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.
External publications
Transitions are usually presented as a movement between orders: from fossil fuels to renewable energy, analogue to digital technologies, unipolarity to geopolitical competition, or authoritarianism to democracy. In conflict-affected societies, […]
Books
Laveren tussen samenwerking en soevereiniteit Europa is intrigerend en alomtegenwoordig: in de politieke besluitvorming, onze economie, als culturele onderstroom en als richtingwijzer voor wat het betekent burger te zijn. Maar […]
In 2025 the American president signed an executive order on ‘Most Favoured Nation’ prices (MFN), asserting that Americans ‘should not be forced to subsidize low-cost prescription drugs and biologics in […]
Commentaries
The EU is part of the Arctic, and the Arctic is part of the EU – a reality already recognised in its 2021 Arctic Policy. This is not a dogmatic […]
External publications
The European Green Deal was launched in December 2019, touted by new President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen as the EU’s “man on the moon moment” for […]
The European Council has planned to hold a strategic debate on migration at its meeting on 16 October 2026. One might, of course, view this strategic debate as reflecting the […]