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.
Commentaries
The European Union has always advanced through crises, but each crisis has also exposed the ambiguities surrounding one of the Union’s founding principles: solidarity.
Belarus has shifted from a balancing state between East and West to a highly dependent ally of Russia under Aliaksandr Lukashenka’s authoritarian rule. Following the 2020–21 protests and subsequent repression, […]
External publications
The Pact on Migration and Asylum has been presented as a turning point, with its entry into force as the culmination of a lengthy process marked by tensions unlike any […]
External publications
This paper analyses the European Union’s (EU) evolving engagement with the Sahel region, with particular attention to the Alliance of Sahelian States – Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger. Drawing on […]
External publications
The entry into force of the EU’s Pact on Migration and Asylum on 12 June could have been seen as a major turning point in the development of a common […]
Commentaries
On the 14th of June, the Swiss population voted on whether to cap their population to 10 million by 2050 – the latest referendum in the Alpine country of 9.1 […]