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Global Europe
EU-US relations: In search of common ground?
Est. 1minThe message of US President Joe Biden's first overseas Europe tour has been clear: America is back, and Western alliances are not broken. But for Europeans, the realisation has come that after four acrimonious years under the Trump administration, Biden's …
EU–Africa relations: a partnership delayed but not derailed
Est. 2minTalk of an EU–Africa partnership may have only emerged in the last two years, but the promise of better trade and political relations with its southern ‘sister continent’ came from Jean Claude Juncker, who set out plans for a continent–to–continent …
Post-Soviet ‘frozen conflicts’
Est. 1minThe number of post-Soviet frozen conflicts has only grown, as a result of the failure of international mediation to solve them. After Nagorno-Karabakh, Transnistria and Abkhazia and South Ossetia, it seems that eastern Ukraine also qualifies as a frozen conflict.
Giving immunisation efforts a booster
Est. 1minSince 2000, 440 million children have been immunised against preventable diseases – and an estimated 6 million deaths have been avoided. But 22.6 million children are still not vaccinated and 1.5 million children under-5-years-old die annually from preventable diseases. Changing this picture may require action, not least on vaccine prices.
Agenda for Change: EU’s helping hand gets an overhaul
Est. 1minEurope’s new overseas aid policy, the Agenda for Change, calls for giving the world’s most fragile nations more help through what Development Commissioner Andris Piebalgs calls “more strategic, targeted and results-oriented” assistance. But some anti-poverty campaigners say there is a risk that the agenda could end up neglecting impoverished people in emerging and middle-income nations.
Euroscepticism: More than a British phenomenon
Est. 1minWith Prime Minister David Cameron having vowed to hold a referendum on UK membership of the EU, Britain's penchant for EU bashing is well publicised. But there are political parties in other member states which are far from in love with the European project, and whose stance against integration has been fanned by the worsening of the economic crisis.
Visa-free travel for the EU’s East: The next frontier
Est. 1minThe EU has gained valuable experience in recent years in achieving visa-free travel for the citizens living in its neighbourhood. After the countries of the Western Balkans, the next on their way toward achieving visa-free travel are its eastern partners, with Russia, Ukraine and Moldova leading the way. However, this goal is unlikely to be achieved in the short term.
EU-Ukraine relations: A geopolitical test
Est. 1minThe European Union and Ukraine have been long-negotiating an Association Agreement tied with an unprecedentedly far-reaching free trade deal. At stake is not only the economic partnership, but also the country's political future, caught between historic ties with Moscow and uncertain prospects of prosperity and 'Europeanisation' with Brussels.
The Polish EU Presidency: Budget and solidarity [Archived]
Est. 1minPaving the way for an "ambitious" agreement on the 2014-2020 budget, energy security and the European Union's Eastern neighbourhood are all key priorities of the Polish EU Presidency during the second half of 2011. The Poles, for their part, have pulled all the stops to ensure that the Union remains committed to redistributive policies at a time of economic austerity.
The EU’s role in global governance
Est. 1minA growing number of international institutions and agreements are attempting to tackle the world's major challenges: economic, environmental or security. What is the EU's role in this emerging world order?
EU-Switzerland relations
Est. 1minSwitzerland is the third largest economic partner of the EU, after the USA and China. Switzerland is able to participate in the EU's single market thanks to a series of bilateral agreements. This approach suits the Swiss confederation, but its complexity has become problematic for the EU and attempts are now under way to simplify the relationship.
Europe’s southern gas corridor: The great pipeline race
Est. 1minSeveral pipeline projects are competing with one another to bring to life the southern gas corridor – a vague blueprint to supply Europe with gas from the Caspian and the Middle East. EURACTIV takes a look at the various European initiatives, including their common competitor: Russia's South Stream project.
EU-Montenegro relations
Est. 1minDespite problems with corruption and organised crime, Montenegro, a small Adriatic country with a population of less than a million, is set to open EU membership talks as early as 2011.
EU-Bosnia and Herzegovina relations
Est. 1minAlthough Bosnia and Herzegovina hopes to join the EU one day, political infighting between Serb, Muslim and Croat communities is threatening to derail the country from its path towards European integration.
EU-Albania relations
Est. 1minAlbania formally applied for EU membership in April 2009, but if its accession bid is to move forward it must tackle a number of issues: particularly political stability, economic reform and corruption.
EU-Macedonia relations
Est. 1minThe former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia's bid to join the EU is currently blocked by a dispute with Athens over its name, which is identical to that of a Greek province.
EU-Serbia relations
Est. 1minSerbia, the 'core country' of the former Yugoslavia, is now firmly on track to join the EU after a series of fratricidal wars in the nineties tested the international community's resolve and engaged considerable diplomatic and military resources.
2004-2009: An evaluation of the Barroso Commission
Est. 1minEuropean Commission President José Manuel Barroso spent the summer preparing his programme for the next five years after his bid to secure a second term was put on ice by the European Parliament's political group leaders in July - EURACTIV asked key stakeholders to assess the Barroso Commission's achievements and failures.
The Swedish EU Presidency
Est. 1minSweden assumes the EU's six-month rotating presidency from the Czech Republic on 1 July as Europe battles its most severe economic recession in decades and faces an uncertain institutional future. If the Lisbon Treaty enters into force before the end of the year, this could be history's last fully-fledged EU presidency.
EU-Western Balkans relations
Est. 1minThe EU's main objective for the Western Balkans region (South East Europe) is to create a situation where military conflict is unthinkable – expanding to the region the area of peace, stability, prosperity and freedom, established over the last fifty years in the European Union. The countries of Western Balkans have all been given the prospect of EU membership.
Galileo
Est. 1minThe Galileo satellite navigation system is the European civil alternative to the US Global Positioning System (GPS) and the Russian GLONASS, both funded and controlled by military authorities.
Turkey accession and Cyprus
Est. 1minThe division of Cyprus into two separate Greek and Turkish communities represents one of the most difficult issues of the European Union's sixth enlargement round, with the future of Turkey's EU accession talks hinging on the successful resolution of the problem.
Geopolitics of EU energy supply
Est. 1minAs one of the world's largest importers of oil, gas and coal, the EU is a major player on the international energy market - However, it remains a dwarf on the political stage as member states keep the upper hand on foreign policy. With external dependence on imports forecast to grow steadily, the EU has started to integrate energy aspects into relations with third countries. EURACTIV brings an overview of relations with key regions for supply and transit.
Critical infrastructure
Est. 1minThe atrocities of 11 September 2001 in New York, the Madrid train bombing in 2004 and the London Underground attacks in July 2005 have indicated terrorists' willingness to target infrastructures such as transport, energy and communication. On 12 December 2006, the European Commission adopted a Communication to improve the protection of European Critical Infrastructure (ECI) from terrorism.