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  • My internship experience in Brussels: A gateway to professional and personal growth

    July 18, 2024

    Alba is an undergraduate intern in our Integrated Communications and Reputation team. She studies political science at the University of Warwick in the UK. She’s dived into her experience in more detail to give a taste of her time in the EU capital. My experience as an intern I started my internship in September 2023 where I was welcomed into a friendly and supportive team. Through my role, I was able to participate in many...

  • EU defence & industrial policy: A cross-sectoral outlook

    May 29, 2024

    In its nearly 70 years of existence, never has the EU experienced a stronger push to double down on investments and coordination when it comes to defence.   While defence remains primarily a competence of the Member States, the current volatile international environment – with the Russian invasion of Ukraine and ongoing conflicts in the Middle East – has resulted into Europe's defence strategy being under intense scrutiny. NATO's stability could be further challenged by the potential re-election of Donald Trump...

  • EU climate policy: The new borderlines?

    May 27, 2024

    The race to net-zero by 2050 has fundamentally shifted. What was once a distant goal is now a pressing mandate, and the landscape of climate change policy is being redrawn as we speak. Achieving more than 50% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions compared to 1990 levels within the next decade requires radical economic and policy transformations across every Member State. Electrifying at a strong pace is crucial First, the scale of electrification required to meet...

  • Three challenges for Europe’s biodiversity

    May 24, 2024

    Humanity is already outside the safe operating space for at least four of the nine planetary boundaries, including biodiversity. In Europe, nature is facing serious decline, with threatened ecosystems and terrestrial and marine species and habitats at poor conservation status. The next European Commission will have to tackle what the previous did not manage to push forward completely: ensure Europe delivers on its biodiversity global commitments through binding EU policy instruments with concrete financial support.  ...

  • Why the EU needs a healthy pharmaceutical industry for its competitiveness agenda

    March 4, 2024

    Announcing her candidacy for the EU’s top job last month, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen offered a glimpse of the message which will undoubtedly play a central part in her campaign: promoting Europe’s competitiveness.  As a trending policy buzzword, competitiveness places economic growth in the midst of a hectic crossroads where sustainable competitiveness, economic security, open strategic autonomy, and fair competition come together (unfortunately, sometimes crashing). Emerging from a term that stress-tested Europe's...

  • Are you fit for 2024? Communicating in a year of change

    February 27, 2024

    It’s no secret that 2024 will be all about voting, and that the world, including Europe, may look very different in 12 months’ time. More than 200 million EU citizens will be able to cast their vote to elect the next members of the European Parliament – and this will only be the second-largest election of many set to happen in 2024 (after India in April-May). In such a scenario, where virtually every player with...

  • Implementation time: Can Member States put EU climate ambition into practice?

    January 31, 2024

    Current energy and climate policies of EU Member States are not sufficient to achieve the EU’s 2030 climate target. This is one of the conclusions from the European Commission’s assessment of the draft National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs) published just before Christmas. A tough message, especially as the EU is grappling with a wave of European and national elections, a lack of global industrial competitiveness and the requirement to set a more ambitious climate...

  • Bidding farewell to fossil fuels at COP28: How to get it right this time

    November 27, 2023

    A global agreement to phase out unabated fossil fuels is essential for the EU’s climate goals  Only in sectors where they are hard to replace, such as cement and steelmaking, and only if their emissions are captured to prevent their release into the atmosphere. Those are the conditions of the global agreement to phase out unabated fossil fuels that the EU is seeking to secure at COP28, the UN’s principal conference on climate change, starting...

  • The European Union and the era of hard choices

    September 27, 2023

    The European Union, born out of a vision for peace, unity, and prosperity, is now at a pivotal juncture. This transformative phase, marked by environmental, political, and geopolitical challenges, calls for decisive action.   Here’s a look at three pressing areas where tough decisions beckon:  Re-orienting the EU Green Deal: from emissions reduction to re-industrialisation? The Green Deal, hailed as Europe’s ‘man on the moon moment’, represents the world’s most ambitious regulatory roadmap towards net-zero by...

  • Wind of change

    July 13, 2023

    The European Union is gearing up for a period of institutional renewal that will shape its agenda for the coming years. With the EU’s political parties preparing their policy manifestos for Europe’s future, and with the European Commission readying itself for a new mandate, it is the right moment for a stocktaking of where we stand on probably the most emblematic policy of this institutional cycle: the EU Green Deal. The pursuit of the Green...

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