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EPRS invites leading experts and commentators to share their thinking and insights on important features of the European Union as a political and economic system. In this paper, David O'Sullivan, former Secretary General of the European Commission and EU Ambassador to the United States, reflects on the Union's contribution to and standing in the multilateral system which it has done so much to support and pioneer, as well as on some of the issues that confront Europe if it is to maximise its influence ...

According to the Portuguese Constitution adopted in 1976, Portugal is a semi-presidential Republic and a parliamentary democracy. It is a unitary state which also includes two autonomous regions (the Azores and Madeira archipelagos) with their own political and administrative statutes and self-governing institutions (Article 6 of the Constitution). The Constitution of the Third Republic created a single representative body: the Assembly of the Republic (Assembleia da República). The Assembly exercises ...

The coronavirus crisis has further underlined the need for a more cohesive European Union (EU). Previous ideas about how best to link the levels of the EU's system of multilevel governance have become even more important, while new paths of cooperation have been opened by changes triggered by the crisis itself. Every level of governance, from the EU to the local, via the national and regional levels, has been affected by the crisis and all are involved in the response. This crisis has shown that ...

EU listing of tax havens

Briefing 21-10-2019

Broadly speaking, 'tax havens' provide taxpayers, both legal and natural persons, with opportunities for tax evasion or avoidance, while their secrecy and opacity also serves to disguise the origins of the proceeds of illegal and criminal activities. One might ask why establishing a list of tax havens or high-risk countries is useful. Drawing up such lists began with action to end harmful tax practices arising from the discrepancy between the global reach of financial flows and the geographically ...

This document presents the main features of the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), including governance, capital structure and funding sources, main lending instruments, as well as its oversight and accountability framework. It also reviews recent proposals and contributions on the possible evolution of the ESM. This note is regularly updated.

The future of the European Defence Agency (EDA)

Análise aprofundada 18-07-2018

The aim of the workshop, held on 22 November 2017, was to discuss the future of the European Defence Agency (EDA) against the backdrop of framing a common Union defence policy. The first speaker, Dr Christian Mölling, provided an analysis of the issue of defence cooperation among EU member states and the difficulties it faces. In this context, he described the role and power of the EDA as well as possible options for its future. The second speaker, Professor David Versailles, focused on capabilities ...

On 13 November 2017, 23 EU Member States signed a joint notification addressed to the Council and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission (HR/VP) on their intention to participate in PESCO. The Council is now expected to formally establish PESCO, possibly before the end of the year.

Over the past two decades, an ‘open’ internet and the spread of digital technologies have brought great economic benefits on both sides of the Atlantic. At the same time, the spread of insecure digital technologies has also enabled costly new forms of crime, and created systemic risks to transatlantic and national critical infrastructure, threatening economic growth and development. The transnational nature of these phenomena make it very difficult for effective policy solutions to be implemented ...

One year after the British vote on Brexit, the Member States of the European Union seem to be on the verge of waking the ‘Sleeping Beauty’ of European defence: permanent structured cooperation (PESCO). Do they have the same understanding of its intended goals and of the ways forward or means of achieving them, or are they simply motivated by the desire not to end up on the edges of the sort of Eurogroup for defence that is being set up? What are the specific areas of agreement and disagreement between ...

The Commission has proposed a decision which would require Member States to submit draft intergovernmental agreements with non-EU countries in the field of energy to it before they are signed. The Commission would then check whether they are compliant with EU law, and Member States would have to take full account of the Commission's opinion. At present, Member States are required to submit such agreements to the Commission after signature. The Commission considers the present system as ineffective ...