For the European Union (EU), past weaknesses during major public health crises, like the outbreak of Foot and Mouth disease in the early 2000’s or the SARs epidemic in 2003, led to the emergence of new and improved procurement processes and crisis-response mechanisms. However, it would be the Swine Flu pandemic of 2009 that would be the catalyst for the emergence of the EU’s Joint Procurement mechanism. During…
On Saturday the 29 February Slovakia went to the polls for what is only their eighth general election since their establishment as an independent country from the Czech Republic in 1993. Background to Slovakian General Elections: Slovakia is a unicameral parliamentary, representative democratic republic with a prime minister who is the head of government…
In the latest instalment of EM Ireland’s ‘Just the Facts’ series, we will be exploring Ireland’s recent general election, held on 8 February, from an EU perspective. Sinn Féin, for the first time, received the highest share of votes in a general election. This is a change to the status quo in the Irish political…
European Movement Ireland is an independent, not-for-profit, membership-based organisation working to develop the connection between Ireland and Europe since its founding in 1954. As per our practice at general elections, European Movement Ireland has published this factual overview of excerpts from political party manifestos framed around a number of EU issues. This is to provide…
In November 1942, following the British rebuff of the German army at El Alamein in Egypt, then-UK Prime Minister Winston Churchill proclaimed this victory as a major turning point in the second World War, adding: “Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the…
An International Upbringing: On 1 December 2019, the new European Commission formally took up its mandate where it will chart the political and policy process of the EU for the next five years. For the first time, a woman holds the post as president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, but who is…
While the economic conditions that Britain will pursue outside the EU remain uncertain and can only be guessed by peering behind the political curtain, it is the EU’s wish to have as close as possible a relationship with the UK. However, one issue that has flown under the radar since the conclusion of the revised…
Early on the morning of Wednesday 18 December, EU fishery ministers in Brussels reached a political agreement on the 2020 catch limits for over seventy commercial fishing stocks. Introduction: Why does this happen? The EU aims to set EU-wide rules to manage the fishing practise of the EU fleet through the Common Fisheries Policy…
With the new Finnish prime minister holding the title as the youngest sitting prime minister in the world, this explainer will look at some of young politicians and officials who are shaping policy and politics in the EU today. Introduction: Youth and European Elections One of the unwritten rules of European political campaigns is that…
On Thursday 12 December, the United Kingdom held its third general election since 2015. The Conservative Party will hold an overall majority in the Westminster Parliament, securing 364 seats in Thursday’s general election (with 649 of 650 seats declared), an increase of 47 seats from the 2017 election. The Labour Party will take 203 seats;…