Yet, EU countries are still struggling to focus on the common interest. The 10th anniversary of the European External Action Service thus constitutes an opportune moment to reconsider its contribution to EU foreign policy. This report on the EEAS is the fruit of a research cooperation to which SIEPS has contributed. (January 2021)