German liberal democratic basic order

21 October 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Editorial, EU blog post series, European Union Reading Time:  6 minutes

Reichstag in Berlin © Cezary Piwowarski/cc-by-sa-3.0

Reichstag in Berlin © Cezary Piwowarski/cc-by-sa-3.0

The liberal democratic basic order (German: freiheitliche demokratische Grundordnung (FDGO)) is a fundamental term in German constitutional law. It determines the unalienable, invariable core structure of the German commonwealth. As such, it is the core substance of the German constitution. Building upon more general definitions of liberal democracy, the term has a specific legal meaning in Germany and is part of the German (originally West German) system of a Streitbare Demokratie (“fortified democracy”) that bans attempts to dismantle the liberal democratic basic order by what German authorities refer to as “enemies of the Constitution” or “extremists”.   read more…

The European Union: Common Fisheries Policy

24 September 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Editorial, EU blog post series, European Union Reading Time:  14 minutes

© oceans-and-fisheries.ec.europa.eu

© oceans-and-fisheries.ec.europa.eu

The Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) is the fisheries policy of the European Union (EU). It sets quotas for which member states are allowed to catch each type of fish, as well as encouraging the fishing industry by various market interventions. In 2004 it had a budget of €931 million, approximately 0.75% of the EU budget.   read more…

The European Union: Common Agricultural Policy

22 September 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Editorial, EU blog post series, European Union Reading Time:  9 minutes

Flag_of_Europe The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is the agricultural policy of the European Union. It implements a system of agricultural subsidies and other programmes. It was introduced in 1962 and has since then undergone several changes to reduce the EEC budget cost (from 73% in 1985, to 37% in 2017) and consider rural development in its aims. It has however, been criticised on the grounds of its cost, its environmental, and humanitarian effects.   read more…

The European Union: European Sky Shield Initiative

12 September 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Editorial, EU blog post series, European Union Reading Time:  6 minutes

Flag_of_Europe European Sky Shield Initiative (ESSI) is a project to build a ground-based integrated European air defense system which includes anti-ballistic missile capability. As of July 2023, nineteen European states participate in the initiative. ESSI is part of the Common Security and Defense Policy and as such is designed to complement and relieve the burden on NATO.   read more…

Europa Nostra

28 June 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, EU blog post series, European Union, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  5 minutes

Europa Nostra flag in Gulbene © Raul Kern/cc-by-sa-3.0

Europa Nostra flag in Gulbene © Raul Kern/cc-by-sa-3.0

Europa Nostra (Italian for “Our Europe”) is a pan-European Federation for Cultural Heritage, representing citizens’ organisations that work on safeguarding Europe’s cultural and natural heritage. It is the voice of this movement to relevant international bodies, in particular the European Union, the Council of Europe and UNESCO. It has consultative status with UNESCO and is recognised as an NGO partner.   read more…

European Political Community (EPC)

3 June 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Editorial, EU blog post series, European Union Reading Time:  7 minutes

European Political Community © EPCMoldova

European Political Community © EPCMoldova

The European Political Community (EPC) is an intergovernmental forum for political and strategic discussions about the future of Europe, established in 2022 after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The group first met in October 2022 in Prague, with participants from 44 European countries, as well as the Presidents of the European Council and the European Commission.   read more…

The European Union: European Universities initiative

31 May 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, EU blog post series, European Union, Universities, Colleges, Academies Reading Time:  5 minutes

© European Union

© European Union

At the 2017 Gothenburg Summit, European Union (EU) leaders outlined a vision for education and culture. In its December 2017 Conclusions, the European Council called on EU Member States, the Council and the Commission to take forward a number of initiatives, including   read more…

The European Union: Artificial Intelligence Act

28 May 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, EU blog post series, European Union Reading Time:  69 minutes

Flag_of_Europe (Latest update: 10 February 2024) The Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act) is a regulation proposed on 21 April 2021 by the European Commission which aims to introduce a common regulatory and legal framework for artificial intelligence. Its scope encompasses all sectors (except for military), and to all types of artificial intelligence. As a piece of product regulation, the proposal does not confer rights on individuals, but regulates the providers of artificial intelligence systems, and entities making use of them in a professional capacity.   read more…

EU Global Gateway

19 March 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, EU blog post series, European Union Reading Time:  7 minutes

© European Commission/cc-by-4.0

© European Commission/cc-by-4.0

The Global Gateway Initiative is a worldwide strategy by the European Union to invest in infrastructure projects and establish economic partnerships, based on certain principles. The project was initiated by the EU Commission, under the leadership of Ursula von der Leyen. It is part of the current plans for European strategic autonomy, and establishing bigger, more democratic and more sustainable trade networks for Europe and its partners. The initiative is also seen as an alternative or rivalry to the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative, which EU leaders heavily criticised because of human rights abuse concerns and economic risks, disadvantages and a one-sided trade relation. The EU wants to encourage links, and not dependencies, according to Ursula von der Leyen. As of December 2022, Global Gateway has been criticized for failing to provide concrete details on projects and drawing heavily on already-existing programmes.   read more…

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