Latest blog articles
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Questions surrounding how the EU budget is spent or audited have been, and will always be, of interest to EU citizens. Formally, the responsibility for the implementation of the budget rests with the Commission, but it is well known that the Member States have a crucial role to play, especially in...
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On 4 March 2021, Italy decided to block a shipment of the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine that was destined for Australia. This remarkable move, notably made in response to AstraZeneca’s delay in providing the agreed doses of vaccines by the set deadlines, is the first of its kind since the...
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They say that one cannot have one’s cake and eat it – a rather well-known adage which the proponents of the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union were determined to disprove. This article is only available in Dutch.
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The difficult thing about the Brexit referendum and the events that followed in the United Kingdom is that the instrument of a referendum, in all its simplicty, may have undemocratic consequences... This blog is only available in Dutch.
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How should we describe last week's situation, when the Canadians headed home after the Walloons torpedoed CETA? ... This blog is only available in Dutch.
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After months of media bombardment about ostensibly lazy Greeks who are unwilling to pay their taxes or their debts to the fellow countries of the Eurozone, the latter of which generously helped Greece out of its self-inflicted dire financial straits, many in Europe have breathed a collective sigh of...
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Last week Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte went on an economic mission to China, accompanied by a delegation of business people representing Dutch corporations. China’s presence as an economic and political power is increasing steadily. Its economic and financial potential is huge, not only in China...
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This blog and the following one will be about the two masters I’m currently taking at Maastricht University: the master Public Policy and Human Development (specialization Innovation, Institutions and Development) at the Maastricht Graduate School of Government and the master International Economic...
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Prof. Dr. Jan Smits on the David Cameron’s long awaited speech on the future of Europe.