Politics – European Studies Review

In a Time of Need: Considering an Irish Security Service

By Harry Slattery While Europe prepares for a potential €800 billion security and defence boost via the Readiness 2030 package, Ireland remains lacking in many areas, with EU allies raising eyebrows about the island state’s pressing capability gaps. Particularly salient is Ireland’s lack of a dedicated foreign security service. In a European climate increasingly plaguedContinue reading “In a Time of Need: Considering an Irish Security Service”

EU Trade Policy: A New Engine of Global Relevance

By Riccardo Mouchanan Introduction From the Covid-19 pandemic, which showed the unstable nature of our supply chains, to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the second Trump administration’s rollback of the historical US role as guardian of democracy, Europe witnessed and underwent profound changes. Never has the Union been so exposed to unilateral actions fromContinue reading “EU Trade Policy: A New Engine of Global Relevance”

Stability and Growth Pact 2024 Reform: Ending the “One-Size-Fits-All” Approach?

By Alexandre Mies Since the eurozone crisis in the 2010s and especially since the Covid crisis, the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP), or the Eurozone’s fiscal rules, increasingly revealed its limits. Before 2024, the SGP imposed the same quantitative budgetary rules on the 20 eurozone Member States, inherited from the 1992 Maastricht Treaty: public deficitContinue reading “Stability and Growth Pact 2024 Reform: Ending the “One-Size-Fits-All” Approach?”

Strategic Autonomy or Strategic Dependence?

By Eman Jokhio Europe never gets tired of talking about “strategic autonomy.” It is a staple of speeches given in Brussels, written in EU policy documents, and mentioned in defence summit press releases. However, most of these remarks tend to lack substance and depth. Europe certainly does not lack money, technology, or even the bureaucraticContinue reading “Strategic Autonomy or Strategic Dependence?”

EU Migration Diplomacy In a Shifting World Order: The Tunisian Case

By Anita Eugenia Caproni Migration remains deeply political, as evolving power dynamics bring national interests back to the forefront. Within this framework, the 2023 Memorandum of Understanding between EU and Tunisia reflects a blend of bypassed institutional competencies, the influence of Italy and the Netherlands, and Ursula von der Leyen’s personal ambitions. Tunisia is treatedContinue reading “EU Migration Diplomacy In a Shifting World Order: The Tunisian Case”

Passport, please? The new border checks

By Beatriz Santos Mayo Introduction Nowadays, you can travel from Paris to Barcelona and from Milan to Munich without having your passport stamped. Since 1995, the Schengen Agreement has enabled over 450 million people to study, work, and travel freely across the European continent without requiring passport checks at internal borders. However, several member statesContinue reading “Passport, please? The new border checks”