By: Olaia Mujika Anduiza Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

Lately, disputes over the next Multiannual Financial Framework (2028–2034) have been making headlines. This is no surprise: the MFF, as the EU’s long-term budget, is central to economic and financial planning and shapes a wide range of EU priorities. As a result, its drafting always involves significant disagreement and negotiation between institutions, political parties, and Member States.

What did come as a surprise this year was that the Commission’s proposal aims to deeply reshape core EU policies, including cohesion policy. In fact, in this policy area, the Commission is even going against the advice of its own key experts on reform options.

To better understand how cohesion policy works today and how the Commission proposes to change it, a concise two-part series on the topic will be published. The first article outlines the current architecture of cohesion policy, while the second will examine the Commission’s proposed reforms.

Let us begin with the first.

By: Gabriel Panza Read time: 4 Minutes

The Balkan country, Albania, known for its cultural tradition of “Besa” and its stunning coastlines, has recently come into the spotlight with its progress towards EU accession. Recently, on November 17th, Albania opened its final cluster of topics needed for EU membership negotiations, covering agriculture and fisheries, food safety, and cohesion policy. This marks a significant step towards Albania’s eventual accession, as accession talks are expected to end by the end of 2027. Prime Minister Edi Rama has claimed that Albania’s accession will be completed by 2030, a claim initially met with skepticism. However, given that EU negotiation processes have gone swimmingly, Albania’s goal of accession by 2030 appears increasingly likely. But what is the history of Albania’s accession to the EU? And what kind of relationship has Albania fostered with the EU? 

By Seán Doherty, reading time: 3 minutes

The EU has, for some time now, been deliberating on how to keep funding its military support for Ukraine, as well as financing the rebuilding of the country when the war eventually comes to an end. The need for a collective European solution to this issue has been exacerbated since Donald Trump regained power in the US. Since his January 2025 return,  the President has stated several times that his nation would cut support for Kyiv if no progress on a ceasefire agreement was made. Since then, the US has halted all military and financial support, instead sending weapons only on the condition that these weapons are paid for by other NATO countries. 

By: Lavinia Tacke, reading time: 3 minutes

The Commission's proposal for the new annual budget is officially out! But now it is up to the Council and the Parliament to decide on the EU’s spending in 2026. The initial drafts aim to reinforce competitiveness, continue support for Ukraine, strengthen security and defense, and advance green and digital transitions. The draft 2026 budget includes some ambitious plans as it aims to address “recent, unpredicted developments”. However, there are conflicting opinions from the Parliament and the Council as they enter the negotiation stage.

By Gabriel Panza, reading time 4minutes 50 Seconds

Imagine a vibrant hub of economic collaboration that spans an entire continent—South America’s Mercosur is exactly that. Mercosur directly translates to the Southern Common Market and is a trade bloc that aims to boost economic integration across the region. What is its primary mission? To create a competitive field where national economies can collaborate, encourage business growth, and attract investment opportunities. Since its creation, Mercosur’s Founding members have sought to expand their markets by establishing international agreements to open their markets to all other continents. Today, this ambitious trade bloc stands tall among the top 5 world economies, forging cooperation accords with nations worldwide. As Mercosur continues its global expansion, it is not only shaping the future of trade but also opening new opportunities that could soon affect you. 

By Anna-Magdalena Glockzin, Reading time: 2 min

In the context of the myriad of geopolitical events that happen very quickly, the EU’s head of foreign affairs Kaja Kallas features prominently on the international stage. For example, in her direct statements against Russia and in favour of committed (military) support for Ukraine (“The EU wants Ukraine to win this war”). She has been in office since December 2024, having the role of the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission. But who is Kaja Kallas and what has she done so far? Time to take stock.

By Emma Guastone (EG) & Federico Fo (ECA Maastricht), Reading time: 5:15 minutes

In recent years, the world has witnessed a considerable increase in international tensions, becoming extremely dangerous from this point of view. In this regard, acts of terrorism have become a standardized tool to increase international instability. Thus, obliging countries to look for new solutions to support counterterrorism operations. Particularly, Europe has made considerable progress when referring to European collaboration to fight terrorist threats. While most of the competences for counterterrorism are held by individual States, the collaboration among them is supported on many levels by a series of different international organizations independent from each other. Nominally, these institutions consist of the European Union (EU), the Council of Europe and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). This article aims  to explore in what way these organizations support the already mentioned collaboration.

By Anna-Magdalena Glockzin, 3 minutes.

