Politics

The EU must do more to protect Ukraine’s children

A common and uniform registration process and more national protection centres are needed in the EU to help protection children fleeing the war in Ukraine, write Dragos Pislaru and Adrián Vázquez Lázara.

A vision to democratise Europe from Brussels to Brussels

In her closing speech at the Conference of the Future of Europe (CoFoE), Ursula von der Leyen made a historic declaration on the fundamental role of citizen participation. This has allowed reflection on another historical instant in the Brussels Parliament, writes Magali Plovie.

The Brief – Borrell gets his hearing for the defence

When the EU’s chief diplomat, Josep Borrell, concluded the bloc’s first defence policy review, more than 18 months ago, he warned that “European defence suffers from fragmentation, duplication and insufficient operational engagement.”

Momentum for treaty change gains pace

There comes a moment when EU treaty change or something similar becomes inevitable. After the referendums in France and the Netherlands that nixed the Constitutional Treaty in 2005, there was a hiatus, referred to as ‘a period of reflection’, during...

EU Parliament joins media freedom problematic club

In a surprising move, the European Parliament deleted a post from its website and social media referring to a recent report by Reporters without Borders (RSF) indicating that Greece is the worst EU country regarding media freedom. Contacted by EURACTIV,...

A question of protocol

For those who have followed the interminable Brexit process, there was a wearisome inevitability about Foreign Secretary Liz Truss’s announcement on Tuesday that the UK government intends to table domestic law to allow to override bits of the protocol. This...

Europe’s new leaders are coming from the periphery

The construction of a new European architecture is underway, built around the point of relations with Russia - and new European leaders are shaping a new form, one we will live in and observe for decades to come, writes Orhan Dragaš.

The Brief – The new German triumvirate

The traditional “big tent parties” in Germany are the conservative CDU/CSU and the old lady SPD. For the longest time, the German political system was bipolar, with the liberal FDP often playing kingmaker with less than 10% of the votes.

To protect our freedoms, we need stronger, better government

Liberal European governments need to act to quickly the reform the structural flaws that allow illiberalism and extremism to thrive, writes Dita Charanzová.

The Brief – Treaty change

The public remarks made by a group of EU leaders, including Ursula von der Leyen, Emmanuel Macron and Olaf Scholz, hinting at "the need to reform" the bloc have suddenly given life to the idea of a new EU treaty that would have been very unlikely just a few months ago.

Johnson’s case for the defence

One of the most hotly contested arguments following the Brexit vote in 2016 was whether Russian interference had played a role in the referendum campaign. As in the United States over Donald Trump’s election five months later, no Kremlin link...

The Brief – Why Eurovision matters

This year it will be remarkably tough to keep politics separate from the running of the world’s most-followed singing contest – and that is also why EURACTIV is stepping in with dedicated coverage of the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC).

Now is the time to be ambitious and audacious with the EU’s future

Europe Day is supposed to mark the conclusion of the Conference on the Future of Europe (CoFoE). One year of deliberations, debates and discussions brought together citizens, regional, national and European politicians, EU institutions, organised civil society and social partners, to build a common trajectory for the EU's future, writes Petros Fassoulas.

Ireland united by Johnson’s dilemma 

Love or loathe him; Boris Johnson is a lucky politician. Just as months of scandals about lockdown parties were threatening to overwhelm him, the war in Ukraine made people forget about them. In last week’s municipal elections across the UK,...

The Brief – An unfinished revolution

Few would deny that the European Parliament elections are, essentially, a set of 27 national elections. After more than forty years of direct Parliament elections, much as EU federalists might like the reality to be otherwise, there is no European political space.

A special version of a stolen election – the case of Hungary

Hungary’s recent general elections present a different picture from the classic images of stolen polls characterised by ballot stuffing and large scale fraud. Instead, they are marked by an absence of a level playing field and systematic abuse of democratic institutions, argue experts from the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union (TASZ).

The Brief – A turtle’s turnaround

Observing Germany’s policies towards Ukraine and Russia is like trying to watch grass grow. Staring at it with the naked eye, no movement is to be seen, but if you look away and come back later, a lot has happened - it just took place painstakingly slowly.

European political parties: oversight nowhere in sight?

European institutions must strengthen oversight of the funding of European parties, writes Louis Drounau, who gives an example of potential maladministration.

Hijacked Europe: downward spiral or return to the roots

The Conference on the Future of Europe (CoFoE) has done little to bring the EU closer to its citizens and is solely concerned with increasing the EU's competences, writes Janusz Saryusz-Wolski.