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Electronic Collection “SPES Policy Papers“ launched

The electronic collection “SPES Policy Papers“ is dedicated to issues of current and future relevance to European foreign and security policy. Written by fellows of the Study Programme on European Security (SPES) for fellows from Central and Eastern Europe – conducted by IEP and supported by the Volkswagen Foundation – as well as researchers from IEP, the papers focus on four thematic clusters:

• The EU and Russia
• European Enlargement and Neighbourhood Policy
• The EU’s civilian and military crisis management
• European energy policy and climate change policy

Against the background that the scientific debate on European foreign and security policy is often dominated by Western perspectives, this paper series stands out by providing a platform for alternative viewpoints that focus on external perceptions and assessments of EU policies, actions and discourses.

The first policy paper (to download here) written by Iryna Solonenko attempts to explain to what extent the EU has had an impact on internal developments in Ukraine since the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) was launched in 2005. By tracing the resonance that this EU policy has had on different actors and processes, the paper challenges the dominant discourse about the failure of the ENP.

For more information on SPES please go to http://www.iep-berlin.de/699.html?&L=1

EU-27 Watch No. 9 / EU-27Watch.org released!

The latest edition of the EU-27 Watch is available free of charge at www.eu-27Watch.org. In this edition, experts on European integration from the 27 member states and 4 candidate countries disclose the Euro-political discourse relevant to their respective countries in English.

Topics of the ninth edition include:

the implementation of the Lisbon Treaty;
the European Neighbourhood Policy and enlargement;
European economic policy and the financial crisis;
European climate and energy policy.

The EU-27 Watch has provided concise depictions of the prevailing European debates for the past 6 years. Through use of the footnotes, further English sources can be found on country specific issues.

The new platform, www.eu-27Watch.org, presents the reader enhanced access to the texts. Reports are sorted by country or by question, presenting the reader quicker access to information. The timeline gives an overview of the European political environment since 2004.

TEPSA newsletter editorial on EEAS

By Jean Paul Jacqué

With only two months delay from the original schedule, the European External Action Service (EEAS) has just been established. This delay is due essentially to the negotiations with the European Parliament (EP). The latter linked its consultative opinion on the service to the proposals on the needed adjustments of the Financial Regulation and the staff status, for which it possessed codecision power. This allowed the EP to check all the texts.

Please click here to read the entire text. Please click here to read the entire newsletter.

Please read the Council Decision and the Declaration of Ms. Ashton.

Liber Amicorum Professor Jacqué

We congratulate warmly Professor Jean-Paul Jacqué who received the Liber Amicorum on Monday 14th June, "Chemins d'Europe - mélanges en l'honneur de J.P. Jacqué”.

The first hommage was written by Jean-Claude Piris, Director General of the Legal service of the Council of the EU who emphasizes Jean Paul Jacqué's successful academic career, his valuable contributions notably to the Council as well as his human qualities.

Other authors are Olivier De Schutter, Loïc Azoulai, Ami Barav, Florence Benoît-Rohmer, Frédérique Berrod, Roland Bieber, Thérèse Blanchet, Claude Blumann, Laurence Burgorgue-Larsen, Florence Chaltiel, Jean Charpentier, Vlad Constantinesco, Jacqueline Dutheil de la Rochère, Jean-François Flauss, Jean-Claude Gautron, Constance Grewe, Joël Rideau, Robert Hertzog, Robert Kovar, Hans Christian Krüger, Marie-Françoise Labouz, Koen Lenaerts, Jean-Victor Louis, Alfonso Mattera, Valérie Michel, Dietmar Nickel, Fabrice Picod, Dominique Ritleng, Patrice Rolland, Allan Rosas, Lucia Serena Rossi, Jürgen Schwarze, Antonio Tizzano, Bruno Gencarelli, Françoise Tulkens, Stefano Piedimonte, Georges Vandersanden, Blanca Vila, Patrick Wachsmann, Jean Waline, Joseph H.H. Weiler, Wolfgang Wessels, Jacques Ziller.

Please click here to read the first hommage and the table of contents.

Robert Schuman on Hungary and Europe

by Graham Avery, former Secretary General of TEPSA, visiting Fellow at the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies, European University Institute, Florence, Senior Member of St. Antony’s College, University of Oxford and Honorary Director General of the European Commission

Click here to read the publication.

Source:The Hungarian Quarterly

Recommendations to the Belgian Presidency

During the Belgian Pre-Presidency conference organised in cooperation with the EGE network on 20-21st May 2010, TEPSA Network presented the Recommendations to the Belgian Presidency.

These recommendations were drafted by representatives from TEPSA member institutes: Iain Begg (LSE, London), Christian Franck (Catholic University of Louvain, Jean Monnet Chair), András Innotai (IWE HAS, Budapest), Mathias Jopp (IEP, Bonn), Ignacio Molina (Elcano, Madrid), Višnja Samardjija (IMO, Zagreb), Marjan Svetlicic (CIR, Ljubljana), Fabrizio Tassinari (DIIS, Copenhagen).

THESEUS Summer School 2010 and THESEUS Awards

THESEUS Seminar for Young Leaders 2010 will take place on 10-15 July 2010 in Brussels, at the Foundation Universitaire, rue d'Egmont 11, 1000 Brussels.

