The EU’s enlargement reality check
Jessica Hendrick takes over The Neighbourhood to unpack what the EU’s 2025 Enlargement Package reveals about both Brussels’s expectations and life inside the candidate countries
Experts & Staff
Tiago Antunes
Associate Senior Fellow
Areas of expertise
EU Policy and Law, Climate/Environmental Policy and Law, Constitutional and Administrative Law
Languages
Portuguese, English, French, Italian, and Spanish
Biography
Tiago Antunes is an associate senior fellow with the European Power programme at the European Council on Foreign Relations.
Antunes has a diverse professional record in law and policy, most recently serving as Portugal’s Secretary of State for European Affairs from 2022 until 2024. He was also Secretary of State Assistant to the Portuguese Prime Minister from 2019 until 2022 and Secretary of State for the Presidency of the Council of Ministers from 2017 until 2019. Beyond his experience in the Portuguese government, Antunes also worked at the European Parliament between 2016 and 2017.
He is the author of multiple publications, namely in environmental, administrative, constitutional and EU law. He is regularly invited to speak at conferences and seminars, both in Portugal and abroad.
Antunes holds a PhD in law from the University of Lisbon and is a researcher at the Lisbon Public Law Research Centre (LPL). He is also a visiting professor at the College of Europe and a senior fellow of the Florence School of Transnational Governance at the European University Institute.
Podium of power: Von der Leyen’s State of the Union address confronts Europe’s defence preparedness
Ursula von der Leyen’s 2025 State of the Union speech stressed that Europe faces mounting threats from Russia, instability in the Middle East and reliance on the US. To become a true geopolitical power, the EU must deliver on defence, preparedness and unity
Baltic bellwether: How to boost the EU’s civil preparedness
The Baltic states are leading efforts to strengthen Europe’s ability to face a potential foreign attack and cope with its fallout. The EU should follow their lead and build the societal and institutional resilience needed before a crisis hits
Mobilising Europe: The case for a European Preparedness Act
Mark Leonard welcomes Tiago Antunes and Nicu Popescu to discuss the proposal for a European Preparedness Act in the face of global geopolitical upheaval
Law of duty: The case for a US-inspired EU Preparedness Act
The EU needs a legal instrument to override rules in war or major security crises, empowering institutions to prioritize military production, secure supply chains and allocate vital resources effectively
Knowing the score: Why EU rearmament must be grounded in political consensus
The war in Ukraine and waning trust in US protection have prompted the EU to take more responsibility for its own security. But any joint defence initiative needs to be grounded in a unified political understanding
Publications
Law of duty: The case for a US-inspired EU Preparedness Act
The EU needs a legal instrument to override rules in war or major security crises, empowering institutions to prioritize military production, secure supply chains and allocate vital resources effectively
Articles
Podium of power: Von der Leyen’s State of the Union address confronts Europe’s defence preparedness
Ursula von der Leyen’s 2025 State of the Union speech stressed that Europe faces mounting threats from Russia, instability in the Middle East and reliance on the US. To become a true geopolitical power, the EU must deliver on defence, preparedness and unity
Baltic bellwether: How to boost the EU’s civil preparedness
The Baltic states are leading efforts to strengthen Europe’s ability to face a potential foreign attack and cope with its fallout. The EU should follow their lead and build the societal and institutional resilience needed before a crisis hits
Knowing the score: Why EU rearmament must be grounded in political consensus
The war in Ukraine and waning trust in US protection have prompted the EU to take more responsibility for its own security. But any joint defence initiative needs to be grounded in a unified political understanding
Podcasts
The EU’s enlargement reality check
Jessica Hendrick takes over The Neighbourhood to unpack what the EU’s 2025 Enlargement Package reveals about both Brussels’s expectations and life inside the candidate countries
Mobilising Europe: The case for a European Preparedness Act
Mark Leonard welcomes Tiago Antunes and Nicu Popescu to discuss the proposal for a European Preparedness Act in the face of global geopolitical upheaval
In the media
Mats Engström and Tiago Antunes on Europe’s budget battle
Tiago Antunes on Ursula von der Leyen’s State of the Union address
Tiago Antunes, Agathe Demarais, Hugh Lovatt, and Giorgios Verdi on Ursula von der Leyen’s State of the Union address