European Integration

Georgië en Moldavië op een Kruispunt - Shaping Europe

Georgia and Moldova Choosing Their Future

Between European liberal democracy and Russian imperialism. Recent elections in Georgia and Moldova resulted in mixed outcomes but illustrated a shared issue. Despite the current governments’ vocal commitments to EU memberships, the countries are far from unanimously in favour. The situations of Georgia and Moldova…
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De politiek van tijd - Shaping Europe

The politics of time

Time, trains and time zones. It’s that time of year again: the leaves are turning brown, trees are becoming bare, evenings are getting shorter, and the clocks go back an hour. This yearly ritual results in the same discussions and questions every time again: on…
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The EU accession path for Bosnia and Herzegovina - Shaping Europe

The EU accession path for Bosnia and Herzegovina

Perks and challenges for Bosnia´s future. In a recent speech delivered at the European Parliament, the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, announced to the parliamentary members the Commission’s decision to open talks for the accession of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the…
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A year worth fighting for

A reflection of the challenges of 2021 and the opportunities of 2022 Now the New Year’s Eve celebrations are disappearing from the rear-view mirror, we wanted to briefly reflect on some of the biggest challenges the EU has faced last year and consider what the…
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European integration in multiple speeds 

Motives for a multi-speed Europe.  The deadlock of unanimity  The European Union is a vastly complex international organisation in which every decision needs to be checked by a variety of institutions before it can be implemented and maintained by the member states (MS). Of these…
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Ursula von der Leyen - President of the European Commission

Why do Europeans know so little about the EU?

Why knowledge of the EU is important for European citizenship. During the American presidential elections, half of the Dutch population knew exactly how the electoral college, and all kinds of other underlying electoral laws worked. At the same time, many Dutch people and other Europeans…
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