The IEP Policy Brief series #BerlinPerspectives presents precise analyses on Germany’s European policy to an English-speaking audience. The authors analyse German European policy positions on current topics and debates and provide policy recommendations based on their findings.
by Katrin Böttger and Nicolas Butylin
On 9 August 2020, a political crisis broke out in Belarus, triggered by the fraudulent presidential election and violence against subsequent peaceful demonstrations. The escalating confrontation between President Alyaksandr Lukashenka and the Coordination Council led by …
by Gabriele Abels
The EU has a long record in gender-equality policy. Its initiatives go back to the 1970s and since the 1990s it claims to have the most progressive gender regime in the world. However, gender equality is far …
by Funda Tekin*
In November 2015, the EU and Turkey, triggered by an unprecedented surge in migration from the Middle East, agreed on a package of measures that were meant to upgrade their relationship. Accordingly, accession negotiations were to be re-energized, …
by Dimitar Keranov
On 9 July 2020, the Bulgarian authorities raided the Presidential Administration and arrested several presidential aides. Since President Rumen Radev is a critic of Prime Minister Boyko Borisov’s policies, the raid was perceived as an attempt to …
by Natasha Wunsch
The European Council summit in July 2020 offered a stark illustration of the EU’s traditional dilemma: to reach consensus among 27 member states on sensitive issues generally implies agreeing upon the lowest common denominator. This time, the …
by Katrin Böttger
Belarus, which has been undergoing a political crisis since its presidential election on 9 August 2020, receives much less attention in Germany than its neighbours, Ukraine and Russia. Economically, as well as politically, it is heavily dependent …
By Ingolf Pernice
In May 2020, Germany’s Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) ruled that the country’s government and the parliament had violated the “right to democracy” of German citizens by failing to meet their responsibility with regard to European integration, for …
By Katrin Böttger and Funda Tekin
Between 1 July and 31 December 2020, Germany will hold the presidency of the Council of the EU for the first time since the first half of 2007. This comes at a time when there …