European Parliamentary Research Service Blog
Policy Cycle
Global Trendometer: Essays on medium- and long-term global trends – Summer 2017
Europe faces both challenges and opportunities: some readily apparent – others still hidden. Foresight is needed; a habit of lifting the view from everyday concerns, to take a look at what else is coming over the horizon. Continue reading
‘Radar’ tool helps EU policy-makers plan for the future
Written by Risto Nieminen, Things change. In the European political environment and in the world in general, society has lately changed faster than ever before. Volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity (VUCA) have increased considerably. Today’s challenges are increasingly fast-moving, interconnected, and complex. Policy-makers nevertheless need solid information on which to base legislation. A systematic approach … Continue reading
Outcome of European Council meeting of 22-23 June 2017
Written by Ralf Drachenberg and Suzana Anghel, The main results of the European Council meeting of 22-23 June 2017 include the ‘historic step’ of agreeing to set up ‘permanent structured cooperation’ in European defence, the commitment to implement the Paris Agreement on climate change in all its aspects, and the extension of sanctions against Russia. … Continue reading
Outlook for the European Council meeting on 22-23 June 2017 and the European Council (Article 50) meeting on 22 June 2017
Written by Susanna Tenhunen and Suzana Anghel, At their meeting on 22-23 June 2017, EU leaders will focus on internal security, including, most probably, the fight against terrorism, as well as external security, when they will assess progress made in European defence cooperation. They will also review progress on deepening and modernising the Single Market, … Continue reading
EU abolishes mobile roaming charges
Written by Cornelia Klugman. As of 15 June 2017, all European Union (EU) residents can use their mobile phones throughout the EU without additional charges. Consumers saved €9.6 billion between 2009 and 2013 thanks to lower roaming charges. A genuine digital single market would bring additional growth of €415 billion per year. Almost all EU … Continue reading
Outcome of the special European Council (Article 50) meeting of 29 April 2017
Written by Ralf Drachenberg, At their first formal meeting as the European Council of the EU-27 on 29 April 2017, EU leaders took a united stance on the main priorities of the EU-27 for the Article 50 negotiations, namely to guarantee EU and UK citizens’ rights, settle the UK’s financial obligations to the EU, and … Continue reading
Outcome of European Council meeting of 9 March 2017 and of informal meeting of the EU27 of 10 March 2017
Written by Suzana Anghel and Ralf Drachenberg, After re-electing Donald Tusk as its President, the European Council meeting of 9 March 2017 discussed the economic situation in Europe, progress on measures regarding migration, internal and external security, and external relations. In his first speech to the European Council, the recently- elected President of the European … Continue reading
Outlook for the 9 March 2017 European Council, and the Informal meeting of the 27 Heads of State or Government on 10 March 2017
Written by Susanna Tenhunen and Ralf Drachenberg, At their 9-10 March 2017 meeting, EU leaders will focus on the economic situation in Europe, including the economic and social priorities of the 2017 European Semester, trade policy and delivery of the different single market strategies. The European Council will also discuss migration, security and defence, and … Continue reading
Sovereign debt restructuring: Main drivers and mechanism
Written by Risto Nieminen with Mattia Osvaldo Picarelli, This briefing provides an overview of the main issues relating to the restructuring of sovereign debt, and outlines the factors which impact the decision as to whether or not to proceed with debt restructuring. Restructuring is a complex issue – it involves positive and negative aspects, which … Continue reading
Outcome of the informal European Council and informal meeting of 27 Heads of State or Government on 3 February 2017
Written by Ralf Drachenberg, The Maltese capital, Valletta, hosted an informal European Council meeting, as well as an informal meeting of EU-27 leaders on 3 February 2017. The first meeting concentrated on migration on the Central Mediterranean route, while the second looked at the future of the EU and preparations for the approaching 60th anniversary … Continue reading
Outlook for the informal European Council and informal meeting of 27 Heads of State or Government on 3 February 2017
Written by Ralf Drachenberg, The informal summit taking place on 3 February 2017 in Valletta, Malta, will take place in two parts: an informal European Council meeting in which all EU Member States will participate, followed by an informal meeting of the 27 Heads of State or Government without the UK. The informal European Council … Continue reading
The Juncker Commission’s ten priorities: State of play at the start of 2017
Written by Étienne Bassot and Wolfgang Hiller, More than two years since Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker took office on 1 November 2014, having presented the ten priority areas that would serve as his Commission’s guiding lines for the following five years, the European Commission is now approaching the midway point of its mandate. Building on the … Continue reading
What if computers were trillions of times faster? [Science and Technology Podcast]
Written by Lieve Van Woensel with James Tarlton, Could the theory of quantum mechanics one day revolutionise commonplace technical devices such as sensors, communication devices and computers? Quantum mechanics is a scientific theory that has revolutionised our understanding of the Universe. In the world of classical physics, a system is always in one particular state … Continue reading
What can European farming expect from new technologies?
Written by Lieve Van Woensel with James Tarlton, How will information technology revolutionise agriculture in the 21st century? That is the question investigated by a recently published study on ‘Precision Agriculture and the Future of Farming in Europe’, which was commissioned by the European Parliament’s Science and Technology Options Assessment (STOA) Panel. The lead panel … Continue reading
Outcome of the European Council of 15 December 2016
Written by Ralf Drachenberg and Suzana Anghel, As flagged up in the EPRS Outlook for the European Council on 15 December 2016, this European Council meeting concentrated on migration and internal and external security, as well as economic and social development. As events unfolded, EU leaders discussed external relations at greater length, in particular Syria, and … Continue reading
Outlook for the 15 December 2016 European Council
Written by Ralf Drachenberg and Susanna Tenhunen, At their 15 December 2016 European Council meeting, EU Leaders will mainly discuss migration, and internal and external security, as well as economic and social development. Particular attention will be paid to assessing the implementation of previous European Council conclusions. For the first time, the European Council will … Continue reading
What if electric cars became an affordable and convenient way to travel? [Science and Technology Podcast]
Written by Christian Kurrer with James Tarlton, Are electric cars on the verge of becoming the norm, should we encourage this transition, and what would be the consequences for the environment, the automobile industry and our electricity grid? Over the past century, cars have become an integral part of our society. They generally offer greater … Continue reading
Ratification of international agreements by EU Member States
Written by Kristina Grosek and Giulio Sabbati, International agreements play a crucial role in defining international relations, and are a source of conventional international law. The Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties defines a treaty as ‘an international agreement concluded between States in written form and governed by international law, whether embodied in a … Continue reading
The European Council and EU efforts to strengthen the partnership with the United Nations on crisis management
Written by Suzana Elena Anghel, In June 2016, the European Council ‘welcomed’ the presentation of the Global Strategy for the European Union. One element in the strategy is the recognition of the United Nations’ central role in maintaining international stability, and a call for an integrated EU approach to conflicts and crises. It is thus … Continue reading
Judicial rules and cooperation in family matters (recast of Brussels IIa Regulation)
Written by Hubert Dalli, This note seeks to provide an initial analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the European Commission’s Impact Assessment (IA) accompanying the above Commission proposal (the proposal), submitted on 30 June 2016 and referred to Parliament’s Committee on Legal Affairs. The proposal is a recast of the Brussels IIa Regulation (the … Continue reading