Following up on the first article on the New European Commission, this piece will take a closer look at the Commissioner hearings that the European Parliament conducted in order to “investigate” the potential candidates for the New Commission. This way MEPs ensure that the candidates are fit for the job and, at the same time, that MEPs have some influence in the selection process of the Commissioners, who will then be responsible for drafting laws and setting the political agenda. However, whether the persons who are nominated for the job are actually suitable might be a secondary criterion. Strategic decisions and party politics play an important role too. In order to perform well in the hearings, the candidates have to study the entire EU legislative acquis in one month, they can get used to the process by engaging in mock hearings (although most of the nominees don’t do that, which might be a question of ego, since these mock hearings are conducted by their staff), and they have to practice a fair amount of lobbying with the MEPs. But which were the most interesting hearings?

By Anna-Magdalena Glockzin, 3 minutes.

Finding a team that works well together and is fit for the job is always a big challenge. But if one has to take into account preferences of third parties and the political messages attached to the team’s selection, it gets even messier. However, this is the task that European Commission President (of the current as well as the new Commission) Ursula von der Leyen had to manage when nominating her new team of Commissioners. But let’s start from the beginning.

By Tillie Morris, 6 minutes.

The re-election of the pro-European Prime Minister in Poland, Donald Tusk, stirs questions about whether the alliance between Poland, Germany, and France will be the stronghold for Europe’s future.

By Federico Fo, 6 minutes.

Maastricht set the stage for the 2024 Elections for the European Parliament. Eight Spitzenkandidaten have started their election campaigns for their European parties and faced off in a fierce debate. All eyes lie on the current Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, seeking re-election for another five year term. Yet, candidates from the far left to the far right were convinced that they can halt her quest and swing the vote in their favour.

By Carlo Civitarese, 12 minutes.

Maastricht set the stage for the 2024 Elections for the European Parliament. Eight Spitzenkandidaten have started their election campaigns for their European parties and faced off in a fierce debate. All eyes lie on the current Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, seeking re-election for another five year term. Yet, candidates from the far left to the far right were convinced that they can halt her quest and swing the vote in their favour. Heated Topics on Foreign and Defence Policy, EU Democracy and Climate Change will decide who will lead Europe in this time of instability and change.

By Tillie Morris and Carlo Citivarese, 8 minutes

Organised by Politico, the Maastricht debate was held on the 29th of April, and they invited seven candidates who are running for the position of European Commission president. The candidates had the opportunity to share their positions on three topics, climate change, foreign and security policy, and EU democracy chosen by young people through a Maastricht University survey. A focus of the event was to include young people in EU politics, which was evident as many student and youth-oriented associations, such as ECA, the European Youth Parliament and Studio Europa were invited to the event.

By Sarah Hourquet (MD) & Nurbolat Kambekov (B&Y), 7 minutes.

This article is the first in our collaboration with the Blue & Yellow, the blog of the European Career's Association. We will publish a few different pieces through various media on the upcoming European Parliament Elections happening from 6 to 9 of June 2024. So, keep a look out for this and don't forget to go vote! As this is a collaboration, two writers, one of each journal, have written this piece together.

By Kristoffer Sætre, 7 minutes.

The EU is currently sending a lot of weapons to Ukraine. But wait, aren’t member states such as Austria, Ireland and Malta neutral? Are neutral states allowed to send military aid to states in war? Read this article to answer these questions and find out more about neutrality under international law and its relevance for EU member states.

By Nora Fotini El-Awdan, 8 minutes.

On Tuesday, November 7, 2023, the ECA set off on a two-day study trip to Brussels. It turned out to be a great mix of institution and media visits, networking events, and presentations. We participants returned with a backpack full of new knowledge on career opportunities. Here an overview of the highlights, main takeaways, and a list of links to start off your career in the European Union (EU).

By Jan Herniczek, 5 minutes. The ongoing war in Ukraine has already dramatically changed our world. Finland and Sweden decided to break their decades-old neutrality and join NATO. But why were they neutral in the first place? And what do the Turkish election have to do with NATO membership?

By Eleonora Pizzini, 7 minutes. Working in or for one of the European Institutions implies, in practice, a very good knowledge of at least two foreign languages. Despite 24 official ones, the so-called procedural languages are just three: English, French and German. How important is it to know at least two of them? And why over time many doubts and malcontent have risen across the choice of these three languages?

By Aari Helmelaid, 7 minutes. In December 2022, shocking revelations of corruption and acceptance of bribes from Qatar and other third countries in the European Parliament came to light, involving some of Europe’s top and former politicians like Eva Kaili and Antonio Panzeri. Since then, various suggestions have been debated to rebuild its reputation and reform the European Parliament to become a transparent and corruption-free institution, ranging from prohibiting unofficial friendships with third countries, to creating a whole new EU body specifically responsible for ensuring internal institutional ethics. Read the article to find out the main actors, the hidden criminal networks, and what the future might look like for the European parliament.