The Coronavirus or COVID-19, has impacted every fibre of our societies in significant and unforeseen ways, some of which will undoubtedly have lasting consequences. As researchers and experts, we have the opportunity to see firsthand some of the more immediate impacts which the Coronavirus has had within our areas of expertise and research. As such, we are uniquely positioned to provide key insights into the wide-ranging impacts and consequences of the Coronavirus. Particularly, what these consequences can mean for the future of our societies in the areas of migration, justice, diversity, environment, sustainable development, economy and international security.

In 2019, the Institute for European Studies was honoured to bring four PhDs to fruition: Sara Silvestre (PhD in Political Science), Max Jansson (PhD in Law), Carla Mascia (PhD in Political Science) and Stephan Klose (PhD in Political Science). The IES organised 59 events and produced 104 publications. The Institute continued to expand and now counts 108 people or 52.4 full-time equivalents. In 2019, IES scholars took part in a total of 175 media appearances. Moreover, the Institute was successful in obtaining externally funded projects. At the end of the year, no less than 35 external projects were conducted by IES scholars, whereas an additional 14 projects were funded through our own budget. IES research output contributed significantly to a range of prominent policy developments, like the EU and Flemish policies to achieve CO2 neutrality in the coming decades.

In light of the Covid-19 pandemic and in line with Belgium’s federal government restrictions, the EUIA organising team and the partner institutions have decided, with much regret, to postpone the EUIA20 conference for one year, to May 26-28, 2021.

More than 400 colleagues have already proposed or reviewed papers and panels, so we have decided to maintain the existing paper selection. In view of the altered circumstances, authors will be allowed to bring their papers and panels up to date. A decision on whether to issue a supplementary call for Papers will be made in due course.

Given these extraordinary circumstances, we believe that this rescheduling is the most foresighted option for the EUIA conference. We wish that our community members can travel and gather safely soon, and hope to see you all next year, healthy, in Brussels.

IES Doctoral Researcher Klaudia Majcher and Joseph Waldstein launched an open and forward-looking blog – ‘The Afterlife’. This is a platform for people around the world to share their ideas on what they want to change: personally, and in society at large. On this platform, everyone can publish ideas and children can present their art works. 

The idea behind this is to bring people closer together, at least by sharing ideas. The creators of this blog want to take peoples’ minds off the current events, even if only for some minutes – by looking ahead. The blog accepts contributions in English and between approximately 150 and 300 words. The blog posts should present an opportunity for change in your daily life or in the world. Now or in the future – and triggered by Corona. 

It’s well known what the EU wants in migration policy. Yet, what are the genuine interest of the EU’s partner states in the very same field? IES Professors Ilke Adam and Florian Trauner contributed to a study analyzing the West African interests in (EU) migration policy. It draws upon more than 80 interviews and four months of fieldwork in Ghana and Senegal. The study derives from the project ‘African Migration: Root Causes and Regulatory Dynamics’ (AMIREG)’, which was collaboratively realized by the IES and the United Nations University - Institute for Comparative Regional Integration Studies (UNU-CRIS) in Bruges. UNU-CRIS funding for the work is gratefully acknowledged. The article is open-access, hence freely available at the journal’s website.

For a study commissioned by the Flemish public broadcaster (VRT) and the newspaper De Standaard, Jonas Lefevere (Vesalius College / Institute for European Studies) and Stefaan Walgrave (UAntwerp) conducted an extensive survey of Flemish voters in an effort to track evolutions in political opinion since the 2019 general elections in Belgium, now roughly one year ago.