Jul 13, 2025 - Bulgaria’s Eurozone Journey: Opportunities and Challenges of Adopting the Euro in 2026

Bulgaria is set to adopt the euro as its official currency on January 1, 2026, becoming the 21st member of the eurozone. This transition, following the country’s commitment upon joining the European Union in 2007, marks a significant step in its economic integration with the EU. The move to replace the Bulgarian lev, which has been pegged to the euro at a fixed exchange rate of 1: 1.95 since 1997, is expected to bring both opportunities and challenges.  Read more here.

Jul 12, 2025 - COMPLETING EUROPE: WHY THE WESTERN BALKANS MATTER

Challenges and the Role of European Federalism

The Western Balkans, comprising Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, and Kosovo have been on the EU’s enlargement agenda since the 2003 Thessaloniki Summit, which set integration as a priority. The accession process is merit-based, governed by the “Copenhagen Criteria”. Read more here.

Mar 5, 2025 - Schengen - the great benefits for Romania

Romania and Bulgaria are the newest members of the Schengen Area. Border controls were lifted for air and sea travel on 31 March 2024 and land border controls on 1 January 2025, more than 17 years after they acceded to the European Union.

Guest writer Yannis Karamitsios analyses the top gains for Romania after the country’s full Schengen accession. Read more here.

Apr 21, 2025 - Ukrainian mineral assets: ensuring Ukrainian sovereignty and European partnership

Trump wants Ukraine’s minerals, but Europe should get its chance too. The United States aims to cut reliance on China, and Ukraine’s vast reserves offer an opportunity. Leaked documents reveal a Trump administration proposal resembling a commercial deal rather than a partnership, raising sovereignty concerns. Read more here.

Dec 4, 2024 - What Ukraine can expect from the European Parliament’s new term

The European Parliament’s new term should be marked by a strong commitment to Ukraine, ensuring its path to EU membership remains unimpeded. Read more here.

Apr 4, 2024, Strasbourg - How much do you know about the European elections?

Yannis Karamitsios and Diana Sokotun explain how the European elections work and why they matter. Read more here.

Feb 17, 2024 - President Zelensky's decision to replace his Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces took many by surprise and has invited the need for clarification of his overall military strategy.

In this article, Diana Sokuton, a young political scientist from Ukraine, with contributions from Yannis Karamitsios,  try to shed light on the situation by posing and responding to the following eight questions:

Read more here.

Aug 01, 2022 - Ireland joined the EU on 1 January 1973 following an overwhelming 83% “yes” vote in the respective referendum of 10 May 1972. Since then it has become one of the greatest success stories of European integration. It managed to pick the best out of its connection with the European continent and the English-speaking world.

Read more here.

A good year for the European economy – but are we ready for the rest of the century?

The EU economy has shown good signs of recovery since the euro-crisis of the early 2010s. In 2016, it achieved for the first time after many years a higher growth rate than the United States. Public deficits of member states are reduced to less than 2% of their annual GDP (gross domestic product) and 8 million new jobs have been created in the last three years.

https://theeuropeannetwork.eu/ten-commandments-for-a-new-economic-policy-in-europe/ 

An uneven playing field

We believe that human rights should not be subject to the principle of subsidiarity. They are universal and must ensure the same protection and opportunities for all human beings. Unfortunately, this is not the case yet in the EU due to varying criminal laws and other standards applicable across the Member States. This is one of the main indications that we have yet to become a union of equal citizens.

https://theeuropeannetwork.eu/human-rights-the-best-argument-for-a-federal-europe/ 

The World Health Organisation (WHO) recently published a report on the burden of food borne diseases in Europe (the entire continent, including Russia and most of the post-Soviet republics). Its figures are really striking: every minute, 44 people – more than 23 million per year – fall sick from eating contaminated food in Europe. Moreover, an estimated 4700 per year lose their lives.

The most frequent causes of food borne illness are diarrhoeal disease agents, such as norovirus with an estimated 15 million cases, and Campylobacter spp. with almost 5 million cases. The majority of deaths are caused by non-typhoidal Salmonella spp. Unsafe food is responsible for millions of sick days, and can sometimes lead to lasting or severe illness and hospitalisation.

https://neweuropeans.net/article/2849/european-food-safety-era-fourth-industrial-revolution