Politics
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Strong national democracies, Europe’s guarantor of security
"Our task, as European Conservatives, is to stop the current transfer of competences and decision-making doomed for centralisation, by handing back real power to the Member States."
The Brief, powered by VDMA – The lost art of diplomacy
There is nothing like a break-up to prompt a few rounds of point-scoring and petty one-upmanship. The Brexit divorce process is more giving than most. The UK may be over and out of the bloc, legally at least, but there...
The Brief, powered by VDMA – Wanted: A Guardian of Democracy
Last Friday, and without much media coverage, the Guardian of the Treaties dealt the latest blow to European citizens' shot at direct democracy by rejecting a petition proposing a protection package for national minorities that had garnered 1.1 million signatures across the EU.
What we might learn from the Trump administration’s downfall
The siege of the Capitol was one of the darkest moments, but not the last hour of modern democracy, writes Anna Donáth.
The Brief – Rotting in the docks
The images of then UKIP leader Nigel Farage floating in a dinghy on the River Thames – encountering a flotilla of Remainers led by Bob Geldof and doling out profanity like candy – is one of the memories of the...
After Trump, we must fight to rebuild the ruins of democracy
Even after US President Trump is gone, the underlying causes of division, mistrust, and frustration won't go away and Europe must future-proof itself against any risks to democracy – particularly in the online world, writes Věra Jourová.
The Brief – Of German vaccines and dark horses
Germany's Christian Democrats are set to elect their new leader among the three candidates vying for top post this weekend. But the winner might not necessarily go on to become the party's designated candidate to run for the chancellorship in this year’s general election.
The Brief – Letter from the UK
Two days after the UK left the EU’s single market, England was placed into its third national lockdown on 3 January, joining Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland who had already imposed their own restrictions. With people confined to their homes...
Time for the European Commission to shine
The latest successful European Citizens' Initiative, Minority SafePack, is a rare opportunity to take democratic participation seriously, after a number of previous ECis failed to garner enough attention or make an impact on EU legislation, writes Carsten Berg.
Portuguese PM: Time to deliver a fair, green, digital recovery
After a year scarred by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Portuguese presidency will seek to deliver on a Europe-wide vaccination plan and the National Recovery and Resilience Plans, writes António Costa.
Nothing to celebrate in 2020? 20 years of UNSC 1325
2020 did not bring significant progress for the agenda of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security (WPS) and the COVID19 pandemic even caused significant setbacks for women's rights, writes Brigitta von Messling.
Don’t forget about Europe’s Northern Partners
In designing the European security architecture, how can Norwegian and EU priorities in defence and security be prudently squared against one another to ensure that both sides mutually benefit from the partnership, ask Kinga Brudzinska and Lucia Rybnikárová.
The Brief, powered by Goldman Sachs – Erasmus Fuss
UK students are set to lose access to the EU’s foreign exchange scheme, Erasmus+, in what will arguably be the biggest Brexit-perpetrated crime. Forget the economics of it, this is wrecking a whole generation’s prospects.
The Brief, powered by Goldman Sachs – Two visions of England, and Europe
Aside from being great yarns, Europe and the project of European integration lie at the heart of the best work of the great spy novelist, John Le Carré, who died on Saturday.
The Brief, powered by Goldman Sachs – Where have the populists gone?
Where have Europe’s far-right populists disappeared to? Where are Marine Le Pen, Geert Wilders, Matteo Salvini and the others? There has not been a peep from them for a long time – almost since COVID-19 came about.
The Brief, powered by Facebook – Veto power, used and abused
Europe’s surly teenager – the UK – may have left the club only to be replaced by the new enfants terribles of the EU – Poland and Hungary. But like it or not, the two Visegrad states were protecting their national interests.
Renewing the EU’s commitment to the protection of the freedom of religion and belief
Renewing and boosting the post of EU Special Envoy for freedom of religion or belief outside the Union is a crucial step in this direction. It would send a welcome message during the festive season and while we mark International Human Rights Day, argues Miriam Lexmann.
The Brief, powered by Facebook – Strasbourg Farce
The European Parliament’s president will open next week’s plenary session in person in Strasbourg. But there won’t be any MEPs there, in what is the latest mad installment of the single-seat saga.
Stop the rain on human rights
The current pandemic crisis serves as a magnifying glass of all existing inequalities in Europe - racism, gender and sexual discrimination, treatment of migrants: there is still a long way to go to ensure full and real equality in Europe, write Helena Dalli and Dunja Mijatović on the occasion of the Human Rights Day on 10 December.
The Brief, powered by Facebook – EU summits as storms
There are several established methodologies to measure tropical storms and hurricanes, but none for measuring EU summits. Most summits will not be remembered in EU history, Some bring memories thanks to anecdotes outside the summit room, like Jacques Chirac answering...Promoted content
Europe 2.0 – A partnership of national democracies
Ahead of the conference on the future of Europe, the ECR Group in the European Parliament launches this week in Warsaw a ‘European Tour’ of live broadcasts to stimulate debate about alternatives to the federalists’ centralising agenda. The supranational institutions have become too dominant, argues Co-Chairman Legutko. A reset is required. #ResetEU
After a Decade of EU Pragmatism, It Is Time to Talk About Democracy Again
During the crisis-ridden last decade, the EU has stumbled into a new intergovernmentalism presented as an apparently pragmatic problem-solving approach. But side-lining the European Parliament is not just a problem for the EU’s legitimacy, but also results in negotiation deadlocks...Promoted content
We must protect our civic space so that we can keep our human rights
From health to employment to education, Covid-19 has brought additional challenges regarding access to and enjoyment of human rights. As December 10, International Human Rights Day, draws closer, it’s time to reflect on the state of civic space in Europe,...