The THESEUS Seminar will this year discuss "Freedom, security and justice as a common challenge - justice and home affairs in the EU after the treaty of Lisbon". It adresses PhD students and young professionals from administration, research and business and will focus on the recent changes induced by the Lisbon Treaty with in the field of Justice and Home Affairs of the European Union. Like in last years the seminar will feature speakers and high-level experts from international organisations, business, politics, NGOs together with recognised researchers. The deadline for applications is 14 June 2010.

In addition to the Summer School, THESEUS is looking for highly-motivated applicants to respond to these calls for nominations. The THESEUS Award for Outstanding Research on European Integration distinguishes persons with an outstanding academic record in the field of European Integration.The THESEUS Award for Promising Research on European Integration 2010 distinguishes an excellent piece of work of a junior researcher. The deadline for the nominations is 31 May 2010.

More information on the Summer School can be found here.

EP Briefings on Security and Defence

For this legislative period TEPSA has won two Framework Contract with the European Parliament in the areas of Security and Defense and Multilateralism.

Six briefings have been completed and accepted by the European Parliament (Tomas Ries Global Challenges: navigating a way for the EU as a Global Actor; Prof. Richard Whitman Strengthening the EU's External Representation: the role of the EEAS on the Union's external representation; Nik Hynek Consolidating the EU's Crisis Management structures: civil-military coordination and the future of the EU OHQ; Christian Moelling Bridging the securitydevelopment gap: civilian-civilian co-operation and the need for an EU Peacebuilding strategy; Julia Lieb Consolidating Civilian and Military Training for Crisis Management: taking stock of EU initiatives; Gunilla Herolf Establishing the knowledge base of a smart power: a blue print for an EU Institute for Peace).

Click here to download the briefings

Reflections on the Schuman Declaration by Jean Paul Jacqué

9 May 1950 - 9 May 2010

On the occasion of the sixtieth anniversary of the Schuman Declaration Professor Jean Paul Jacqué, Secretary General of TEPSA, has analysed the Schuman Declaration and its significance both to the process of European integration over the past sixty years as well as to the way ahead for the further development of EU's institutional structure.

Please click here to download the publication.

Conference on Britain, Europe and the upcoming British elections, London 14 April

Federal Trust for Education and Research has organised a conference on 'Britain, Europe and the General Election' on 14th April in London, in cooperation with TEPSA. At this conference the European policies of the main British parties were considered and it was assessed how far the parties will be in a position to carry these policies out after the next British General Election. Among our speakers were Professor Stephen Haseler, a founding member of the SDP, Maurice Fraser, a former special adviser to Douglas Hurd, and the authors of their pamphlet on financial regulation, Sir Brian Unwin and Graham Bishop. The Director of the Federal Trust, Brendan Donnelly, chaired the meeting and summed up its conclusions.

Please click here to read the report.

Recommendations to the Spanish Presidency

On the occasion of its Pre-Presidency Conference on 24-25 November 2009 at the Spanish Senate, organized by TEPSA's Spanish member Elcano, again recommendations to the Spanish Presidency were presented. These were elaborated by Michele Comelli (IAI, Rome), Gunilla Herolf (SIPRI, Stockholm), Visnja Samardzija (IMO, Zagreb), Krisztina Vida (IWE, Budapest) and Jaap de Zwaan (Clingendael, The Hague). The recommendations can be found here.

Crossfire in the Parliament: The Commission's hearings

The new year in Brussels begins right away with a series of events, which many people have been waiting for for a long time. Commissioner-designates have been preparing - helped by their staff - over Christmas in order to be ready for the questions of the European Parliament. While the most part of the hearings will take place during the week of 11-15 January, some (future) Commissioners will have the joy of travelling to Strasbourg in the following week.

The European Parliament has acquired a certain measure of routine by now in the holding of hearings: Already for the Commission of Jacques Santer hearings were undertaken - although when consulted on this issue the leaving Commission President Jacques Delors expressed his strong dislike. However, the Santer Commission agreed, and since then parliamentary hearings on the future Commission constitute a central part - though without treaty base - of the Commission's appointment, injecting some of the Parliament's legitimacy into the Commission. Andrew Duff, the EP's rapporteur on the hearings even stated in his press conference that this task is picturing the "European Parliament as it ought to be", with the goal to "have at the end a top-class Commission".

Hearings, which are to assess a candidate's general competence, his or her European commitment and personal independence as well as the knowledge of the prospective portfolio and the communication skills have been prepared by written questionnaires. They follow a clear structure: The Commissioner-designate opens after the technical introduction of the committee chair of the committee-in-lead the hearing with an opening statement, and then faces questions of the Parliamentarians. Hearings are restricted to three hours. After the public hearing the committees meet in camera to discuss the appearance of the Commissioner-designate; a letter with the committee's opinion is then sent to the President of the EP. Hearings are not without their pitfalls: In 2004, Italy and Latvia had to send new candidates; Hungary received a new portfolio.

TEPSA is supported by the European Union's Europe for Citizens programme, which stimulates activities in the area of Active European Citizenship

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