On procurement and distribution of medical supplies, and their implications for free movement and border controls – should the EU be given stronger powers? In this first edition of VVE experts discuss the procurement and distribution of medical supplies, and their implications for free movement and border controls within the EU. Should the EU play a bigger role/be given stronger powers, and if so of what sort?

What will be the economic and social impact of the pandemic? How are the EU and its member states responding? In the second edition of VVE we discuss new monetary and fiscal measures by the ECB and member states, the debate over solidarity, including the use of the European Stability Mechanism, the European SURE initiative for temporary (un)employment support, and the proposal for corona (euro) bonds.

How is the Covid-19 pandemic affecting politics at the national and European level? In the third edition of VVE we discuss how the corona pandemic is affecting politics, at the national and the European level. Is it producing cohesion or polarization among parties and public opinion? How are populist parties and leaders positioning themselves, with what results? How do these patterns differ across countries, and how can they be expected to develop going forward?

What are the implications of the crisis for the EU’s relationships with other global and regional powers? The fourth edition will shift the focus to the present and future challenges for the EU’s geopolitical role both in its immediate Neighbourhoods and in the wider world. What are the implications of the crisis for the EU’s relationships with other global and regional powers, most directly the US, Russia, China and Iran?

The VVE series concludes with a discussion on the implications of the crisis for the EU in general. Will the EU emerge stronger from the crisis, e.g. with a larger budget, more powers to coordinate public health, and reinforced solidarity within the Eurozone? Or will the EU’s inability to reach agreement and take the lead on critical issues result in a long-term weakening of its internal authority and external influence?

The European Green Deal is the flagship initiative of the von der Leyen Commission to meet the existential threat of climate change and environmental degradation by transforming the EU into a modern, resource-efficient economy, ensuring no net emissions of greenhouse gases by 2050, economic growth decoupled from resource use, and no person and place left behind. Does this deal respond sufficiently to the need for a green transition? What role can it play? And what are the challenge of the 2021 Climate Summit in Glasgow?

Since the outbreak of the global financial crisis in 2008, that morphed into an existential crisis for the single currency, the EU has been beset by crises amounting to a polycrisis. How can we understand the EU’s response to these crises? What were the roles of political actors and collective institutions in delivering enhanced capacity in this response? 

We thought connecting the world would bring lasting peace. Instead, it is driving us apart. In the three decades since the end of the Cold War, global leaders have been integrating the world's economy, transport and communications, breaking down borders in the hope that it would make war impossible. In doing so, however, they have unwittingly created a formidable arsenal of weapons for new kinds of conflict. In his new book, Mark Leonard argues that rising tensions in global politics are not a bump in the road - they are part of the paving. How can the EU respond to these challenges? And how might we construct a more hopeful future from an age of unpeace?