Upcoming Events
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.
Belgian minister of Defense Ludivine Dedonder has announced the creation of a new strategic defense committee that will scrutinise the role and priorities of the Belgian military in the 21st century, with the aim to finalise the new vision and accompanying budgetary implications by September 2021. 
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. 
"North Korea-US Relations from Kim Jong Il to Kim Jong Un", a book written by Dr Ramon Pacheco Pardo, KF-VUB Korea Chair at the Institute for European Studies, has been rated as one of the 
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 a final step towards renewing the agreement between the Flemish Government and the VUB concerning the Institute for European Studies, the IES prepared a new vision for the next five-year agreement period. The Strategic Plan 2021-2025 sets out the main objectives for the next five years, in which it wants to further strengthen its established reputation as a top research and higher education institution dedicated to excellent, policy-relevant research and involved in post-initial education and academic service provision. 
Research Team from the 3E (Environment, Economy and Energy) Research Centre of IES has published a comprehensive report for the Office of the Prime Minister of Finland on greening public procurement. The research consortium in Project HILMI, with professor Harri Kalimo as the Principal Investigator and Max Jansson, Lea Mateo and Selçukan Unekbas contributing, included also the University of Eastern Finland, Finnish Environment Institute and the Lappeenranta University of Technology. 
Governments around the world are responding with extensive economic stimulus packages to the crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic. The design of these economic stimulus packages will also determine central framework conditions for future climate policy: The stimulus packages can either provide a strong impetus for a climate-friendly economy or cement unsustainable economic practices. In their new article "
On 27 November, GOVTRAN Project Researchers brought together four experts on International and European Climate change policy and governance. Namely, Lavanya Rajamani, Professor of International Environmental Law, University of Oxford, Li Shuo, Senior Global Policy Advisor, Greenpeace East Asia, Byford Tsang, Senior Policy Advisor, E3G and Karsten Sach, Director General, German Ministry for the Environment.
From 1 to 12 February 2021, the IES will organise the very first edition of its online Jean Monnet Winter School on EU Policy-Making, in collaboration with its partners the University of Vienna and the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna. This Winter School will build on the long-standing expertise of the similar (offline) Summer School that the IES and its partners have organised for almost 20 years. 
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.
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.
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. 
On 1 & 2 December 2020, IES professor Harri Kalimo, assisted by IES researchers Lea Mateo, Selçukhan Ünekbaş and Álvaro Herrero de la Fuente, organised a two-day expert training to the “SOLVIT centres” in the EU Member States. SOLVIT is a service, which the EU law requires the administrations in each Member State to offer, with the aim to provide practical solutions to individuals and economic operators whose EU free movement rights may have been breached on the EU internal market by measures taken by the national adminsitrations.
From October to December 2020, IES researcher Maximilian Ernst was invited as research fellow at the American Institute for Contemporary German Studies (AICGS). His research explored Chinese economic coercion in the Asia-Pacific region and in Europe and proposed avenues for transatlantic cooperation.
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. IES in the media...
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Ramon Pacheco Pardo
Kim Jong Un faces Covid dilemma of isolation or vaccination
23 Feb 2021
In: Financial Times
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Ramon Pacheco Pardo
North Korea is reluctant to get vaccines from China or Russia" Open the border to the WHO (in Korean)
26 Jan 2021
In: Money Today
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Ramon Pacheco Pardo
Vaccination or Isolation... Kim Jong-un Faces a Dilemma (in Korean)
25 Jan 2021
In: News1
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Ramon Pacheco Pardo
Is it vaccination or isolation...Kim Jong-un faces a dilemma (in Korean)
25 Jan 2021
In: Dong-A Ilbo
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The European Commission published a feasibility study on the technological options and the possible “governance framework” necessary for the deployment and management of the Global Internet Policy Observatory.
The SOURCE Network of Excellence on societal security organized a sector survey meeting with high-ranking experts from different fields at the VUB on 5 June 2014. About 20 invited representatives from different professions and institutions, including partners of the SOURCE consortium discussed a number of security problems and solutions, following a structured approach of decision support for security solutions, based on the DESSI method.
The IES was present for the successful kick-off meeting of the TEMPUS project 'Innovating Teaching and Learning of European Studies' (INOTLES) on 12 February in Maastricht. The partners are now working on the first substantive Work Package aimed at mapping the state of the art in teaching European Studies.The IES is one of nine partners of the consortium led by the University of Maastricht and involving universities from the UK, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine.
IES is a Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence at the 