A credible EU enlargement policy remains necessary from a geopolitical perspective, but can only succeed through a more pragmatic and gradual integration approach. New members amplify the existing challenges to EU decision making, rule-of-law conditionality and political cohesion, particularly...

The European Union (EU) emerged as a product and beneficiary of the Liberal International Order (LIO). Yet, as this order disintegrates, marked by multipolarity, thin multilateralism, and the return of power politics, the EU has taken unprecedented integrative steps, including joint debt...

Since Russia launched its full-scale war of aggression against Ukraine in 2022, the European Union (EU) has pursued its enlargement policy as part of a geopolitical approach. According to the European Commission and candidate states, the EU could admit new members from 2028 onwards, while...

This paper examines economic and institutional convergence between EU Core, EU New, and Western Balkan countries over the period 2004-2023 using a comprehensive panel dataset and multiple convergence frameworks. Evidence of absolute β-convergence is found, although at a slow pace, while...

This open access short reader provides an introductory yet critically analytical exploration of migration and the politics of integration. Drawing inspiration from Nira Yuval-Davis' concept of the 'politics of belonging,' we define the 'politics of integration' as various political projects...

Die Vertiefung der Banken- und Kapitalmarktunion bleibt ein zentrales, aber unerfülltes Ziel europäischer Wirtschaftspolitik. Trotz regulatorischer Fortschritte verhindern nationale Unterschiede in der Umsetzung sowie der Widerstand einflussreicher Interessengruppen eine echte Integration....

This study proposes a comprehensive theoretical framework for regional identity formation across 95 European regions integrating Social Identity Theory, constructivist approaches, and nested identity theory. Using virtual snowball sampling from 2019 to 2024, participants selected their region's...

This paper analyses the transformative 2025 political agreement redefining Gibraltar's relationship with the European Union (EU) in the post-Brexit era. Historically a British Overseas Territory with strategic significance, Gibraltar has long occupied a unique legal and geopolitical position....

In an era marked by repeated crises and the growing traction of populist movements, understanding the deep-rooted factors shaping EU cohesion has become increasingly urgent. This paper investigates how lifetime exposure to economic recessions influences individual attitudes toward the European...

European NATO members must raise defence spending by enough to deter through strength an irredentist Russia. This must be done possibly without the United States and when ageing populations demand higher social spending. Raising defence spending to sufficient levels could result in a doubling of...

This paper explores the role of export-oriented firms in shaping regional economic development, with a focus on their operational footprint, strategic orientation, and interaction with institutional and infrastructural environments. Set within the broader context of regional competitiveness and...

The Treaty on the Functioning of the EU promotes not only a common market but also economic, social and territorial cohesion and access to public services, including cross-border regions. Despite the objective of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU to promote, inter alia, cohesion in...

Western Balkan countries aim to intensify their path toward the European Union as an opportunity to ensure peace, economic growth, and institutional sustainability. Apart from the regional challenges, the EU integration process of the WB is affected by different geopolitical challenges, such as...

Would you like to know how the EU addressed the challenges of 2024 and what it achieved during the year? Are you curious about the main policy developments and how citizens benefited from them? You can find the answers to all these questions and more in The EU in 2024.

Would you like to know how the EU addressed the challenges of 2024 and what it achieved during the year? Are you curious about the main policy developments and how citizens benefited from them? You can find the answers to all these questions and more in The EU in 2024.

Would you like to know how the EU addressed the challenges of 2024 and what it achieved during the year? Are you curious about the main policy developments and how citizens benefited from them? You can find the answers to all these questions and more in The EU in 2024.

Jean Monnet Designated institutions (JMDIs) are seven institutions designated in Article 8(c) of the 2021-2027 Erasmus+ Regulation1 as institutions pursuing an aim of European interest. They are the European University Institute in Florence, Italy, including its School of Transnational...

Jean Monnet Designated institutions (JMDIs) are seven institutions designated in Article 8(c) of the 2021-2027 Erasmus+ Regulation1 as institutions pursuing an aim of European interest. They are the European University Institute in Florence, Italy, including its School of Transnational...

Ukraine, migration, and the economy were uppermost on the agenda of the European Council in 2023 as EU leaders sought to maximise support for the victim of Russia's military aggression, cope with a rising number of refugees and asylum seekers and halt the EU's declining global competitiveness....

The fundamental challenges that Germany is facing - increasing productivity, combining the transformation to climate neutrality with economic growth, making the economy more resilient - cannot be tackled in large part without Europe. This is in the nature of things: resilience and security of...

The new German government will have three fundamental policy issues to wrestle with: the war in Ukraine and European security, the future of global trade, and structural issues that hold back growth. Ukraine: If U.S. support wanes, Europe must stand ready. Trade: Trump's tariffs offer...

This paper analyzes developmental trajectories in the EU. In doing so, it diagnoses economic polarization on two different levels: for one, we observe a divergence of average incomes across EU countries as a persistent empirical feature associated with European integration. For another, European...

Die Vertiefung der Banken- und Kapitalmarktunion bleibt ein zentrales, aber unerfülltes Ziel europäischer Wirtschaftspolitik. Trotz regulatorischer Fortschritte verhindern nationale Unterschiede in der Umsetzung sowie der Widerstand einflussreicher Interessengruppen eine echte Integration....

This paper analyzes developmental trajectories in the EU. In doing so, it diagnoses economic polarization on two different levels: for one, we observe a divergence of average incomes across EU countries as a persistent empirical feature associated with European integration. For another, European...

List of Tables and Figures, List of Abbreviations, Acknowledgements, 1 The Strange Survival of Social Concertation in Times of Austerity, 2 Social Concertation as a Political Strategy, 3 European Integration, Domestic Politics and Social Concertation, 4 Methods and Cases, 5 The Context of Social...