News

Helene Sjursen participated in a NORTIA roundtable on Covid-19, the EU and geopolitics. 

'The EU has done exactly as expected: very little', says ARENA researcher Jarle Trondal, and explains why the EU has not reacted more quickly to Covid-19, and how European cooperation is nevertheless likely to become stronger as a result of this crisis.

Researchers from the ARENA-coordinated project GLOBUS will present key findings on the EU and global justice at a policy dialogue in the European Parliament on 3 March 2020. 

John Erik Fossum gave a speech at the annual seminar of the European Parliament Former Members Association in the European Parliament in Brussels on 11 December 2019. 

After the euro crisis in 2009, the common currency was heavily criticised by many politicians. But how do European citizens perceive the euro? Joris Melman studies this question in his PhD project.

Little is known about how governments put together and put to use policy advisory commissions. In her dissertation, Stine Hesstvedt seeks to find out if and how politics play a role in the Norwegian policy advisory commission system.

Decision-makers are often trusting of scientific and technical expertise. But could expertise replace democratic control?

The United Kingdom will become the EU's first ex-member state. Can the relationship between the non-member Norway and the EU be used as a model for the UK after Brexit?

ARENA celebrated its 25th anniversary with a half-day public conference at the House of Literature on 18 November 2019. 

What does it mean to be a European citizen? 25 years after the Treaty of Maastricht, ARENA researchers Espen D. H. Olsen and Agustín José Menéndez argue that provisions intended to create a European community may create more friction than harmony.

What can we learn from Brexit? What can we expect from the newly elected European Parliament and the new leaders of the Commission, and what does it mean for Norway? These were some of the main questions ARENA asked at Arendalsuka. 

Helene Sjursen organized a NORTIA research workshop on 5-7 June 2019 in Poznan. 

ARENA researchers were well represented at the 16th biennial EUSA conference, which took place on 9-11 May in Denver, Colorado. 

The European Union is engaged in a large-scale debate on its future nature and direction. The role and importanec of theoretically informed and empirically grounded research in that process is essential, as was made very clear at EU3D's opening conference in Rome. 

The European Union is engaged in a large-scale debate on its future nature and direction. The role and importance of theoretically informed and empirically grounded research in that process is essential, as was made very clear at EU3D’s opening conference in Rome.

Prof. Christopher Lord met with the European Parliament's Subcommittee on Security and Defence (SEDE) to provide insights from his research in a public hearing on parliamentary scrutiny of defence affairs. 

ARENA's Jarle Trondal has been awarded 'Best article of 2018' by the 'Norwegian Journal of Political Science' for his article about Norwegian civil servants' work on EU and EEA affairs. 

Members of the European Parliament have gained great influence in trade policy, thereby challenging the national monopolies of power. Often, they are perceived as a disturbing element in international negotiations.  

Although European states such as Norway or Switzerland have different kinds of relationships with the EU, they are all becoming increasingly integrated into it, without any formal say. These states have given up national sovereignty without any compensation at EU level, and the UK’s debate should be mindful of the hegemonic nature of relations between the EU and its closely associated non-members.  

Can the Brits actually decide if they want out of the EU on the 23rd of June?

While awaiting collective European action, the refugees are thrown back and forth between states protecting their borders.

The truism is that crises create more integration. Although this has been the case in the past, there is no guarantee that it will be so in the future. Now the crises are numerous, and they also reveal the weaknesses of the EU structure.

Why has Norway ended up in a very precarious democratic situation because of its relationship with the EU? Why is the UK prime Minister saying, 'don't look to Norway'?

The EU system has changed significantly as a result of the euro crisis. A large international conference in Oslo in November discussed the democratic implications of these changes, both for the EU and Norway.

Christopher Lord and John Erik Fossum contribute to PADEMIA's weblectures on parliamentary democracy, which are now available online.