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.
For the past several years, European debate about China in the Arctic has been caught between strategic concern and incomplete evidence. China calls itself a ‘Near-Arctic State’, operates polar research […]
Commentaries
Earlier this year, several European countries announced a deployment to Greenland. Belgium and the Netherlands were among them. The public debate surrounding the transatlantic saga became heated, with questions about […]
When the European Commission adopted in June 2026 the Chips Act 2.0, it proposed a shift in the rules of the game for all actors. Nowhere is this more evident […]
Commentaries
The international system is in crisis: it has entered a period of rapid change, the outcome of which is uncertain. The European Union is not in crisis, but it must […]
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, […]