EU institutions & treaties
Does EU enlargement require voting reform?
09 May 2025
Moving away from unanimity is complex and faces much resistance. But it is a question that EU leaders will not be able to avoid in the long run.
France and Romania: Should far-right candidates be banned from running for the presidency?
25 April 2025
Excluding candidates from standing in elections may be a legally sound option to protect democracy from anti-democratic forces.
Will Hungary's presidency rock the EU?
25 June 2024
The Hungarian presidency will have limited impact on EU policies – but the hit to the Union’s reputation could be significant.
What will the EU election results mean for Europe?
11 June 2024
The populist right and far right will not dominate the new European Parliament. But the election results will influence the EU’s agenda and legislation over the next five years.
Is the Spitzenkandidat process a waste of time?
03 June 2024
The Spitzenkandidat (lead candidate) process has not fulfilled its promise of engaging the average voter. Still, it has helped ‘europeanise’ the European Parliament elections and is worth persisting with.
The European Parliament elections: A sharp right turn?
30 April 2024
Right-wing forces are set to make sizeable gains in the European Parliament elections. That will tilt the Parliament right on many issues and could give these parties momentum nationally.
State of the Union: From Putin's war to a trade war?
26 September 2023
If she wants the EU to be greener, fairer, and more resilient, Ursula von der Leyen, or whoever comes next, should stay away from trade spats and support a more ambitious industrial policy instead.
The Commission: More power demands more accountability
30 May 2023
As the European Commission becomes more political, it will need to embrace both the Spitzenkandidaten process and reform.
The EU's future or everything von der Leyen did not say
24 September 2021
To gauge what the EU's next big political fights will be, look at what Ursula Von der Leyen did not say in her annual speech to the European Parliament.
Hurrah for the conference on the future of Europe!
01 June 2021
If done right, the conference on the future of Europe can help bring about meaningful reform in the EU – even if that means changing the treaties.
The EU's troubled leadership: You get what you pay for
25 February 2021
Recent gaffes by Ursula von der Leyen and Josep Borrell, over COVID-19 vaccination roll-out and Russia policy respectively, have irritated member-states.
Can Europe learn to play power politics?
28 November 2019
The EU's liberal model of shared sovereignty is under threat. Europe cannot afford to remain a pure soft power. It has to reform and learn how to play power politics.
Can Josep Borrell get EU foreign policy off the ground?
30 September 2019
The EU’s new foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, may struggle to co-ordinate the Union’s external activities in the face of rival European commissioners and unruly member-states.
Von der Leyen's bumpy road to becoming Commission president
01 August 2019
The European Parliament has narrowly elected Ursula von der Leyen as the first female Commission president. Now she faces the difficult task of assembling a team of commissioners to deliver her priorities.