europeanstudiesreview

EU’s Anti-trust investigations into Facebook: Tech giant versus the Single Market

By Valentina Alexandru What is maybe the most expansive advertising platform of all times – the Facebook Marketplace – has fallen under the radar of the European Union plus the UK, as suspicions arose as to how the data obtained from the advertising service is used. The antitrust investigation would shed light on whether theContinue reading “EU’s Anti-trust investigations into Facebook: Tech giant versus the Single Market”

The “Antidemocratic Turn” in Europe

By Ilaria Sacco Democracy is losing currency while an antidemocratic turn is moving forward in Europe, states Freedom House, an NGO that conducts research on democracy and political freedom. Its annual report, Nations in Transit, measures progress and setbacks in democratization in 29 countries from Central Europe to Central Asia. The 2021 edition was named “The AntidemocraticContinue reading “The “Antidemocratic Turn” in Europe”

Vaccine diplomacy: triggering internal and external divisions in Central-Eastern Europe

By Myriam Marino One year after the outburst of the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, Member States of the European Union are managing the most extensive vaccination campaign of all time. If differences regarding the rendition and administration of campaigns between Western and Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) were expected, the current situation displaysContinue reading “Vaccine diplomacy: triggering internal and external divisions in Central-Eastern Europe”

Independent or short-sighted? The CAI and its geopolitical implications

By Robin Vandendriessche On the 30th of December 2020, just three weeks before President Biden’s inauguration and on the second last day of Germany’s presidency of the Council, the EU and China concluded in principle the negotiations on the Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI). Negotiations have lasted for nearly seven years but gained considerable momentumContinue reading “Independent or short-sighted? The CAI and its geopolitical implications”

How the Catholic Church continues to hinder LGBT rights progress in Europe

By Gregory Lens The most recent annual ILGA Rainbow Europe report painted a bleak picture on the current level of progress for LGBT rights in the eastern part of the European Union. Commitments to equality are either stalling, or even completely vanishing from national political agendas. In eastern member states, governments are backtracking on theirContinue reading “How the Catholic Church continues to hinder LGBT rights progress in Europe”

Where Europe overflows: Russia as a colonial power

By Anna Woudstra Pardoen One often tends to forget that Russia, in whatever iteration of its existence it was in, has been a colonial empire. Whereas other colonial powers journeyed overseas to find, claim and exploit new lands and territories, Russia expanded over land, northwards into the lands of the Finnic and Sami peoples, eastwardsContinue reading “Where Europe overflows: Russia as a colonial power”