The IES 3E Research team, together with its partner institutes (University of Eastern Finland, Finnish Environmental Institute, and Yale University), co-organized and chaired three back-to-back expert workshops on the Circular Economy and product policy. The workshops are a part of the research project KITUPO, focused on some of the most topical issues within circular product policies; extended producer responsibility (EPR) and product-service-systems KITUPO is co-managed by professor Harri Kalimo. 

The Korea Matters for Europe/Europe Matters for Korea publication maps the relationship between the Republic of Korea and the European Union’s 27 Member States. Covering a diverse range of topics including security, trade, investment, educational exchange and cultural connections, this publication highlights the importance of the Korea-EU relationship.

We are pleased to announce that on 23 November 2020, Malasree Neepa Acharya successfully defended her PhD thesis on ‘Anchoring Circulation of India’s Diaspora Entrepreneurs: Creating Cosmopolitan Home and Work Lifeworlds in Bangalore’s Interconnected Entrepreneurial Ecosystem’! Neepa's co-promotors were Prof. Dr. Ilke Adam (Vrije Universiteit Brussel) and Prof. Dr. Alison Woodward (Vrije Universiteit Brussel). The jury was chaired by Prof. Dr. Sebastian Oberthür (Vrije Universiteit Brussel) and consisted of Prof. Dr. Jamal Shahin (Vrije Universiteit Brussel), Prof. Dr. Roger Noll (Stanford University, USA), and Prof. Dr. Noelle Brigden (Marquette University, USA). Our warmest congratulations to Dr. Acharya! 

As two frontrunners in international education, research, and academic services, the Institute for European Studies (IES) and Vesalius College (VeCo) have closely collaborated for many years now. We are excited to share with you that from this February onwards, this collaboration will enter a new phase with a joint new brand: the Brussels School of Governance (BSoG), an alliance between the IES and VeCo.
Make sure to mark Tuesday 9 February from 18h00-19h00 in your calendar and join us on Facebook for our BSoG brand launch that will reveal what this new School is all about!

On 10 November the results of the study “How can we transform the Flemish industry, to ensure it can thrive in a climate-neutral Europe by 2050?” were presented to over 200 stakeholders in the presence of the Flemish minister of innovation Hilde Crevits. This study was performed by Climact, Deloitte, the Antwerp Management School and the Institute for European Studies (VUB). The study presents options to achieve deep emission reductions towards climate neutrality by 2050 by Flemish industry, a roadmap towards this goal, and the enabling policy framework.

On September 21, 2020, DGAP and the German Ministry of Defence hosted an expert workshop on the Strategic Compass and its four baskets. Participating think-tankers from across Europe were invited to provide input and discuss their ideas in four break-out sessions. IES Vice-Dean for Research, Prof. Dr. Alexander Mattelaer, served as rapporteur of the “Partnerships” working group. 

The European Commission has awarded a consortium involving VUB, led by Brussels-based consultancy company ICF and South Korea-based consultancy Ecosian, and also comprising three other partners the €2.4million project EU-Republic of Korea Dialogue Support Facility. The KF-VUB Korea Chair will lead management of the VUB's involvement in the project, in particular with regards to security- and connectivity-related activities. 

On Monday 23 November 2020, IES LLM Prof Dr Frank Hoffmeister testified in a parliamentary hearing at the German Bundestag on the topic of introducing qualified majority voting in the EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy. Based on considerations relating to functional urgency, the cost of disunity and foreign attempts to divide the Union, professor Hoffmeister argued in favour of using more qualified majority voting in CFSP.

On 15 December, IES Researcher Marco Giuli spoke at the external panel debate “Azerbaijani gas in Europe and the role of the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline”. The panel was held online and was organized by the Centre for the Analysis of International Relations in Azerbaijan. 

In his presentation, Marco focused on the core interests of the European Union in the finalization of the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline and identified three main dimensions: material, normative and ideational.