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A Window On The USA 2024 Presidential Election

Dr Giada Lagana, Cardiff University, Visiting Scholar at the Institute of European Studies at UC Berkeley It is 8.25 pm in California. The Institute of Governmental Studies’ (IGS) library at UC Berkeley is packed to capacity. On the screen, the map is increasingly red. People tell me:  ‘It always starts like this, but it changes. Keep…
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Another Trump administration, what next for Ireland and Europe?

Dr. Kenneth McDonagh For the third time in a row, Donald J. Trump has received millions of votes in a US presidential election. For the second time, these votes convert into a victory in the Electoral College, welcome to the second Trump administration! So what are the lessons here? Trump won because of who he…
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The American elections and the future of Europe: 3 unknowns and 3 knowns

Professor Federico Fabbrini (Dublin City University) Today, November 5, millions of American citizens will head to the polls to choose the next President of the United States of America (US), and at the same time to elect the 435 members of the US House of Representatives, 1/3 of the 100 members of the US Senate,…
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What Economic Policy Direction for the New Commission?

Ian Cooper (Dublin City University) What are the Commission’s priorities for EU economic policy over the next five years? The institutions of the EU are currently in the quinquennial period of interregnum between the election of the new European Parliament (which happened in June) and the new European Commission taking office (which will most likely…
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The UK Strategic Defence Review: What will it mean for Ireland and EU-UK relations?

Daniel Keohane (Dublin City University) As is customary for new British governments, the recently elected Labour administration will conduct a strategic review of UK defence policy. Lord George Robertson, former NATO Secretary-General and UK Defence Secretary (in a previous Labour government, from 1997-1999), will lead the review, with publication expected during summer 2025. There is…
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Event Report: The EU General Court and the Preliminary Reference Procedure

Berin Szóka (Dublin City University) On Wednesday 9 October, the DCU Brexit Institute hosted a special event within the framework of the Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence REBUILD and with the support of the Jean Monnet Modules NGEU-Law, Post Brexit-Law and LPF-Law. The event featured a keynote speech by Judge Savvas Papasavvas, Vice President of…
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EU Industrial Policy: enhancing the European Parliament’s oversight to strengthen democratic accountability

Sebastian Diessner (Leiden University) & Christy Ann Petit (Dublin City University) Policymakers are reviving the EU’s industrial policy, with a string of recent policy reports discussing the future of EU competitiveness (by Mario Draghi), the single market (by Enrico Letta), and the EU’s ‘new’ industrial policy (by Donato Di Carlo and colleagues). The legislative agenda…
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Moving Beyond: The Rebirth of EU-UK Relations After Brexit

Davide Genini (Dublin City University) The future of EU-UK relations appears to be on the cusp of a significant shift. After 14 years of Conservative leadership and limited progress since the UK exited the EU in 2020, Labour’s landslide victory in July 2024 has opened the door for a renewed post-Brexit partnership. The new government’s…
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The Normative Foundation for EU Criminal Justice

Dr. Jacob Öberg (Örebro University) When Ursula von der Leyen announced her new Commission last week, she nominated Ireland’s Michael McGrath for the post of Commissioner for Democracy, Justice, and the Rule of Law. Part of his responsibility will be to oversee the EU’s expanding role in the field of Criminal Justice. But how did…
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The Apple Case and Why the Court of Justice Rejected Ireland’s Pleas

Dr. Niall Moran (Dublin City University) On 10 September 2024, the European Court of Justice issued a final judgment in the Apple State aid case, upholding the appeal of the European Commission and setting aside the judgment of the General Court of the EU. There had been some expectation that the Court would send the…
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Event Report: Legal & Constitutional Perspectives on the Covid-19 Pandemic

Davide Genini (Dublin City University) On 10 September 2024, the DCU Brexit Institute hosted the Horizon Europe REGROUP and Jean Monnet Post Brexit Law module event titled “Legal & Constitutional Perspectives on the Covid-19 Pandemic”. As Full Professor and Founding Director of the Brexit Institute and DELI, Federico Fabbrini, noted, this event was particularly timely…
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Legal Lessons Learned from the Pandemic

REGROUP Blog-Post on the Best Practices and Key Takeaways for Liberal-Constitutional Democracies after the Covid-19 Pandemic Niels Kirst, Assistant Professor of European Law at Dublin City University, Deputy Director of the DCU Brexit Institute The Covid-19 pandemic constituted a watershed moment for liberal-constitutional democracies globally. While protecting lives comprised the primary objective of decision-makers, it…
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The Shrinking Centre Ground in European Politics

Ronan McCrea (University College London) Change is inevitable in political life. Indeed, the famous Dutch-American political scientist Arend Lijphart showed that the alternation of power between different parties is a key ingredient in the stability of a democratic system. However, unlike today, when elections such as those in France threaten to destabilise key features of…
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The European Political Community: more than a talking shop and a photo op?

Dr Cleo Davies (University of Warwick) The fourth summit of the European Political Community (EPC) was a real success for the UK and for its new prime minister, Keir Starmer. Not only did he use the opportunity to showcase his government’s ambitions to reset the UK’s relations with the EU and Member States, but the…
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A challenge for Keir Starmer: to reset Britain’s security and defence relationship with the EU

Dr Simon Sweeney* (University of York) Following Labour’s sweeping election victory, foreign and security policy should be at the heart of the promised reset in UK-EU relations after 14 years of Conservative government. Britain’s relations with its European allies will be fundamental to how Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s administration approaches its security and defence…
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Ursula von der Leyen’s Second Term as European Commission President

Andrew Duff (European Policy Centre) Ursula von der Leyen was always equivocal at being marked out as the Spitzenkandidat of the European People’s Party (EPP). She refused to stand as a German CDU candidate for the European Parliamentary elections. Retaining the broad cross-party confidence of national leaders was vital to her chances of being renominated…
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The 2024 French elections: a setback for gender equality in politics

Camille Barbe (Université de Bordeaux) On 7 July 2024, France’s election results surprised commentators as it saw the leftist union (the New Popular Front) defy the opinion polls of the preceding weeks and arrive first place, with 182 seats in the new assembly.  This unexpected defeat for the far-right National Rally party was partly made…
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The UK Election in Northern Ireland and its Effect on Anglo-Irish Relations

Feargal Cochrane (University of Warwick) At first glance the elections results in Northern Ireland seem relatively unremarkable. However, there are a number of significant implications for the main parties and potentially for the political future of Northern Ireland itself.  Before getting into the winners and losers, the first headline of the election was that the…
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A Stonking Labour Majority

Dr Ian Cooper* (DCU Brexit Institute) Keir Starmer has become UK Prime Minister after his Labour Party won a landslide victory in Thursday’s general election. As of Friday afternoon, Labour had secured 412 seats which is, in the parlance of UK elections, a majority of 174. (This means that in the 650-seat House of Commons…
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