The German General Election 2021

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 On Sunday 26 September, Germany went to the polls in the country’s ninth federal election since reunification in 1990, to elect MPs to the Bundestag. It was an election defined by the departure of Angela Merkel after nearly 16 years as Chancellor. The centre-left SPD achieved a slim lead over the centre-right CDU/CSU. It is expected that government formation negotiations will take months following in one of Germany’s most open-ended federal elections in recent years.    Overview of…

HERA – The European Health Emergency preparedness and Response Authority

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On 16 September 2021, the European Commission presented plans for a European Health Emergency preparedness and Response Authority (HERA). It will anticipate and respond to health emergencies and significant cross-border health threats by enabling the rapid availability, access and distribution of necessary countermeasures. In this Just the Facts, we look at the key features of…

The State of the European Union 2021

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The EU has faced many challenges over the past year including the effects of climate change, the evolving situations in countries such as Belarus and Afghanistan, disputes relating to the Northern Ireland Protocol and the continuing Covid-19 pandemic. These and others, will likely feature in European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen’s annual State of…

Bulgarian General Election, July 2021

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While anti-establishment parties gained ground in Bulgaria’s second general election this year on Sunday, 11 July 2021, no clear winner has emerged. Following the election in April, no party was able to form a government, resulting in a snap election in which a fragmented parliament was returned by the Bulgarian people.     Political Background of Bulgaria  Bulgaria is a unicameral parliamentary, representative democratic republic, with a National Assembly of 240 members elected…

Cypriot General Election 2021

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On Sunday 30 May 2021, Cyprus went to the polls in the Parliamentary elections as 56 Cypriot seats were contested by 20 political parties. With a turnout of 65.72%, the election resulted in a considerable rise in support for smaller parties as seven parties reached the minimum election threshold to enter the House of Representatives.…

Corporate Taxation in the EU

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While taxation is a responsibility of Member States, recent attempts have been made to coordinate corporate tax regimes at the EU and OECD level. How does Ireland’s policy here compare to others in the EU? What EU and international efforts have been made? We will explore the answers to these questions in this Just the…