Brexit: Agreement or compromise?
What’s Brexit? Brexit is an abbreviation for “British exit” that mirrors the term Grexit, which refers to the possibility of the Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union. Great Britain, which has never adopted the euro currency, wants to withdrawal from the policies stipulated by the European Union and consequently from the …
The Future of Immigration in Germany
Since the Paris Attacks and Cologne Sex Attacks, attitudes in Germany towards immigration have turned cold. Germany has accepted more refugees than its neighbours, and Merkel was initially praised for her magnanimous gesture. But the rising levels of discontent from citizens, the German parliament and the EU puts the future of immigration at question. How …
Migration and the Western Balkans
The Balkans are a popular migration route as they are the bridge between Europe and the Middle East. Refugees and migrants are desperately moving onwards as quickly as possible. They run against the clock, for they fear that borders ahead of them will close, as the UN refugee agency affirmed. Following the …
Migrant Crisis: The New Stress Test of European Values
The European migrant crisis has been publicly debated for over a year. Actually, it is very hard to remember at what point exactly the casualties in the Mediterranean Sea stopped being treated as domestic and “extra-ordinary” news and became a European policy issue. It is of the utmost importance to keep …
The Biggest Moments of 2015
2015 is almost coming to an end so let’s review what events have made international headlines. 7 January, Charlie Hebdo Shootings, Paris Gunmen stormed into the satirical magazine’s offices and murdered 10 journalists, and killed two policemen during their escape. The attacks were in response to the magazine’s latest depiction of …
Europe: identity and challenges
The most mainstream political theories on the building of European institutions are clear on what the ingredients for the EU to become a supranational political community are. The common denominator of all these requirements is legitimacy: the extent to which the supranational power is recognized as such. We can get …
Corrosive Effects of Corruption: the Greek Case
A metro station in Athens, a year before the financial crisis kicked off globally. Dutifully I buy my last ticket of that summer vacation in the Athens metro in order to reach Eleftherios Venizelos airport. My local Greek friend helps me to eschew a bit of confusion by showing me, which …
Juncker’s Promises: Seven Months On
The election of Jean-Claude Juncker as President of the European Commission was an extraordinarily political one for communitarian standards. As those who recall David Cameron’s uneasy summer will confirm, the process was marked by more or less strict respect for the rule that the top Commission officer shall be chosen in line …
New Deal for the European Union
The New Deal for Europe -For a European Special Plan for Sustainable Development and Employment is a European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) proposed by the European Federalist Movement and many other organizations across the European Union. First, what is an ECI? This is a tool of participatory democracy introduced by the …