Upcoming Events
Within the framework of the EU-funded Horizon 2020 project COP21 RIPPLES “COP21: Results and Implications for Pathways and Policies for Low Emissions European Societies”, the IES (Prof. Dr. Sebastian Oberthür and Gauri Khandekar), along with project partners – Wuppertal Institute, University of East Anglia, and Climate Analytics – produced a report on “The Core Challenges and Governance Functions of International Climate Governance”. The COP21 RIPPLES project aims to analyse the transformations in the energy systems, and in the wider economy, that are required in order to implement the Paris Agreement, investigate what steps are needed to attain deeper, more ambitious decarbonisation targets, and explore the socio-economic consequences that this transition will trigger.
The Institute for European Studies welcomed on Monday, 9 October 2017, Jakob Skovgaard-Petersen, Professor of Islamic and Arabic Studies at the University of Copenhagen, for a public lecture on “The Satellite Mosque in Europe: Arab Preachers on TV and Internet”. After giving an overview of modern media’s development within the Arab world, Prof. Skovgaard-Petersen illustrated the importance of religious contents on TV through the examples of various “Ramadan Musalsal”, popular TV series that are specifically produced for and consumed during the fasting month of Ramadan.
Carlos Soria spoke about the environmental regulation applicable to marine renewable energies in the EU at a high-level meeting on climate change organised on 6 October by the Centre of Migration Research (CIM) in collaboration with the International Research Centre on Territorial Intelligence (C3it) and the Research Group DERGO (Public Law for the Governance) from the University of Huelva. 
On 26 September, IES Executive Director Anthony Antoine delivered a keynote speech on "the salient role of the universities in implementing the UN 2030 Agenda and the particular importance of societal impact of multidisciplinary research in developing sustainable and global solutions" at the Helsinki Challenge Global Impact Camp in Brussels. The Global Impact Camp in Brussels was a two-day intensive co-creation session focusing on societal impact of research, funding and collaboration with international experts and EU decision-makers. 
Dr Jan Claudius Völkel has delivered a keynote speech on Friday, 8 September 2017, at the opening ceremony of the new academic year at the Faculté des Sciences Juridiques, Économiques et Sociales, Université Hassan I de Settat, Morocco. Upon invitation of Prof. Abdeljabbar Arrach, his presentation “The Arab parliaments, the challenges of transformation, and the fight against extremism” discussed the ongoing developments across the Arab world and stressed the importance of political institutions for peaceful transitions.
In July 2017, Prof. Florian Trauner was invited to teach at the International Summer School of Renmin University of China. His course entitled ‘The EU in crisis – understanding current issues in European Politics’ was attended by 28 Chinese and international students.
IES Professor Sebastian Oberthür was appointed as a member of the Advisory Board of the HBM4EU project. Co-funded under Horizon 2020, HBM4EU is a joint effort of 28 European countries, the European Environment Agency and the European Commission, to coordinate and advance human biomonitoring in Europe. HBM4EU will provide better evidence of the actual exposure of citizens to chemicals and the possible health effects to support policy making. 
For the third time in its history, the Institute for European Studies has been awarded the title of 'Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence'. Through a project, led by Prof. Dr. Christian Kaunert and Mr Silviu Piros, the Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence title is ensured for a further three years. Jean Monnet Centres of Excellence are a part of the prestigious Life Long Learning programme of the European Union.
1 September 2017 marked the official launch of a new 3-year project that the IES is involved in as a beneficiary and Workpackage Leader: “MINDb4ACT - Mapping, IdentifyiNg and Developing skills and opportunities in operating environments to co-create innovative, ethical and effective ACTions to tackle radicalization leading to violent extremism”.
The Institute for European Studies is proud to announce that on 5 September 2017 IES Associate Lisanne Groen was awarded the prestigious UACES (the academic association for contemporary European Studies) Best PhD Thesis Prize for her thesis (2016) on the effectiveness of the European Union (EU) in multilateral climate change and biodiversity negotiations. The prize is awarded to the PhD thesis that made an original and promising contribution to research in the area of contemporary European studies.
