International Relations

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How European Transatlanticists Might Approach an Isolationist U.S. Administration

Published: 1 February 2024
Policy brief
The 2024 U.S. elections will be closely watched around the world, especially in Europe. The United States is the European Union’s most important partner, guaranteeing Europe’s security through the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). A potential shift toward a less internationalist and more isolationist U.S. foreign policy would have profound implications for the continent.

Who guards the guards?

Published: 13 December 2023
Study
This legal opinion written by the non-profit organization front-LEX elaborates on the accountability of Frontex under EU law for ongoing violations of the fundamental rights of asylum seekers, committed in relation to its activities in Greek waters.
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Towards a common European China strategy?

Published: 24 October 2023
Study
The majority of EU Member States do not have any formal China strategy papers. Some EU Member States and specific government ministries have adopted internal China strategies and guidelines that have not been officially released to the public. Commonly referred to as ‘China strategies’, these documents outline national positions on China, rather than concrete strategies for managing bilateral relations. Jacob Mardell mapped out the state of play of these strategies in EU27, UK and Switzerland.
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Support for civil search and rescue activities

Published: 26 July 2023
E-paper
Ten years after the 2013 Lampedusa shipwreck killed an estimated 360 migrants, state-led search and rescue operations are persistently absent in the Mediterranean — despite the continuously high number of distress cases of persons attempting to cross in unseaworthy boats. In response, over the past 10 years, various non-profit actors have set up civil search and rescue operations. However, their operability and effectiveness fluctuate to a considerable degree depending on state actions. This is because European governments have been restricting and hampering civil search and rescue activities in various ways over the past years. In light of this, the present study examines the options for the German government to support civil search and rescue operations at the national and European level.
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Watching the “Donors’ Conference for the People of Turkey and Syria”

Published: 20 March 2023
Factsheet
The EU will host a Donors’ Conference for the victims of the Kahramanmaraş earthquakes next Monday, 20 March. Check out our new factsheet by Onur Bahçecik to learn more about the background of the high-level conference. What do international donations cover? Through which mechanisms are they distributed? And how are they monitored?
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Access denied: Secrecy and the externalisation of EU migration control

Published: 9 March 2023
E-paper
For at least three decades, the EU and its Member States have engaged in a process of “externalisation” – a policy agenda by which the EU seeks to prevent migrants and refugees setting foot on EU territory by externalising (that is, outsourcing) border controls to non-EU states. This report aims to contribute to public and political debate on the transparency, accountability and legitimacy of the externalisation agenda, based on case studies on three key target states for the EU – Bosnia and Herzegovina, Morocco and Niger.

In defence of defenders

Published: 27 February 2023
Guide
Migration as well as supporting people in flight is increasingly treated as a criminal act in Europe. This toolkit, created by Border Violence Monitoring Network and Heinrich Böll Stiftung Thessaloniki, seeks to support affected Human Rights Defenders by showing them mechanisms and avenues for help and self-defence in cases of criminalisation at various levels.
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Annual Report 2021

Published: 20 October 2022
Annual report
As we write this in March of 2022, our review of the year 2021 is overshadowed by Russia’s brutal war of aggression against Ukraine. Because of this, not only foreign policy, but also domestic politics have now entered a new era.
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Beyond the Crisis Mode of the EU-Turkey Refugee Agreement

Published: 17 March 2022
E-paper
This policy paper assesses the effects of the EU Turkey Refugee Agreement for Greece, Turkey and the European Union. It provides an overview of the 2015 context and the development of the agreement and analyses its repercussions in the region as well as for the EU as a whole. It concludes that the EU needs a strong alternative to the current agreement with Turkey, which is rights-based and sustainable.