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 Nora Fotini El-Awdan, 8 minutes.

On Monday, April 29, 2024, the lead candidates (“Spitzenkandidat:innen”) of eight European parties faced-off against each other at the “Maastricht Debate 2024.” The contenders presented and defended their respective visions for the future of Europe ahead of the European Parliament elections in June. The key topics of the debate were selected by Europe’s youth based on a survey conducted by Maastricht University: (1) Climate change, (2) Foreign and Security policy and (3) EU Democracy.

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.

By Clara Pastor Hernández, 10 minutes. Human Rights Defenders (HRDs) are individuals or organisations who seek the promotion and protection of civil and political rights as well as the promotion, protection and realisation of economic, social and cultural rights. However, despite their huge efforts towards development and the improvement of living conditions, they are being systematically attacked and silenced through violence in countries with high rates of violence, corruption or autocratic regimes. This article examines the role of the EU as regards the protection of HRDs, and more particularly, it presents Protect Defenders, an EU-funded mechanism coordinated by Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) offering protection and support to HRDs and raising awareness about this topic.

Sara Saccon, 5 minutes. Every 18 months a group of three member states of the Union holds the presidency of the Council of the European Union, one of the most important European institutions. The trio composed of France, Czech Republic, and Sweden is coming to an end, as Sweden’s mandate will terminate on the 30th of June. What challenges have the three presidencies encountered during the past year and a half? How have they dealt with them? And, most importantly, what now? Read our article to learn more!

By Aari Helmelaid, 11 minutes. So you’ve looked at your own Spotify Wrapped for 2022, but have you thought about which countries in Europe held elections in the last year? Read the article to find out about major elections that changed European politics.

By Beatriz Santos Mayo, 9 minutes. The DiscoverEU Interrail Scholarship has been made available to everyone by the EU for several years. 60,000 young people are able to traverse the European continent for free thanks to this initiative's free rail passes. Read more about the Interrail scholarship program, which enables you to visit Europe for free with DiscoverEU in this article!

By Nurbolat Kambekov, 3 minutes. In the age of accelerated technological growth, many governments across the world are concerned about their levels of innovation. Fortunately, the EU is pioneering trend-setting policies to address such challenges. Learn more about the EU’s technological initiative discussed in our recent article.

By Aari Helmelaid, 6 minutes. The European Ombudsman occupies a unique position as an independent supervisor between the EU institutions and European citizens. The contribution made by the European Ombudsman to transforming the administrative practices and pressuring European institutions, bodies, and agencies into better conduct cannot be underestimated, read the article to find out more of the role that the European Ombudsman plays in the EU world…

By Aydin Clara Orberk, 13 minutes. Are you familiar with the court structure and access to courts in the EU? With the creation of the EU and the recent Charter of Fundamentals rights of the EU, individuals may seek access for infringements to their rights not only before national courts, but also before the European Court of Justice. This article covers access conditions to European courts, firstly, and exemplifies the access conditions by introducing climate litigation cases, secondly.

By Leonie Klüver, 6 minutes. Lobbying - what exactly does it mean and how does it tie into the political system? Why is it crucial for the legislative process and a valuable aspect of a democratic political system? Read the article to find out the answers! Within the last two centuries lobbying has become an essential part of politics. In Europe, Brussels is the major hub for lobbying with 11,800 registered lobbying entities.

By Lucrezia Nicosia, 6 minutes. The European Union today consists of 27 Member States and it is the result of a continuous process of growth that occurred through the accession of new states. To become a member of the EU, a state must not only fulfil a list of formal requirements but must also align itself to the Union standards through a long process of negotiations. All this considered, which country/ies are the most advanced in the procedure? Why is Turkey taking so long to gain access to the EU?

By Aari Helmelaid, 6 minutes. The ability of citizens to vote is key for the functioning of a democratic society. Citizens of the EU are given substantial voting rights but the mere right of suffrage has proven insufficient to combat the lack of interest in elections at both the national and the supranational level and the decrease in democratic participation. This begs the question, what is the EU doing to increase democratic participation?

By Leonie Klüver, 9 minutes. Russia's invasion of Ukraine drastically changed the peaceful liberal democratic interaction and existence of European states. It forced the EU to implement economic sanctions to weaken the Russian economy and ultimately curtail Russia's ability to wage war. To show solidarity with Ukraine, the EU provided billions of euros in funds to EU member states and Ukraine to prevent a humanitarian crisis and provide basic human needs to the fleeing Ukrainians. Read this article to see what the EU can actually do in the context of war in Ukraine.

by Jeanne Gallien, 6 minutes. Since January 1st and for six months, France has taken over the rotating presidency of the Council. Together with the Czech Republic, Sweden, the trio will play an important role in making Europe more sovereign, more human and in creating a new European reference for the rest of the world.

By Lucrezia Nicosia, 5,5 minutes. The Europol and the Eurojust signed a contribution agreement for the expansion of their cooperation in the SIRIUS project, which aims to help investigations with cross-border access to electronic evidence by providing services and developing tools available to EU law enforcement and judicial authorities. The internet is a complex and vast world and a lot of expertise is required to fight online crimes and investigate online evidence: is this the reason why the Member States are so willing to rely on the help of the European Union? Has this new perception of crime changed something on how the Member States relating to the EU when dealing with criminal matters?

By Eliza Wójcik, 5,5 minutes. Conference on the Future of Europe is one of a kind event happening in the EU right now. It is a series of debates and discussions led by citizens aiming to enable all Europeans to share their ideas and help in shaping a common European future, per the European Commission’s website. The Conference started with a proposal in 2019 and will last for 2 years. The Conference has its own website which can be viewed in multiple languages.

By Paula Nörr, 6 minutes. Have you already heard about the latest EU-body, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO), that started its operations only a few days ago, on 1 June 2021? You may know about existing EU bodies such as Eurojust, Europol, or OLAF, that also intends to protect the Union’s budget against fraud and corruption. But the EPPO is the first supranational EU body in charge of criminal investigations and prosecutions in this regard. If you want to know why exactly the EPPO is a “real game-changer”, keep reading and learn more about its mission, structure, and functioning!

By Marina Veljkovic, 4 minutes. Are you curious about how the European Union and its Member States are battling the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic? Would you like to know more about the Union’s plans on developing and ensuring the EU countries’ resilience and sustainability in the years to come? Then keep reading!

By Wiktoria Nadolna, 7 minutes. We all want to save the planet to protect future generations, but we often get lost in the process. The European Commission has created a plan to approach sustainable transformation in a successive manner. In this article, we are introducing to you The European Green Deal.