Klaudia Majcher spoke about algorithmic decision-making and discrimination at the Legal Research Conference organised on 21-22 September by the Research Centre for the Future of Law at Católica Law School in Lisbon. The aim of this year’s conference on “Law in the Era of Technological Change” was to discuss the impacts of emerging technologies on the areas such as intellectual property, data protection, privacy rights, electronic commerce, free speech, and cybercrime.
On September 27, the EEG cluster, in the context of research carried out for EU FP7 project BFSJ, organised its third policy forum in the series on sustainable aviation fuels. The focus this time on policy environment, innovative initiatives and future trends outside of the EU. We had speakers from Brazil (Ministry and airline representatives), Indonesia (ministry and ICAO experts) and the USA (policy agency) presenting perspectives from their countries.
Prof. Dr. Christian Kaunert, assisted by Mr Silviu Piros, leading a team of researchers from the Institute for European Studies (IES), has been awarded a Jean Monnet Chair in EU Counter-Terrorism (EXACT) for three years, starting from September 2017. Jean Monnet Chairs, as part of the prestigious Life Long Learning programme of the European Union, are very competitive, highly prestigious awards designed to undertake advanced research and teaching activities at a leading research organisation in Europe.
In the current difficult environment, will the EU be able to protect its citizens while also projecting its values into the world? In what ways has the EU’s international role and standing been subject to change? We invite paper abstracts and panel proposals (deadline 23 October) for the sixth European Union in International Affairs (#EUIA18) conference (16 - 18 May 2018 in Brussels), a multidisciplinary biannual event at which international studies scholars and policy practitioners debate the role of the EU in the turbulent realm of international affairs. In 2018 it will focus on the theme of ‘Protecting and Projecting Europe’.
Building on its leading World Circular Economy Forum 2017, held in Helsinki in June with more than 1600 participants, the Research Innovation Fund SITRA organised on Wednesday 12 October in Brussels a high level 
President of Institute for European Studies, Karel De Gucht has delivered a 
The IES has been prominently represented at the 11th Pan-European Conference on International Relations, organised by the European International Studies Association (EISA) in Barcelona, 13-16 September 2017. IES Academic Director Prof. Christian Kaunert presented three papers. Besides, Prof. Florian Trauner, Dr. Chantal Lavallée, Dr. Jan Claudius Völkel, Dr. Atsuko Higashino and Laura Iozzelli spoke about their current research projects that they conduct at the IES.
The IES, together with the VUB political science department and RHEA, the VUB’s interdisciplinary research centre on gender, diversity and intersectionality, received very good news. The Strategic Research Programme EDGE was evaluated positively and will be able to continue its activities for a new 5-year period. The Strategic Research Programmes are financed by the Research Council of VUB and are meant to stimulate the work of a limited number of strong research groups.
On Wednesday 27 September IES Jean Monnet professor Harri Kalimo gave the keynote speech at a dinner, hosted by one of the European Parliament’s leading MEPs in environmental issues, Ms. Sirpa Pietikäinen. Talking to the Association of Environmental journalists, Professor Kalimo elaborated on how implementation should today be prominently addressed in two respects: it is one of the key “enablers”, listed in the Commission’s 7th Environmental Action Programme, and better implementation also figures prominently on the Juncker Commission’s Better Regulation agendaIES in the media...
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Luk Van Langenhove
Spanje wil de autonomie van Catalonië opheffen: hoe moet het nu verder?
23 Oct 2017
In: Het Nieuwsblad
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Gauri Khandekar
EU-India relations come full-circle
18 Oct 2017
In: Euractiv
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Tomas Wyns
Waarom u wakker moet liggen van ons klimaatbeleid
14 Oct 2017
In: De Standaard
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Florian Trauner
On Austrian elections
13 Oct 2017
In: Kanaal Z Nieuws
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2014 represents a strategic crossroads for NATO. To encourage debate in the policy and academic communities, the Institute for European Studies at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, the Royal United Services Institute and NATO’s Public Diplomacy Division organised a workshop on 30 June in Brussels. In discussing present challenges and paving a way forward for NATO, the workshop saw high-level participants come together for a stimulating and in-depth strategic debate. The event showcased a special feature that was published with the RUSI Journal in advance of the Alliance's Summit in Wales, 4-5 September 2014, with contributions from IES Researchers Alexander Mattelaer and Luis Simón.
IES is a Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence at the 