Eritreans on a bus on the road between Keren and Agordat in Eritrea. Eye Ubiquitous/UIG via Getty Images Most Eritreans understand the horrors that await them as they travel to seek refuge. Researcher Katie Kuschminder reveals some of the coping mechanisms developed in response. For years, Eritreans fleeing their homeland have known that, even if they make it to Libya, they will be kidnapped and ransomed. The extortion is systematic. Since the fall of Moammar Gadhafi, the southeast of Libya has ...
The EU’s innovation performance continues to improve, but further efforts are needed to ensure Europe’s global competitiveness. That is, according to the 2018 European Innovation Scoreboard (EIS), co-authored by Hugo Hollanders and Nordine Es-Sadki. This year’s edition reveals a positive trend in the majority of EU countries – most notably in Malta, the Netherlands, and Spain, with Sweden remaining the EU innovation leader. Watch the launch event recording here (25 June 2018)....
Since the beginning of this month, European, Canadian and Mexican steel and aluminium are now also subject to import tariffs in the US of 25% and 10% respectively due to so-called “national security” concerns. It is not as yet a trade war but if the unilateral measures of the United States are not lifted in the coming weeks, a series of countermeasures from the EU, Canada and Mexico are likely to be introduced. And after the G7 fiasco in Canada, it has become rather clear: a trade war is in the ...
The number of families migrating via the central Mediterranean, the world’s most dangerous migration route, is actually quite low. In 2017, 74% of arrivals in Italy were men, 11% women and 15% children; a striking 91% of children arriving were unaccompanied. There are several reasons why so few families arrive together in Italy. In this post I will focus on examining one particular country of origin group: Eritreans. Most Eritreans are granted refugee status upon arrival in Europe and were one o...
A joint post by Dr. Mindel van de Laar and Katerina Triantos. There’s a first time for everything. Recently, in partnership with the Dutch government and the SURF organisation, we’ve developed online courses to help students choose their tracks (the basic idea is that if they’re better informed from the start, they’re less likely to drop out). We piloted SMART Choices in the autumn of 2017 – and with some success, according to the student evaluations. We’ve now moved on to the SMART Tools part o...
I would define my family in light of the lasting integration of Europe, which began with three Catholic Founding Fathers in 1945. When a handful of visionaries – Adenauer, De Gasperi, and Schuman – put us on the path to an integrated Europe; to the peaceful borderless region that we live in today....
A guest post by Master’s student Zoë Ogahara. Videos produced by Zachary Strain. Classrooms in the EU are becoming more diverse, creating a wealth of learning opportunities but also presenting specific challenges. To put this in perspective, there are 5.4 million child migrants in Europe and children constitute over half the refugee population, according to UNICEF. While teacher training in special needs education (e.g. dyslexia) is often extensive, teachers are rarely given the specific k...
The Research, Innovation and Science Policy Experts (RISE) group published its book ‘Europe’s Future: Open Innovation, Open Science, Open to the World’ on 15 May 2017. The volume was presented to Carlos Moedas, Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation, at a workshop in Brussels hosted by the Centre for European Policy Studies. Prof. Luc Soete serves as Coordinator of the RISE group. Congratulating the group, Commissioner Moedas said: ”This publication is an immense ach...
Today is the first anniversary of the death of Alan Kurdi, the three-year-old Syrian boy who drowned with half his family while trying to reach Europe in search of asylum. First and foremost, his death, like that of more than 5,000 other migrants who died crossing the Mediterranean last year, is a human tragedy....
Migration flows into Europe are changing. A decade ago most migrants entered Europe via North Africa, straight across the Mediterranean; but the main route is now through the Eastern Mediterranean, with many trying to cross through Greece. The violence suffered by asylum seekers in Greece is well-documented in international media and signals a growing cause for concern. This was the background to a Maastricht Studium Generale debate, “Knocking at the Doors of Fortress Europe: Migration Flows fr...