spotlight europe 2009/04, April 4 2009: Europe's Bold New Story

Since the fall of the Berlin Wall Europe has been restructured to form a new and united entity. During this period the policymaking of the Euro-pean Union was characterized by enlargement and deepening. However, enlargement has now passed its peak, and deepening, which was sup-posed to have come about by reforming the EU treaties, has still not mate-rialized. The EU needs some new guidelines

Besser allein als gemeinsam einsam? Schottland stimmt über seine Unabhängigkeit ab = Flashlight Europe No. 2, September 2014: Scotland Is Voting On Whether Or Not To Become Independent

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Setting the Scene: Assessing Opportunities and Threats of the European Neighbourhood

Opinions diverge to what extent the European Neighbourhood Policy has made progress towards achieving its aims, which are – as stated in the Lisbon treaty – to “establish an area of prosperity and good neighbourhoudliness, founded on EU-values”. Today it is necessary to re-think the ENP: What can the ENP achieve with its instruments and what shall it achieve? In which fields do the neighbours have specific expectations towards the ENP? And how are these expectations paralleled by what the European Union is disposed to offer

spotlight europe 2008/02: Das Rätsel Sarkozy = spotlight europe 2008/02: The Sarkozy Mystery

In Frankreich werden die Gemeindewahlen im März zum ersten Test für Präsident Nicolas Sarkozy. Die Umfragen zeigen Sarkozys Beliebtheit auf einem Tiefststand, unter seinen Parteifreunden bangen viele um ihre Pos-ten. Zugleich wird die französische EU-Ratspräsidentschaft im zweiten Halbjahr 2008 vorbereitet: Wird Frankreich dann europäischer – oder die EU-Politik französische

spotlight europe #2015/01—April 2015: Turbulent Times in the Disunited Kingdom

The general election on 7th May 2015 is not only going to lead to radical changes in the political landscape. Britain will also have to come up with answers to the European, Scottish and English questions. How this can be done is a moot point. At any rate, it is not going to make EU policymaking any easier

The EU neighborhood in shambles: Some recommendations for a new European neighbourhood strategy. Bertelsmann Studies

An “arc of instability” stretching from the European Union’s (EU) eastern borders down to the Mediterranean basin has undermined its flagship European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP). This policy was designed to deliver prosperity, stability and democracy to countries surrounding the EU. It has manifestly failed and needs to be radically rethought

Repair and Prepare: Strengthening Europe's Economies after the Crisis. Bertelsmann Studies

Europe is often portrayed as a ship with sails of different colours from different countries pushing the common boat in the right direction. From 2010 to 2012, that ship faced the perfect storm: The euro area almost caused the ship to sink, there was massive disagreement on how to get out of the storm, and it was unclear who was steering the ship. However, Euro-Europe eventually managed to buoy the ship while in the eye of the storm, and the decisive action by ECB President Mario Draghi, arguably not the captain of the ship, managed to steer the common project away from imminent danger

spotlight europe 2008/02, February 2008: The Sarkozy Mystery

The French communal elections in March will be the first test for President Nicolas Sarkozy. The opinion polls show that, despite his initial popularity, Sarkozy’s approval ratings are now at their lowest ebb. At the same time the French are preparing the French EU-Presidency of the Council in the second half of 2008. Will France become more European, or will EU policymaking become more French