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…

European Quarter in Brussels

5 February 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, EU blog post series, European Union Reading Time:  16 minutes

Rue de la Loi © flickr.com - Euro Pictures/cc-by-2.0

Rue de la Loi © flickr.com – Euro Pictures/cc-by-2.0

Most of the European Union’s Brussels-based institutions are located within its European Quarter (French: Quartier Européen, Dutch: Europese Wijk), which is the unofficial name of the area corresponding to the approximate triangle between Brussels Park, Cinquantenaire Park and Leopold Park (with the European Parliament’s hemicycle extending into the latter). The Commission and Council are located on either side of the Rue de la Loi at the heart of this area near Schuman railway station and the Robert Schuman Roundabout.   read more…

ASEAN, Association of Southeast Asian Nations

22 January 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Editorial, EU blog post series, European Union Reading Time:  10 minutes

Flag_of_ASEAN ASEAN, officially the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, is a political and economic union of 10 member states in Southeast Asia, which promotes intergovernmental cooperation and facilitates economic, political, security, military, educational, and sociocultural integration between its members and countries in the Asia-Pacific. The union has a total area of 4,522,518 km² (1,746,154 sq mi) and an estimated total population of about 668 million.   read more…

The European Union: European Neighbourhood Policy

8 January 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Editorial, EU blog post series, European Union Reading Time:  11 minutes

Flag_of_Europe The European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) is a foreign relations instrument of the European Union (EU) which seeks to tie those countries to the east and south of the European territory of the EU to the Union. These countries, primarily developing countries, include some who seek to one day become either a member state of the European Union, or more closely integrated with the European Union. The ENP does not apply to neighbours of the EU’s outermost regions, specifically France‘s territories in South America, but only to those countries close to EU member states’ territories in mainland Europe.   read more…

The European Union and the European Political Community

9 October 2022 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Editorial, EU blog post series, European Union Reading Time:  6 minutes

Flag of Europe

Flag of Europe

The European Political Community (EPC) is a platform for political and strategic discussions about the future of Europe, established in 2022. The group first met in October 2022 in Prague, with participants from 44 European countries, as well as the President of the European Council and the President of the European Commission.   read more…

The European Union: Europe Day

8 May 2022 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Editorial, EU blog post series, European Union Reading Time:  8 minutes

Europe Day 2009 in Strasbourg © flickr.com - Francois Schnell/cc-by-2.0

Europe Day 2009 in Strasbourg © flickr.com – Francois Schnell/cc-by-2.0

Europe Day is a day celebrating “peace and unity in Europe” celebrated on 5 May by the Council of Europe and on 9 May by the European Union. The first recognition of Europe Day was by the Council of Europe, introduced in 1964. The European Union later started to celebrate its own European Day in commemoration of the 1950 Schuman Declaration which first proposed the European Coal and Steel Community, leading it to be referred to by some as “Schuman Day” or “Day of the united Europe”. Both days are celebrated by displaying the Flag of Europe. The Council of Europe was founded on 5 May 1949, and hence it chose that day for its celebrations when it established the holiday in 1964.   read more…

European Museum of the Year Award

17 December 2021 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, EU blog post series, European Union, Museums, Exhibitions Reading Time:  4 minutes

European Museum of the Year Award

European Museum of the Year Award

The European Museum of the Year Award (EMYA) is presented each year by the European Museum Forum (EMF) under the auspices of the Council of Europe. The EMYA is considered the most important annual award in the European museum sector. Museums in 47 European countries, all members of the Council of Europe, can take part in the competition if they are newly opened or have undergone modernization or expansion in the past three years.  read more…

The European Union: Eastern Partnership

31 August 2021 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Editorial, EU blog post series, European Union Reading Time:  15 minutes

The Eastern Partnership (EaP) is a joint initiative of the European External Action Service of the European Union (EU) together with the EU, its Member States, and six Eastern European partners governing the EU’s relationship with the post-Soviet states of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine. The EaP is intended to provide a forum for discussions regarding trade, economic strategy, travel agreements, and other issues between the EU and its Eastern European neighbours. It also aims at building a common area of shared values of democracy, prosperity, stability, and increased cooperation. The project was initiated by Poland and a subsequent proposal was prepared in co-operation with Sweden. It was presented by the foreign ministers of Poland and Sweden at the EU’s General Affairs and External Relations Council in Brussels on 26 May 2008. The Eastern Partnership was inaugurated by the European Union in Prague, Czech Republic on 7 May 2009. The first meeting of foreign ministers in the framework of the Eastern Partnership was held on 8 December 2009 in Brussels.   read more…

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