– ✍️ David Garrahy, Chair of the Brussels Branch of European Movement Ireland. COP26 has just ended and it seems the world has made some commitments on dealing with the untrammelled release of greenhouse gases into our atmosphere, but not nearly enough to keep us from a 1.5C increase. As an attendee at COP26 in…
At a time when the EU strives to defend the universal value of the rule of law globally, it is being undermined from within. Member States such as Hungary and Poland, have mounted consistent challenges to the rule of law through continued democratic backsliding. This Just the Facts looks at the tools the EU has…
The possibility of the UK government triggering Article 16 of the Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland remains active. This Just the Facts examines Article 16 and what would happen if it was triggered. Background to the Protocol Brexit presented a major problem to solve: avoiding a hard border on the island of Ireland,…
– ✍️ Professor Padraic Kenna – NUI Galway Housing – or the challenges facing young people in accessing affordable housing, is emerging as one of the key issues for the European Union. While the great majority of Europeans live in good quality, affordable housing as a result of major State and private investment since…
Introduction Parliamentary elections in Czechia were held on Friday 8 and Saturday 9 October. This was the country’s tenth democratic election for the Chamber of Deputies since 1989 and the eighth since becoming an independent state after the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1993. The 2021 election produced a major shift, as the ANO party led…
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…
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 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…
With a federal election to the Bundestag and several state elections taking place this year in Germany, 2021 has been described as a Superwahljahr, a ‘super election year’. Underlying this is the void the departure of Angela Merkel as Chancellor will create in Germany and Europe. As Europe’s most important election in 2021, this EMI…
The rule of law within the European Union is under threat. At a time when the EU strives to defend this universal value globally, it risks being gravely undermined from within by some EU Member States. The rule of law is a well-established principle of the international order and is entwined with the protection of…