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
Dear readers, On April 1st, 2020, I took over from Ambassador Johan Verbeke as Director-General of the Egmont Institute. I would first of all like to thank my predecessor who […]
Commentaries
In this commentary, Egmont senior researcher and affiliated senior researcher with the Leuven Institute of Criminology (University of Leuven) Valérie Arnould examines the human rights challenges the Covid-19 crisis poses […]
Commentaries
The coronavirus crisis exposed quite a few shortcomings in how governments deal with crises. Managing the vulnerabilities of dependencies is one of them. This article was first published in Encompass-Europe. […]
Commentaries
Even the most dystopian science fiction novel usually is optimistic in one way: somehow humanity has always managed to create a planetary government. So when the aliens land and, true […]
Commentaries
The corona crisis makes it clear that we need a decisive government. In Belgium this is not obvious, but it is a necessity. This commentary was first published in De […]
Commentaries
The European Commission’s proposal for a ‘Just Transition Mechanism’ has rapidly become a contentious aspect of the European Green Deal. The mechanism supports the EU’s goal of achieving climate neutrality […]