Rustige vastheid in tijden van crisis

Leiden Europa lezing door Herman van Rompuy Voorzitter van de Europese Raad. Uitgesproken aan de Universiteit Leiden Op vrijdag 10 oktober 2014ALL EXTER

Calm stability in times of crisis

Leiden Europe lecture by Herman van Rompuy President of the European Council Delivered at Leiden University on Friday, October 10, 2014ALL EXTER

The challenge of Jihadist radicalisation. In Europe and beyond. 2017

Today Europe finds itself on the frontline in the fight against terrorism and jihadist radicalisation. Over the past fourteen months, the horrendous terrorist attacks that have taken place in France, Germany and Belgium, as well as in Turkey, Tunisia, and elsewhere around the world, have claimed hundreds of lives. As a Belgian national, the three bombs that were detonated in my country, in the departure hall of the Brussels International Airport in Zaventem, and at the Maelbeek Metro station, a few hundred metres from key EU institutions, was a particularly traumatic moment for me. In many ways, the attacks of 22 March were Belgium’s own 9/11, representing the worst terrorist attacks committed on Belgian territory in the country’s modern history. The attacks demonstrate a clear shift in the resolve and ability of jihadist terrorists to inflict mass casualties on urban populations, and are devised to induce a high state of well-publicised terro

Challenges and new beginnings: Priorities for the EU’s new leadership. EPC Challenge Europe Issue 22, September 2014

Table of contents - State of the Union and key challenges for Europe's future, Janis A. Emmanouilidis and Paul Ivan; Europe’s economic challenges and the importance of ideas and innovation, Herman Van Rompuy; The growth challenge for Europe and the EMU, George Pagoulatos; Strengthening the euro area, Daniela Schwarzer; Social Europe. Can the EU again improve people's life prospects?, László Andor; Solidarity and cohesion, Pawel Swieboda; The single market and competitiveness – the challenges for the Juncker team, Malcolm Harbour; A European response to the resource and climate challenge, Jo Leinen; Renewal through international action? Options for EU foreign policy, Rosa Balfour; EU migration policy – new realities, new opportunities, Cecilia Malmström; Freedom of movement of persons – the building-block of European growth, Radoslaw Sikorski; Building up European leadership – an assessment of the recent process, Maria João Rodrigues; Populism in the EU: new threats to the open society?, Heather Grabbe; Differentiated Europe needs strong institutions, Alexander Stubb; Improving decision-making in the EU, Fabian Zuleeg; The need for a New Pact, Janis A. Emmanouilidis

Yes, we should! EU priorities for 2019-2024. EPC Challenge Europe Issue 24, April 2019

The European Union (EU) is not alone in its struggle to grapple with the major headaches of our times. The Western world as a whole is affected. Inside the Union, the crises in and of its national societies and democracies have radiated to the EU level. Half of the member states have minority governments. If they are politically weak in their own countries, how can the Union be strong? The EU is, after all, also the sum of its member states

Conventional direction to unconventional measures: using quantitative easing to shape Eurozone fiscal capacity

Eight years after the outbreak of the crisis, the Eurozone (EZ) fiscal policy remains fragmented at the national level. This paper fills the structural gap between the monetary and fiscal dimensions of EZ economic policy by suggesting a ‘conventional’ direction to the unconventional Quantitative Easing (QE) policy of the European Central Bank (ECB). We propose an evolution for QE to tackle the shortcomings of the current ‘decentralized’ fiscal policy in the EZ. In a nutshell, we suggest a change in the composition of QE asset purchases, focusing on buying European Investment Bank (EIB) bonds that, in turn, would be used to finance real investments through the Juncker Plan programme. The rationale of our proposal is legitimised by an overview of the gloomy macroeconomic conditions of the EZ, and the situation in ongoing policies. The mechanism is described in detail, with a discussion of both its strengths and possible limitations

The Challenges for Europe in a Changing World. College of Europe EU Diplomacy Paper 3/2010, February 2010

This paper reproduces the keynote speech on Europe's role and place in the world that the President of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, delivered to the College of Europe students, professors, staff and invited guests at the Concert Hall 't Zand in Bruges on 25 February 2010

Préface

Jean de Ruyt, ancien représentant permanent de la Belgique auprès de l’Union européenne, est un fin connaisseur de la mécanique européenne. Il eut à gérer la présidence belge du Conseil de l’Union au second semestre de 2010 avec une Belgique plongée dans la crise politique la plus profonde de ces cinquante dernières années. Il parle donc en orfèvre. Le « leadership de l’Union européenne » est un sujet délicat et difficile. En effet, un certain équilibre entre les méthodes « communautaire » et..

Le leadership dans l’Union européenne

L’Union européenne ne se réconciliera avec ses citoyens que lorsque ceux-ci pourront identi­fier de véritables leaders au niveau des institutions. Partant de ce postulat, l’auteur mène une réflexion à la fois historique et politique sur le leadership, tel qu’il a été exercé dans la Commu­nauté depuis ses débuts, puis dans l’Union européenne jusqu’aux nominations de 2014. Il décrit l’état de grâce des années Delors, les succès de Javier Solana, les défis relevés par Herman Van Rompuy pendant la crise de l’Eurozone, les responsabilités accrues de la Commis­sion sous José Manuel Barroso, le parcours courageux de Cathy Ashton, puis la procédure des spitzenkandidaten, l’élection de Jean-Claude Juncker et le choix de Donald Tusk et de Fedcrica Moghcrini. Mais il souligne aussi les occasions manquées, la tendance naturelle de certains chefs de gouvernement à vouloir garder le contrôle de la construction européenne, leur insistance à vouloir gérer l’Union « de l’arrière » Même si un grand nombre d’acteurs seront toujours impliqués dans l’élaboration et la prise des décisions européennes, le leadership from behind n’est plus suffisant pour faire face aux défis actuels. L’Union a en effet de plus en plus de responsabilités propres; ses réglementations ont une emprise de plus en plus étroite sur la vie quotidienne des gens. Il est donc normal que ceux-ci souffrent de ne pas pouvoir identifier ceux qui les dirigent ou de voir leur sort décidé par des leaders qu’ils n’ont pas choisis