AS COVID-19 APPEARS to have reached its peak in many countries across the EU, governments are now examining ways in which current restrictions can be lifted without risking a second wave of infections. In its ‘roadmap’ for a pan-European exit strategy, the European Commission made a series of recommendations to the 27 EU member governments in advance of lifting current restrictions. One recommendation is that countries…
Europe Day, 9 May, is extra-special this year as it is also the 70th anniversary of the Schuman declaration, which created the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC). Then French foreign minister, Robert Schuman’s big idea was to generate economic interdependence to make war between France and Germany impossible, hence sharing coal and steel production,…
THE EUROPEAN UNION’S response to COVID-19 experienced a blow in early April as the president of the European Research Council (ERC), Mauro Ferrari, resigned. The resignation of the pharmaceutical sciences professor – fewer than three months following his recruitment – as the Coronavirus pandemic escalated throughout Europe was, as one would expect, unexpected. The catalyst…
WITH MANY COUNTRIES suspending air travel and implementing social distancing measures to limit the spread of COVID-19, it has left some 300,000 EU citizens in need of help to be repatriated home. The EU, via its Union Civil Protection Mechanism helps Member States do this. What is the Civil Protection Mechanism? The Union Civil…
IN THE TIME OF A PANDEMIC, every day is a day of milestones. 26 March, a Thursday, marked the day that the United States overtook Italy in cases of COVID-19; marked the day that Spain’s death toll exceeded 4,000 and Italy’s exceeded 8,000; and marked the day that 500,000 cases of the virus were confirmed…
MOST FILM CRITICS would probably agree that Paul Giamatti is a great actor, admired for his range of roles in a number of films. Think Saving Private Ryan, Sideways, and Cinderella Man, for which he was nominated for an Oscar for best-supporting actor, among others. Giamatti is not as instantly recognisable as most Hollywood superstars,…
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…