Author: Rikard Bengtsson


The EU is about to adopt a comprehensive strategy for the Baltic Sea region. While intuitively attractive, the idea of the strategy nonetheless gives rise to a set of critical questions.

In this European Policy Analysis, Assistant Professor Rikard Bengtsson introduces the content and procedures of the strategy and identifies a number of challenges that need to be addressed. These challenges range from difficulties in improving efficiency to problems related to the intra-regionalization of the EU and the lack of an external perspective, more specifically by ignoring Russia as a key determinant for the potential success of the strategy.

Author: Simon Hix

The outcome of the European Parliament elections made majorities uncertain. The first sessions in July ended with a comprehensive deal by the three main party groups concerning important posts.

The leading scholar Simon Hix assesses the likely political constellations in the 2009-14 European Parliament by linking existing research to the current political composition of the EP and asks whether there will be a return of the "grand coalition".  

Authors: Fredrik Langdal and Göran von Sydow

The financial and economic crisis, the constitutional and institutional uncertainties and the climate change issue will dominate the Swedish EU Presidency.

This European Policy Analysis outlines, in turn, the European and global context; the tasks and roles of the presidency; and the priorities of the Swedish government for its stint at the helm of the European Union. 

Author: Lars Calmfors

This analysis is only available in Swedish.