‘The future of the Balkans is within the European Union’ – we now know that this statement made after the Thessaloniki Summit in 2003 was more of a sentimental outcry than an actual call to action.
Contemporary discussions on the Eastern Neighbourhood and the future of the Union following Brexit would do well to consider the role of soft power, or the ability to persuade without using force.
In politics and policymaking, controversies and conflicts arise often. The term denotes situations where even knowledgeable, rational, and sincere actors struggle to resolve an issue purely by examining the available expertise.
This briefing summarises a recent analysis by the CEPOS, which investigates how Denmark can become one of the economically freest countries in the world by adopting a framework similar to other Nordic countries.
Until recently, the telecommunications market was held up as an EU success story, with Europeans emerging as the big winners. European consumers were indeed the great beneficiaries of competition, which went hand in hand with low prices.