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Eoin Micheál McNamara (Finnish Institute of International Affairs) eoin.mcnamara@fiia.fi Finland’s accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) on April 4 2023 marked a historic shift that has strengthened security in Northern Europe. Helsinki will now fully contribute to collective defence and deterrence under NATO’s Article 5. This finally secures a position for Finland as…

Valerio Bontempi (University of Tuscia) How has the financial administration of the state changed over time, and how has he adoption of new fiscal rules across the EU affected the ability of individual member states to control the public purse? These questions are answered in my new book, The Financial Administration of the State (in…

Stefan Telle (European University Institute) On this Europe Day (May 9), it is worthwhile to reflect on the fact that seven years have passed since the British membership referendum of 23 June 2016. At that time, few had anticipated the outcome. But with 52% of British voter preferring exit over voice, for the first time…

Cáit Gleeson* (Dublin City University) On 19 April, the European Parliament voted overwhelmingly in favour of a new regulation aimed at ensuring that products sold within or exported from the EU have not contributed to deforestation or forest degradation. The regulation covers cattle, cocoa, coffee, palm oil, rubber, soya, and wood, as well as products…

Seán Rainford (Dublin City University) The judgment handed down by the Irish Supreme Court in Costello v Ireland last November was enormous by any standard – in terms of its physical length (running to over 500 pages) and its likely consequences for Irish constitutional law and our external relations. By a majority of 4-3, the Court…

Jasmine Faudone (Dublin City University) On 27 February 2023, the President of the European Commission, Ursula Von Der Leyen, and the British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, announced an agreement on the Northern Ireland Protocol: the Windsor Framework. On the one hand, the adoption of the Windsor Framework was positively welcomed as it represents a break…

Federica Fazio* (Dublin City University) and Lucrezia Rossi** (DCU Brexit Institute) Last week, the DCU School of Law and Government hosted a talk on “War in Europe. European Security & Defence, Irish Neutrality & European Peace Initiatives” to close the academic semester. The event featured a talk followed by a Q&As session with Deputy Charles…

Ian Cooper (DCU Brexit Institute) On Thursday 6 April 2023, the DCU Brexit Institute hosted an online event, The 25th Anniversary of the Belfast Good Friday Agreement & the Windsor Framework. The event featured a Keynote Address from former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern. This was followed by a panel discussion featuring Federico Fabbrini, Full Professor of…

Mary C. Murphy (University College Cork) The 1998 Good Friday Agreement is 25 years old. The document itself is little more than 25 pages in length. It contained a series of provisions, proposals and possibilities. It was a complex compromise, born out of consensus – a sincere if necessarily messy and ambiguous effort at addressing…

Kevin O’Sullivan (Dublin City University) Since the foundation of the EEC in the 1950s, European policymakers have pursued the goal of a unified patent for the single market and a dedicated Unified Patent Court (UPC) to resolve disputes surrounding the revocation and infringement of patents. That goal – repeatedly frustrated for decades due to concerns…

Cáit Gleeson* (Dublin City University) and Goran Dominioni** (Dublin City University) Last week, legislators from the European Parliament and Council reached provisional agreement on the FuelEU Maritime regulation. The regulation aims to increase the use of alternative low-carbon fuels in the sector. The initiative is part of the EU’s Fit for 55 package, which involves…

Gëzim Visoka (Dublin City University) In recent months, the EU and US have diplomatically pressed Kosovo and Serbia to accept a proposal for the further normalization of bilateral relations. Although this agreement has been praised by the EU and its member states, the US, the UN Secretary-General, and others, as a crucial step towards normalizing…

Ian Cooper (DCU Brexit Institute) On Wednesday, two separate political dramas unfolded side-by-side in the UK parliament. Most of the attention was focused on former PM Boris Johnson, who faced the Privileges Committee to account for his actions in the Partygate scandal. However, of much greater consequence was the debate that took place on the…

Maria Ana Barata (EUI) and Christy Ann Petit (DCU) The financial crisis ghosts are back since the failure of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) in the United States started to preoccupy global financial supervisors seriously. Are Banking Union supervisors about to face their biggest nightmare? What the SVB case has showed so far was not a failure of…

Lucrezia Rossi (DCU Brexit Institute) and Niccolò Ruffin (Trade Association Officer) On Sunday 12 March, the Assembly of delegates of the Italian Partito Democratico (PD) officially appointed Elly Schlein as the party Secretary and Stefano Bonaccini as its President. As of today, Schlein is the ninth leader of the PD since its inception 16 years ago. “Together,…

Stefano Braghiroli (University of Tartu) Sunday’s parliamentary elections in Estonia delivered a very positive result to the governing centre-right Reform party (31%) and a personal victory for Prime Minister Kaja Kallas. The strong popular support for Ms. Kallas’ leadership was confirmed by the record number of individual preferences received – the highest among any elected…

Camille Barbe (University of Bordeaux / DCU Brexit Institute) On March 1st 2023, and a week ahead of International women’s day, the European Commission representation in Ireland hosted an event titled “Rocking the system since 1973: The EU and Ireland working together for Gender Equality”. During her intervention, Chair of the Irish citizens’ assembly on…

Feargal Cochrane (University of Kent) First things first. The Windsor Framework moves things on significantly in the whole Brexit process. While everyone (not least myself) is focused on its implications for Northern Ireland, there is a bigger picture. The UK government has finally reached an agreement with the European Union over the operation of the Northern…

Federico Fabbrini (Professor of Law, Dublin City University; Founding Director, Brexit Institute; Visiting Professor, Princeton University) On Monday 27 February 2023 the Government of the United Kingdom (EU) and the Commission of the European Union (EU) announced they had reached a deal to settle disagreements around the Irish Protocol. The deal, known as the Windsor…

Colin Murray (Newcastle University) It takes a long time for the fury and animosity to subside over an event like Brexit. We’ve spent seven years going back and forward over the reasons why imposing a customs and regulatory border across the island of Ireland is a bad idea, and multiple variations of an alternative to…