European Union Archives - Shaping Europe

Country profile Romania: A year of elections

Posted on 21 March 2024
by Sabine Herder

Keep the current course or go in a different direction? Romania, the land of Transylvania and Dracula. The homeland of Francesco Illy, the inventor of the espresso machine, and Nadia Comăneci, the first gymnast ever to score a perfect 10 at the 1976 Olympics. Where…

Elections

Country Profile Lithuania: A Brave Country

Posted on 30 January 2024
by Sabine Herder

A small but brave country where security is not a given. Lithuania, the southernmost country of the three Baltic States consists largely of forest. Where the capital Vilnius is also known as the "Rome of the Baltic States" and one of the few capitals you…

Het Europees Parlement: Welke functies heeft het? - Shaping Europe

Elections

The European Parliament: what functions does it have?

Posted on 12 December 2023
by Sabine Herder

Everything you need to know about the European Parliament. In June 2024, we can go to the polls again to vote for the European Parliamentary elections, but what are we actually voting for? In recent years, the European Union (EU) has gained the reputation of…

Hoe beschermen we de Europese biodiversiteit tegen invasieve exoten? - Shaping Europe

Animal Welfare

How do we protect Europe’s biodiversity?

Posted on 26 September 2023
by Esmee Slutter

Why the Union List on invasive alien species is so important. Intensive luggage searches at customs looking for... fruit? You may have seen it on the TV programme Border Security. The Australian version of this programme follows the country's customs. They have to deal with…

Conflict and Defense

One year of war

Posted on 24 February 2023
by Esmee Slutter
with 0 Comments

Some recent developments of the war in Ukraine highlighted. Exactly one year ago, on 24 February 2022, Russia's invasion of Ukraine began. At the time, this website covered the war several times from different perspectives. For instance, one could read articles about the European Union's…

Agriculture and Food

The story of the feta dispute and the balsamic issue

Posted on 17 November 2022
by Sabine Herder

How “made in the European Union” is guaranteed. The European Union is rich in a variety of culinary traditions. Examples include French camembert, Italian Parma ham, Greek Ouzo and Irish Whiskey. Europeans are proud of their culinary delights and for this reason, these products are…

European Integration

For the celebration of Europe Day

Posted on 9 May 2022
by Daria Stănculescu and George Bandy
with 0 Comments

Europe Day 2022 – Monday 9th May With the memories of the Second World War burning vividly in the minds of many Europeans, there came a momentum to craft something truly new, something that would strike out the possibility of further war and bring forth…

Democracy and Rule of Law

It’s time to update the EU’s Regulation on Access to EU documents

Posted on 17 March 2022
by Ornella Rodriguez Lafuente
with 0 Comments

Concerns that the European Union lacks transparency have increased among civil society groups, journalists, and EU citizens in recent years. Access to European Union documents is and has always been a fundamental tool for ensuring transparency and increasing the accountability of EU public officials.…

International Relations

What happened to the European Union’s ring of friends?

Posted on 10 March 2022
by
with 0 Comments

In 2004, the European Union announced its desire to form what it called a “ring of friends” through its Neighbourhood Policy. However, eighteen years later, it seems that this dream has turned more into one enormous nightmare, with tensions threatening the Union’s eastern and…

European Integration

Conference on the future of Europe: The EU by and for the people

Posted on 1 February 2022
by Sandra Zwick
with 0 Comments

By the People, For the People 8,600 ideas, 14,900 comments, 31,000 participants and 3,180 events constitute an unprecedented EU-wide event —the conference on the future of Europe. It was initiated to include European citizens in the process of possibly reforming the European Union. The conference…