On 10 October, IES Prof. Dr. Marie Lamensch presented her study on VAT fraud written at the request of the European Parliament’s TAX3 Committee, a special committeeon financial crimes, tax evasion and tax avoidancethat was set up in March 2018 after Luxleaks, the Panama papers, and other tax related scandals. TAX3 aims to build on the work of its predecessors and investigate new issues, such as digital taxation, national citizenship programmes and VAT fraud.

A 46th generation of our LLM and 16th generation of our EuroMaster students have successfully finished their studies at the Institute for European Studies. They celebrated this milestone in their lives during two 2017-18 graduation ceremonies, which were elevated by particularly inspiring speeches from two IES alumni who shared their views on ‘life after the programme’ and emphasized the importance of the IES alumni network.

On 6 November a delegation including José Rosinol and Miriam Tey, the President and Vice-President of the Societat Civil Catalana (SCC) visited the IES to have discussions with IES Academic Director Luk Van Langenhove on Catalonia, Spain and Europe. The SCC is a grass-roots initative that embraces the diversity in Catalan society.

On Tuesday 27.11. the European Parliament organized the 10thEuropean Innovation Summit. These summits address hot topics on the EU’s policy agenda, highlighting developments in areas crucial for the Union’s competitiveness and sustainable development. The 10thSummit kicked off with a session “Tackling Microplastics with Sustainable Solutions”. Microplastics refer to the very small pieces of plastics that are either intentionally added to products (such as make-up, cleaners and toothpaste) or detach from larger plastic objects as they wear down (e.g. car tyres, textiles) or fragment over a longer period of time (e.g. plastic bottles). An interdisciplinary group of top scientists elaborated on the current state knowledge on microplastics in the 10thSummit. 

On 15 October, IES researchers Medlir Mema and Mathias Holvoet organized a policy forum addressing the potential implications of the Kosovo Specialist Chambers and Specialist Prosecutor’s Office, KSC, in Kosovo. The event was held at the University of Business and Technology, UBT, in Prishtina. Participants of the policy forum echoed a general sentiment that the political nature of the court has hurt its legitimacy before indictments have even begun.  

IES Academic Director, Prof. Dr. Luk Van Langenhove, has been appointed as “Honorary Professorial Fellow with the University of Warwick in the ‘Politics and International Studies Department’ (PAIS). This appointment will allow to further deepen and widen the collaboration between PAIS and the IES. Click here for more background on the collaboration between the University of Warwick and the IES/VUB.

The IES LLM (PILC) and Euromaster students made their traditional visit to the Berlaymont building on 7 November. During the meeting, they attended the Press Briefing, given by the Chief spokesperson of the Commission, Margaritis Schinas. The event was lively, with topics ranging from the Italian budget to endocrine disruptors, and BREXIT of course. 

On 27 September, the new Academic Year at the IES was formally inaugurated with a lecture by Mr Martti Koskenniemi, Professor of International Law at the University of Helsinki and Director of the Erik Castrén Institute of International Law and Human Rights. A room packed with students from our two Advanced Master programmes (LLM in International and European Law and Advanced Master in European Integration) benefited from the insights offered by one of the most prominent international law scholars of our time. This academic year 2018-19, our two Advanced Master programmes have started off with a total of 83 students (part of the group is on the picture).

IES Research Professor Jamal Shahin gave a keynote speech at the Conference Finland 3.0 of the ALL-YOUTH project, held on 22-23 November at the University of Helsinki. Jamal’s presentation, entitled ‘Youth Participation in Internet Governance’, addressed the role of youth organizations in the global multistakeholderism dynamics of Internet governance. The session used interactive tools to engage the audience in a debate around how is the Internet governed, and why is it politically, economically and socially relevant. Jamal pointed at youth as an actor with a strong voice that has had a key role in the different fora with which the Internet has opened up to stakeholder participation. The session displayed several video testimonies of young people involved in the Internet governance through platforms such as the Youth Coalition on Internet Governance (YCIG) or the No Hate Speech Movement of the Council of Europe. In addition to Jamal’s intervention, the Conference...

Immigrant integration policy-making has long been considered a prerogative of the nation state. Yet, in recent years, elements of these policy areas have been shifted upwards, to the international level (EU and international organizations), downwards, to the sub-state level (regional and local authorities) and outwards (to countries of origin, transit and private actors). This dispersal of policy-making power increases the need for coordination. 

Ilke Adam and Eve Hepburn (Edinburgh University & Policy Scribe,) edited a special issue of Regional and Federal Studies inquiring into how and why governments in multi-level states coordinate on immigrant integration. Through a comparison of four case studies (Belgium, Canada, Italy and Spain) – which includes within-case comparisons over time, across regions and across sub-policy areas –  the authors aimed to identify the features of intergovernmental relations and the nature and dynamics that shape these. 

The prevention of violent radicalisation as part of counter-terrorism measures is a top priority of the European Union and national security agendas. In 2015 Belgium introduced promising reforms in countering radicalisation and terrorism that aimed at connecting not only intelligence, security and police services across different policy levels but also the multitude of other stakeholders representing the government and civil society. However, the implementation and further development of the Belgian approach to prevention of radicalisation remain contested in political and public debate.