A new IES report to which our researchers Tomas Wyns, Gauri Khandekar and Matilda Axelson contributed, builds upon the growing momentum for an EU industrial transition to net-zero amongst policy makers and even industry, and sketches the blueprint of an industrial strategy towards climate neutrality. The report is unique in the sense that its industrial strategy proposal transcends the novelty of individual instruments towards a more integrated structure that scrutinizes a broad set of policy instruments and provides ideas for making the whole policy set as tangible as possible.

The PARENT project (PARticipatory platform for sustainable Energy managemenT) is a citizen-oriented research project empowering people to reduce their electricity consumption through energy monitoring, collaboration and information exchange. The project operates in Brussels, Amsterdam and Bergen. The final conference of the project will take place in Brussels on Tuesday 4 June and Wednesday 5 June 2019. 

In the framework of the Royal Visit to the Republic of South Korea, VUB’s Vice-Rector Romain Meeusen signed three MoUs with Korean universities – two of which were directly related to activities at the IES. General research and teaching cooperation agreements were signed between the VUB and Hankuk Universtity of Foreign Studies (HUFS) and between the VUB and Seoul National University (SNU). With HUFS, the IES has had a long standing relationship, starting with student exchange between 2009 and 2012 and with research cooperation ever since. With SNU, an additional MoU was signed to organize a summer training programme on EU Studies for their international relations students. Starting July 2019, between 20 and 30 Korean students will travel to Brussels for a two-week course programme at our Institute. 

After several years of declining attention for defence matters in the Belgian political debate, emerging international trends are putting the foundations of national security back on the agenda. Belgium has traditionally safeguarded its international interests within the framework of a strong transatlantic relationship that also supports European integration. NATO membership, in particular, is at the core the country’s security and defence policy and reflects its decision to guarantee security in a multilateral framework. But the balance of power between the world’s major powers is shifting and Belgian policy-makers are therefore compelled to reflect on how to continue to safeguard security and defence going forward. 

After successfully hosting the 31st edition of EuroSim – a Model European Union that brings together around 200 students from the US and the EU to simulate the legislative process of the European Union – the IES participated with its own delegation of students in the US edition that was hosted at the St. John Fisher College in Rochester, New York between 28 – 31 March. Selected across its LLM, EuroMaster, and Postgraduate Certificate programmes, the Institute’s delegation negotiated together with peers from 20 different universities and colleges the EU’s next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF). 

After delivering the successful 2018 Masterclass on the Middle East: Geopolitics in Europe’s Neighbourhood, the Institute for European Studies and the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy Europe teamed up once again, between February and May 2019, for another exceptional five-part Middle East Masterclass on the geopolitics of the region. The line-up included contentious topics such as Atheism and Freedom of Belief in the Middle East (Brian Whitaker), The Next War in the Middle East (Koert Debeuf), The Trifecta of Misogyny: State, Street, Home (Mona Eltahawy), The Israel-Palestine Peace Process (Lara Friedman), or Saudi Arabia’s Role in the Middle East (Oz Hassan). 

In 2018, the Institute for European Studies was honoured to bring four PhDs to fruition: Ferran Davesa (PhD Political Science), Mathias Holvoet (PhD in Law), Carlos Soria Rodrigues (PhD in Law) and Serena D’Agostino (PhD Political Science). The IES organised 57 events and produced 211 publications. Among  these events were the biannual EUIA conference, which was a record-breaking edition, and the large-scale Transatlantic EuroSim (EU simulation) conference hosted by the IES.
The Institute continued to expand and now counts 104 people or 55.4 full-time equivalents. In 2018, IES scholars took part in a total of 131 media appearances. Moreover, the Institute was particularly successful in obtaining externally funded projects. At the end of the year, no less than 38 external projects were conducted by IES scholars, whereas an additional 15 projects were funded through our own budget.

Prof. Ilke Adam, supported by PhD researcher Laura Westerveen, contributed to a new EU Commission report entitled 'The Future of Migration in the European Union: Future scenarios and tools to stimulate forward-looking discussions'. This report presents trends that are likely to impact the future of migration in the EU and delineates four possible future scenarios towards 2030. These narrative scenarios are then applied into a set of interactive tools that stimulate forward-looking and strategic discussions about migration and integration.

The Panel for the Future of Science and Technology (STOA) of the European Parliament has recently released a study on regulating disinformation with artificial intelligence. IES postdoctoral researcher Trisha Meyer has co-authored this study, along with Chris Marsden (University of Sussex). The study has a particular focus on the implications of use of AI on freedom of expression and media pluralism. It examines the trade-offs in using automated technology to limit the spread of disinformation online and presents options (from self-regulatory to legislative).

Dr Jan Claudius Völkel has successfully concluded his two-year research project on “The role of national parliaments in the Arab transformation processes” at the IES. With funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 706113, Jan has studied intensively the legislatures of Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia, conducting interviews with parliamentarians, diplomats, journalists and civil society representatives in all four countries, and also with representatives from the European Commission, the European Parliament, as well as EU Delegations. In addition, he spent prolongued research stays at the University of Warwick (UK) and the University of Southern Denmark (SDU) in Odense.

The PARENT project's final conference took place in Brussels on 4 and 5 June, 2019. It brought together political actors, researchers and civil society organisations concerned with energy and sustainability in Brussels. Over two days, the conference discussed the project's core themes: sustainability, collaboration and technology. This was done in a collaborative and interactive environment amongst the 90 participants, with workshops organised by various partners, information stands from seven different organisations across Brussels, and an evening session with a keynote speech from Chris Roorda. As a result of the project, several mapping initiatives have been launched, with the ambition to fill the gaps in knowledge on sustainability actions in the region. The dialogue set up amongst actors will continue in the future, as we continue to push for a more sustainable Brussels.