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;…
At the end of the First World War, the official war artist and Irishman, William Orpen, was commissioned to paint the signing of the peace treaty at Versailles. What his employers, the British Ministry of Information, had hoped would be a memorialization of the Allies’ victory, became, in Orpen’s hands, a subtle critique of the…
EM Ireland will be inviting guest contributions from Ireland’s leading academics as part of our Just the Facts series, topic dependent, where we are delighted that Prof. John O Brennan is the first of our contributions in this series on the Romanian presidential election. In a widely anticipated result, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis has won…
In April this year, during a visit to Farmleigh House, German Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke about her experience of borders: “For 34 years I lived behind the Iron Curtain,” she said, “so I know only too well what it means once borders vanish, once walls fall.” On November 9, Merkel’s homeland celebrated 30 years since…
On Sunday 10 November, Spain held its fourth general election in four years, after its political parties failed to reach a governing deal in the wake of April’s inconclusive polls. Spaniards elected the 14th Cortes Generales (both houses of parliament) with all 350 seats in the Congress of Deputies up for election, as well as…
This week’s European Council summit began on Thursday, with leaders first reviewing Brexit, before discussing Turkey and EU enlargement. Focus turned on Friday to the next institutional cycle, the EU budget and climate change. Incoming President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen attended the European Council, in order to outline her priorities for…