Library blog

The Library and Research Sector attended the policy dialogue "What next for the Eastern Partnership?" organised by the European Policy Centre (EPC).

Welcome to issue 39 of the Think Tank Review compiled by the EU Council Library. It references papers published in September 2016.

On 24-30 October 2016 we celebrate International Open Access Week, with the theme “Open in Action.” This year's theme aims to encourage scholars, researchers, student and other stakeholders to take action to make their work more openly available.

The Library and Research Sector attended a conference under the heading Europe's strength lies in its diversity, organised by the Group of the Socialists and Democrats (S&D). The event was held at the European Parliament and presented a positive case for integration through hard work and dedication.

The Library and Research Sector attended the conference on "Opportunities and threats of the digital economy", organised by the Egmont Institute in cooperation with the UN Association-Belgium (APNU).

From crisis management to conflict prevention or how to implement the EU Global Strategy - different initiatives: resilience and an integrated approach to conflict and crisis, an implementation plan on security and defence, strengthening internal and external nexuses and public diplomacy.

Is the European Union democratic? Can it be democratic? Should it be democratic? How should the European Union be democratic? The contributions included in this book show how many different answers can be given to these questions

The event provided an opportunity to present the website Populism Tracker, which investigates populism trends in all the member states of the European Union and aims at creating a deeper political understanding of the growing distance between citizens and their institutions of governance.

The seminar organized by ALDE Group aimed to provoke a debate on EU future and geopolitical role in the world.

What is the best way to share information about the European Union's institutions and activities with a diverse, diffuse and often uninterested public? This question, regularly posed over the past few decades, has in recent years come to be asked with ever increasing desperation. Bernd Spanier's study, Europe, anyone? The 'communication deficit' of the European Union revisited, was published in 2012 and is based on a dissertation submitted in 2010, but many of the observations it makes are still highly relevant, perhaps even more so, in 2016.

The aim of the conference was to discuss freedom of religion and belief around the world as well as the EU's role in establishing and improving it in countries where Christians are being discriminated against.

The European Space Agency (ESA) has sites in several European countries, but the European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC) in Noordwijk, the Netherlands, is the largest. ESTEC is ESA's technical heart, where most projects are born and are guided through the various phases of development.

The Library and Research Sector attended the workshop on the 'Impact of referenda on parliamentary democracy', in the framework of the PADEMIA project. The workshop was an opportunity to look into the interaction of plebiscitary and parliamentary democracy, with reference to the recent developments in the UK as well as the consequences of the Brexit vote for both the UK and the EU.

No better way to spend the cloudy and rainy autumn days than with a book and a cup of tea in hand! As usual, there is a lot to pick and choose from.