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European Political Parties and the rise of Populism
In the last week of March, three European political parties organised separate conferences on political populism. The Centre for European Studies, the official think-tank of the European People’s Party (EPP); the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE); and the Greens / European Free Alliance (GEFA) all organised meetings in the European Parliament on […]
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At Europe’s Service: The Origins and Evolution of the European People’s Party
The European People’s Party, the largest political party in Europe, has roots that run deep in history. Founded in 1976 as a Christian Democratic federation, the European People’s Party is now a strong centre-right movement and a leading European political family. It has member parties in almost all European countries, and it is very well represented in the […]
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Regional elections in Germany- the threats to the coalition
Japan’s devastating earthquake of 11 March has, within 2 weeks, led to a tsunami in German politics. Although Angela Merkel will remain Chancellor of a Christian Democrat – Liberal coalition (CDU/CSU and FDP) with a comfortable majority for another two and a half years, Germany’s political landscape has been altered significantly, and with ominous consequences […]
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The EU and the Leadership Deficit
It was supposed to be a historic meeting when EU leaders convened in March of 2000 to establish the Lisbon Strategy—a new goal for making the EU the ‘most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world.’ Ten years later, the EU has realised that the goals of this strategy are not realistic, to say […]
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EU-Russia Relations: Time for a realistic turnaround
In this paper, three long-time observers of Russia and the EU perform a reality check on the EU–Russia relationship. All three authors agree that a more realistic EU policy would deal with Russia as it is, not as the EU wants it to be. The reality of today’s Russia is complex, as is the policy […]
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The Future of World Trade: EU Priorities for the Global Trading System after the Crisis
World trade is recovering from its sharpest decline since the Great Depression. Europe remains the world’s leading trading entity, despite the crisis. The authors of this paper assert that the EU should not retreat to protectionism, but should rise to the post-crisis challenge. The paper assesses how Europe can do this through strengthening the single […]
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Old Ghosts in New Sheets: European Populist Parties and Foreign Policy
This research paper analyses the foreign policy positions of five populist parties of the Right and Left in Western Europe. It focuses on foreign policy, an often ignored dimension of their ideas. It aims to fill a hole in policy debates by showing that European populism poses a coherent threat to mainstream politics, that foreign […]
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CES Activity Report 2010
2010 proved to be a successful, while at the same time challenging year for the European centre-right. While addressing challenges and struggles over a new model of economic governance and the future of the Eurozone, Europe had to accustom itself to the implementation of the Lisbon Treaty. The functioning of the European Union had been […]
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The Power of Freedom: Central and Eastern Europe after 1945
Mart Laar was the Prime Minister of Estonia for two terms, from 1992 to 1994 and from 1999 to 2002. His role in the successful democratic transformation of Estonia made him an internationally recognized expert in “democratic transition”. “The Power of Freedom” tells the gripping story of the journey of Central and Eastern European countries […]
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European Factbook 2010
The European Factbook is the consolidated annual publication with all relevant data and documentation about the European People’s Party (EPP), the largest European level Party that represents the centre-right political spectrum. The 2010 edition includes the latest updates and information from both European level and national level politics. With the Lisbon Treaty now in force, 2010 finds the EPP […]
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Quasi-Democracy: Finland’s Fall from the Cradle of Innovation to the Abyss of Stagnation
This book is the long-awaited abridged English translation of Lumedemokratia (Quasi-Democracy, 2009), which sparked a vivid debate about the nature of Finnish society, from recent history to the present day. It condemns the economic policy pursued during the great depression of the 1990’s and Finland’s continued failure to revamp its suffocatingly rigid labour market structures. […]
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The European People’s Party: Successes and Future Challenges
The mission and aim of this book is to reflect on values of centre-right parties. It provides a clear view of the history, intellectual basis and values of selected member parties of the EPP. This volume provides the first overview of the binding fundamental values as well as the traditional elements of the EPP. It […]
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Applied Christian Democracy: the Rhineland Model
This publication is a collection of ideas and thoughts, which according to the authors in no way pretend to be “the truth”. Rather than formulate an easy answer, in this document, the attempt was to search for the right questions. The direct impetus for this kind of book was the outcome of the evaluation of […]
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European Union and Public Opinion in Estonia
European integration is continuously a topic that needs attention. Although in different opinion polls Estonian people do appear EU friendly, it is not clear if, and to what extent they actually relate Estonia as a state and themselves as individuals to Europe and to different European processes. Therefore the Pro Patria Training Centre with the […]
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Schuman Report on Europe: State of the Union 2010
After the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty and in the wake of the financial crisis which has challenged a number of certitudes and just as a new world order is emerging, it is now more important than ever to understand the issues affecting Europe today. The 2010 Schuman Report is a reference work […]
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Stopping the Drift: Recalibrating the Transatlantic Relationship for a Multipolar World
This report will examine America’s and Europe’s positions in the world and their relationship with one another. What are the reasons for the widening of the divide? Are they rooted in current political or individual constellations, or are there larger structural causes—even paradigm shifts—that are slowly driving the partners apart? It will then discuss several […]
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Dialogue with Islam: Facing the Challenge of Muslim Integration in France, Netherlands and Germany
The aim of this paper is to contribute to a balanced and consistent EU policy on Muslim immigrants. It pleads for creative and open approaches to the needs of both Muslims and society as a whole; for state cooperation with Islamic organisations; and for establishing schools of Islamic theology at European universities, staffed by Islamic […]
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GDP and its Enemies: the Questionable Search for a Happiness Index
The financial crisis and global warming have led to a crisis of confidence in our traditional ways of measuring wealth because they do not take speculative risk and environmental costs into consideration. A number of alternative indexes have been proposed that would measure people’s well-being and the environmental sustainability of the planet. Even though the […]
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Muslim Brotherhood Parties in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Region
Olivier Guitta, a security and geopolitical consultant based in Europe, looks at the Muslim Brotherhood – its history, its ideology and its vision of the West as well as at three branches of the Muslim Brotherhood in Middle East and North Africa region.
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Health Care Reforms in an Ageing European Society, with a Focus on the Netherlands
The Centre for European Studies with the cooperation of the CDA Research Institute published this study on health care in an aging Europe. The accessibility and affordability of care is a major issue in ageing societies. All EU countries have to handle this issue, although the increase in costs is uneven and financing and organization […]
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Baltic Sea Strategy a Pilot Project for Macro-Regionalisation in the EU
The Baltic Sea region is the first macro-region to be recognised in Europe. The region is, therefore, a pilot project, setting an example and offering best/worst practices for other macroregions in the making. Dr. Esko Antola, the Director of Centrum Balticum in Finland, describes the development of the Baltic Sea Strategy and the next steps […]