Politics
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Not in Education, Employment or Training… and locked out of the labour market
The coronavirus outbreak is causing major disruptions for those who are outside mainstream educational programs across Europe. While many have managed to turn to distance learning, those not in education, employment or training (NEETs) are even more excluded from support schemes.
Karlsruhe vs. Luxembourg: Resolving the clash of courts
Following the row between the ECJ and Germany's Constitutional Court, Europe need to develop mechanisms to avoid a repeat of such conflicting judgements between top courts, argues Patrick Breyer.
2020 will go down in history as the EU’s turning point thanks to COVID-19
In the two months since mid-March, the European Union has seen a change of course that was unthinkable at the start of the year. Entrenched taboos are falling away, and things that had been awaited for more than 20 years are happening within days and weeks. We must not waste this historic moment, writes Luca Jahier.
Ernesto Rossi and the Call to Europe
It is time to rebuild the EU on the foundations set by Ernesto Rossi and others, writes Roger Casale.Promoted content
Normality is not an option: the post-pandemic Union must be a new Europe of all peoples
Coronavirus has exposed the structural problems in our societies at all levels. To mark Europe Day, EFA believes a post-pandemic Union must be a more diverse, representative and democratic Europe of all peoples.
Defending our imperfect but vital European Union
Alone, we fail. Together, we overcome. This was true 70 years ago and still is today, writes Antonio López-Istúriz White. Antonio López-Istúriz White is a Spanish MEP and Secretary General of the centre-right European People’s Party. Five years after the end...
It’s the long-term, stupid!
In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic there is a temptation to revert to nationalism and close borders. But working together and eschewing damaging short-term measures is the best response to the crisis, writes Henning vom Stein.
Can you take no for an answer?
The political attacks against the Hungarian Government's response to the coronavirus work against a strong and unified Europe, argues Judit Varga.
Why coronavirus is likely to be bad news for Europe’s radical right
Even if coronavirus has a negative effect on attitudes to immigration, it will be bad news for Europe’s radical right, argue Dr James Dennison and Professor Andrew Geddes.
Fatnassia camp is a time-bomb that threatens whole of North Africa
The ongoing armed conflict in Libya is going to push thousands of people, now asylum-seekers in Libyan camps, to escape towards the Southern border regions of Tunisia, Medenine and Tataouine, writes Mourad Teyeb. Mourad Teyeb is a journalist and consultant...
Behind medical masks, democracy is being suffocated
In the midst of its EU Council presidency, Croatia turned to the UAE and China for medical help, forgetting its current leadership role as the presiding country that should spur member states into coordinated action, writes Oriana Ivković Novokmet.
The free and democratic Europe: a death by a thousand cuts?
The Hungarian parliamentary elections in April 2010 changed the country – for worse. Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz took power for the second time. Today, ten years later, we can see how the prime minister has turned his country into an illiberal state, ignoring the basic principles of the rule of law, writes MEP Udo Bullmann.
For the Europe of tomorrow: An Open Letter
On the day of a critical meeting of the European Council, France’s Former President Giscard d’Estaing, together with leading representatives from the world of politics, academia and civil society from the Board of Re-Imagine Europa, call upon European leaders to show courage and ambition amid the current crisis.
The next EU budget must repair and transform the European economy
As EU leaders gather for a crucial summit on Thursday, a radical rethink of the next seven year EU budget is needed, argues Margarida Marques.
Time for governments to listen to their European citizens
Amid the range of appeals and open letters on the policy-changes need to combat the coronavirus, one constant is that all are demanding an effective common EU response to the pandemic, writes Roberto Castaldi.
COVID-19 and the need for deep EU reform
The management of COVID-19 cases seems to be working more on the basis of Darwin's well-known theory of natural selection, where the strong survive, rather than on any European strategy, writes Bashkim Smakaj.
Communication in times of a pandemic
With all events and activities cancelled from March to May (at least), and the planet literally holding its breath following the spread of the virus, what is the role of communication in an organisation that is not standing in the...
EU leaders must stand up to protect the news media sector
An open letter to EU leaders from more than 40 MEPs calls for immediate actions to support Europe's news media sector as it faces up to the sudden loss of advertising revenue caused by the COVID-19 crisis.
By surrendering to autocracy in the fight against COVID-19, Hungary poisons European ideals
The EU must swiftly propose and adopt sanctions against the latest 'democratic backsliding' by the Hungarian government, say leading European politicians, media and civil society leaders in an open letter whose signatories include former Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, philosopher Bernard-Henri Lévy, and EURACTIV founder Christophe Leclercq.
Fighting COVID-19 is a battle for human rights
The Covid-19 crisis is a human rights issue, one of the most global and urgent we have ever seen. This is a struggle by all of humanity, for the right to life, and for the right to health of every person, writes Eamon Gilmore.
A Letter from the Frontline – Croatian civil society faces a double crisis
Civil society organisations have been badly hit by the COVID-19 crisis. In Croatia the earthquake on 22 March increased the burden for NGOs and charities. Cvjetana Plavsa-Matic, urges the EU to reflect the needs of NGOs and charities in the COVID-19 bail-out packages.
After the pandemic: How to use Conference on Future of Europe to rethink society
From financial problems to migration and Brexit, the European Union has faced multiple challenges so far. Nowadays, Europe is being hard-hit by another “black swan” – the COVID-19 pandemic. How can the EU learn from its mistakes in order to better face future unpredictable crises, asks Nicolae Stefanuta.
The Roma are among most threatened by coronavirus in Europe
Roma and Travellers have long been known to fall through the social net and their situation has only worsened during the ongoing Covid-19 emergency, write Shannon Pfohman and Thomas Hackl.