Commentaries
A Pact: So What?
In the early hours of 20 December, after a marathon of several days, negotiators from the Council, represented by the Spanish Presidency, and the European Parliament, supported by the Commission, […]
European Affairs
Located in Brussels at the heart of EU political decision-making, the European Affairs Programme provides in-depth as well as policy-oriented analyses on a wide range of themes of relevance to EU and Belgian policy makers. Topics that are – or ought to be – central to the EU policy debate are given special attention. Aside from a constant focus on institutional matters, various substantive EU policies dominate the Programme’s research agenda, such as the Green Deal, the digital agenda, the consolidation of an inclusive social model, the protection of people and the defence of rights, and the promotion of Europe’s interests in the world.
The Programme also deals extensively and in a forward-looking way with the impact of the multiple crises the EU has had to address over the last decade. They all had an impact on its policies, its decision-making processes, and more generally its architecture, which is proof of the resilience of the European project.
With the aim of reaching the broadest audience possible, the European Affairs Programme seeks to share its expertise and stimulate the debate through a variety of publications as well as by organizing round tables, expert-seminars, and conferences.
Publications
Looking towards the North: Belgium’s Role in the Arctic
The Arctic region has re-emerged as an area of geostrategic importance and is attracting increasing attention from Belgium. Accelerating climate change has altered living conditions in the region. The prospect […]
Commentaries
Time and again, Europe experiences how China uses its Economic Power for Geopolitical Purposes
In Dubai, Europe proudly presented itself as the leading ambassador of the climate. Its objectives are globally among the most decisive and ambitious. Europe’s performance at the COP28, however, conceals […]
Charting a Green and Competitive Future for Europe
The Egmont Royal Institute for International Relations, with support of the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and in collaboration with the Representation of the European Commission in Belgium, has organised […]
Gulliver Unchained? Europe’s Changing Relations with Oil and Gas Producers
The European Commission once compared the EU, an economic giant dependent on multiple energy suppliers, to “Gulliver in chains.” One of the great promises of the European Green Deal, aside […]
Commentaries
Deep Pitfalls line the EU’s Path to the Geopolitical Top Table
The EU is facing a problem that is familiar to business leaders and corporate chieftains around the world: how to expand without exploding. Overreach threatens the EU too. *****