Enlargement & Neighbours

The three challenges of the Ukranian transition

The multitude that took the center of Kiev months ago has returned to their daily lives, and the political phase that now begins will show if their fight has really transformed the country. This brief transition that Ukraine is in makes for a good time to think about the major fronts it must (...)

Saturday 3 May 2014

EU membership for Turkey: One step forward, two backwards

Next year, the EU and Turkey are celebrating a rare jubilee – in 2015 the accession negotiations last a whole decade. The unsuccessful blocking of Twitter, the corruption scandal and the harsh approach towards the protesters of Gezi allow legitimate doubt that the negotiations will ever be (...)

Sunday 20 April 2014

Russia annexes Crimea: a new world order?

If there is an event which will go down in the history books as the most important one in the first half of 2014 the Ukrainian crisis and the annexation of Crimea by Russia is definitely the top candidate. For the chain of events that started from the refusal of the Yanukovich government to (...)

Sunday 6 April 2014

The return of Central Europe

Often wrongly called Eastern countries, or ex- Soviet Union countries or the post-communist countries, the countries of Central Europe, namely Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and additionally Poland and Austria, struggle to reposition themselves where they really are: at the heart of (...)

Thursday 20 March 2014

Ukraine: still waiting for the EU

Ukrainians have now been demonstrating for three months, at least 10 people died and close to 500 were injured. In yet another Cold War-style stream of East-West tensions, Vladimir Putin plays it like Stalin and the West like John Lennon. Time to wind back to Ronald Reagan. Where is the EU? (...)

Tuesday 18 February 2014

Statement by the Young European Swiss on the Swiss referendum on immigration

The Young European Swiss (YES – JEF Switzerland) take note of the voting result of 9th February 2014 with deep regret. It was, as already in 1992, a very small percentage which made the difference. Therefore it can hardly be stated that the people welcome the introduction of quotas on (...)

Monday 10 February 2014

Europe’s Forgotten Neighbours: Union for the Mediterranean

A distinction is often made between European Neighbours and neighbours of Europe within the EU. The former shares a much greater cultural proximity and, behind closed doors, represents candidates for membership. The latter is a purely geographic label. A two-tier Neighbourhood Policy has (...)

Wednesday 23 October 2013

Is Russia’s play for Ukraine a waste of time?

In recent years, it has been one of the Kremlin’s consistent diplomatic objectives to get Ukraine on board with its Customs Union. However, with Ukraine seeking to reduce its economic dependence on Russia and improve ties with the European Union, is Moscow fighting a losing battle in (...)

Thursday 22 August 2013

Croatia’s accession to the EU

This July we are welcoming Croatia as the 28th Member State of the European Union. Although this is a moment to celebrate, some might object that in the time when the EU has to deal with the effects of the financial and economic crisis, there is no right moment to celebrate. But we need to (...)

Sunday 7 July 2013

Turkey and the EU, a difficult relationship

As a result of the crackdown on the mass demonstration in Istanbul by the conservative government of Recep Tayyip Erdogan the negotiation for Turkey accession to the EU could be frozen. Germany and the Netherlands expressed strong disappointment for the massive use of police force on (...)

Wednesday 26 June 2013

Walking on thin ice: Iceland and the EU

The outgoing left-wing government decided in January not to take political decisions related to the EU in the run-up to the elections, which were held on 27 April. Now the new eurosceptic government has announced a halt to the country’s EU accession talks, until Icelanders vote in a referendum (...)

Saturday 8 June 2013

Is there still faith in Europe among Turks?

It happened last 25th January. Recep Tyyip Erdogan, the Turkish Prime Minister, invited by the Turkish television channel Kanal 2, comes back on the evasive proposals of Vladimir Putin held in July, when the latter had asked him ‘not without humour’ to ‘ join the OSC (Organisation of Shangai (...)

Monday 6 May 2013
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