The way legislation is adopted at the EU level currently leaves little influence to the European citizens over how policy will be formulated or what course of action the union will take. With the European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) being the only mechanism through which the EU citizens can have direct participation in the development of EU policies, what other instruments should the EU put into place to ensure the legitimacy of the union-wide legislative process?
President Trump recently pulled out of the 2015 Iran deal despite the joint proposal by France, Germany and the UK to impose sanctions over Iran. Having in mind the European Union’s commitment to peace and security in its neighbourhood, and taking note of third parties’ interests in the region, what would be an optimal approach for the EU in relation to this matter and contribute to a more sustainable approach to future global peacebuilding initiatives?
Panmunjeom Declaration for Peace, Prosperity and Unification of the Korean Peninsula was an unprecedented act in the relations between the Republic of Korea and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in which the two sides pledged to work towards the “common goal” of denuclearisation on the peninsula. Bearing in mind other stakeholders’ involvement in the process and influence over the two sides, how should the EU promote the détente between the two countries, facilitate their peaceful coexistence and contribute to a more sustainable approach to future global peacebuilding initiatives?
One of the Sustainable Development Goals is for developed countries to spend 0.7% of their gross national income on aid. However, only four EU member states have consistently met this target since it was introduced in 2005. In light of continuing austerity measures, how can the EU work collectively towards achieving this goal without causing negative economic consequences for the member states?
2017 marked the 12th consecutive yearly decline in global freedoms. Human rights violations occur across the globe with situations in Syria, Myanmar, Yemen, the Sahel region and DR Congo being only a few examples of the global phenomenon. 70 years after the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, how could the EU act as a global facilitator of respect for fundamental human rights?
Academic studies over the last decade have pointed out that the legal architecture of Member States is an important predictor of their success in transposing EU legislation. Due to peculiarities in the structure of their national legal order, some Member States have become ‘legal misfits’ and been penalised by the EU. With Member States’ limited influence over how requirements of a directive need to be included or elaborated and lack of possibilities to opt out, what mechanisms should the EU put into place to ensure legal fit of its Member States into union-wide legislation?
The European Union Global Strategy (EUGS) was introduced in 2016 as the new doctrine of the European Union to mitigate new challenges that the Union faces globally. Together with that, 25 Member States have agreed to form the Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO), whereby the EU has transitioned from cooperation to integration on security matters. What further steps should the EU take to provide efficient responses to emerging domestic and international security threats?
According to Europol’s latest “Internet Organised Crime Threat Assessment” report, the use of the internet is an integral component in any terrorist plot. Although currently limited, jihadist cyber and online threats are increasingly becoming a concern for the European Union. An efficient response to this threat would require intra-Union collaboration and coordination of law enforcement and intelligence communities, the private sector and academia. How should the EU ensure that such mechanisms of coordination and collaboration are effectively put into practice?