In September 2023, Lampedusa, a small Italian island, faced an unprecedented surge in arrivals, sparking a heated debate within the EU. With conflicting perspectives from leaders like Ursula Von der Leyen, the focus has shifted from humanitarian aid to security concerns. This blog written by Nicolas Rouillard explores the complexities of the crisis, the divergent opinions, and the critical decisions ahead that could reshape Europe's approach to migration.

On 20 November 2023, the Centre for Transport and Energy, in cooperation with EUROPEUM Institute for European Policy, organised a conference entitled Czech Republic 2030: how to support green transformation and not throw money out the window? The conference was opened with an introduction by Josef Schwarz from the Representation of the European Commission in the Czech Republic.

On the 7th November, EUROPEUM Institute for European Policy under Think Visegrad platform organized an expert meeting focusing on current developments regarding the reconstruction of Ukraine, both on the side of the EU through its ambitious Ukraine Facility and through the lenses of international support for Ukraine's recovery and reconstruction.

With the opening of accession talks with Ukraine and Moldova, the debate in the European Union on the transition from unanimity to qualified majority voting in some areas has been reignited. Although this is not a new debate, it is worth looking at the current situation, describing the problems caused by unanimity and proposing concrete solutions. For more, see Vit Havelka's commentary.

On October 25th, EUROPEUM’s Brussels Office under the representation of Think Visegrad Brussels and in cooperation with Fondation Robert Schuman organized an expert discussion titled “Impact of the Russian War in Ukraine on European Security Architecture and EU’s Eastern Neighborhood”. This discussion, which was held under the Chatham House rules, gathered 19 experts from think-tanks, EU institutions, NATO and diplomats from EU Member states.

On October 24, EUROPEUM’s Brussels Office under the representation of Think Visegrad Brussels and in cooperation with OSW organized an expert discussion titled “EVs, subsidies and the future of CEE Industry”. This discussion gathered 16 experts from think-tanks, academia, and experts from the European institutions. This discussion was held under the Chatham House rules.

The debate focused on the possible move to qualified majority voting in the EU's Foreign and Security Policy. The participants in the debate discussed the possible negative and positive aspects of the decision. The debate covered topics such as the fear of over-voting as a possible aspect of division within the Union or the ineffectiveness of the current consensus approach.

A number of industries, including textiles, are now facing an increasing emphasis on sustainability. It is characterised mainly by one-off trends, which are linked to the frantic pace of the entire textile industry. The EU's Circular Textiles Strategy can be seen as a hope to address the situation. You can find out more about it in the blog written by our intern Nelly Achverdjanová.

Read the article by Markéta Pekarčíková, who has written a policy paper on possible approaches and proposals that the European Union could follow or at least be inspired by. It provides a theoretical perspective on the future of the European Union as perceived by the previous European Commission under the leadership of Jean-Claude Juncker. The EU27 was to decide its future by 2025.

Nilsu Eledağ has written a blog about Türkiye's role in determining Sweden's NATO membership and concerns about terrorism and anti-Islamist movements. Türkiye took a slight turn in foreign policy and now plays a closer game with NATO allies. There could be two reasons behind why Türkiye chose to shift towards the West. Find out more in Eledağs blog.

Serbia's refusal to recognise Kosovo, which unilaterally declared independence in 2008, is at the root of many problems within the region of Western Balkan. It hinders both countries’ EU membership paths, creates destabilisation in the Balkans, as visible in the recent unrest in northern Kosovo, and hinders regional economic cooperation. Writes our intern from our Brussel's office Costanza Celoria.

On Wednesday, June 7, a debate took place as part of the Café Evropa cycle, on the topic: "Turkey after the elections, which direction will it go?". The invitation to the debate was accepted by Lucia Najšlová, political scientist and author of the book Turkey and the EU: The Politics of Belonging, as well as by Deník N journalist Dominika Píhová and Břetislav Tureček, head of the Center for Middle East Studies at the Metropolitan University in Prague. The debate was moderated by Žiga Faktor, the head of the Brussels office of the EUROPEUM Institute for European Policy.