European Union

Ukraine: Saakashvili's return, Poroshenko's power

05/10/2017 -  Oleksiy Bondarenko

The political parable in Ukraine of former Georgian president Saakashvili is not over. Meanwhile, President Poroshenko has already launched a long election campaign ahead of the 2019 presidential elections

Brexit and the Parthenon marbles

29/09/2017 -  Gilda Lyghounis

Half of the Parthenon marbles are in London. Sold by an English aristocrat to the British Museum in 1816, they have been claimed by Athens for nearly two centuries. Will Brexit make them go back?

Counting the words that count

14/09/2017 - 

What are the most recurrent terms in the EU Commission’s president annual speech at the European Parliament saying about our times? We had a closer look at the patterns. A collaborative story by the European Data Journalism Network

What happens to our holiday garbage?

13/09/2017 -  Marzia BonaLorenzo Ferrari

In tourist areas across Europe, the waste generated by tourism is managed by recycling and disposal systems that are often inefficient. An overview of the situation in South-East Europe

The EU and LGBTI rights in the Western Balkans

21/07/2017 -  Lorenzo Ferrari

The prospect of entering the EU has invited the countries of the region to adopt laws against discrimination based on sex and gender. However, more efforts are needed in order to achieve structural change

True stability needs media freedom

19/07/2017 -  Dragan Janjić Belgrade

Abuse of public funds and tabloids used as means for stifling “dissent” undermine democracy and ultimately stability in the Western Balkans. The speech by Dragan Janjić at the Civil Society Forum held in Trieste on July 11, 2017

Political instability in the Balkans: the remedies are long-term

11/07/2017 -  Marzia BonaFrancesco Martino

Experts increasingly warn about the serious risks stemming from the consolidation of a vicious “stabilitocracy”. The focus of European and Western interests in the Balkans shifted from democratisation and human rights to security issues

To vote or not to vote in the Rama era?

10/07/2017 -  Nicola Pedrazzi

Albanian democracy needs a challenger to its undisputed leader

EU Enlargement: A Six Percent Target for the Western Balkans

05/07/2017 -  Tobias FlessenkemperDušan Reljić

The structural economic weakness of the Western Balkans is likely to become a political problem, but the EU so far has not addressed it adequately in its Enlargement policy. A commentary

Turkey: EU funds, authoritarianism, and civil society

06/07/2017 -  Fazıla Mat

For over 10 years, Turkey has received EU funds supporting reforms and democratisation. In light of the country's authoritarian drift, however, many wonder whether this strategy still makes sense

Whistleblowers, fragile defenders of democracy

22/06/2017 -  Gian-Paolo Accardo

They put in danger their private and professional lives to reveal the embezzlement and irregularities they discover in their workplaces, yet whistleblowers do not enjoy the protection they deserve. But things in Europe are now starting to shift

A plan to strengthen the social dimension of Europe

24/05/2017 -  Sara Gradilone

The European Commission's proposal to create a European Pillar of Social Rights is a step towards an integrated and coherent framework on social rights at the European level. This will also provide member states with a frame of reference for developing their own individual policies

Violence against women: the EU's potential accession to the Istanbul Convention

24/05/2017 -  Lorenzo Ferrari

Half of the EU member-states have not yet ratified the Convention on violence against women. The European Parliament and the Commission have decided that the EU as such should adhere to the Convention, which could signal a breakthrough for a genuine European policy against violence

Konstantina Kuneva: for an inclusive European society

28/04/2017 -  Gilda Lyghounis

Cleaners, care-givers, baby-sitters: 9 out of 10 are women, often exploited. MEP Konstantina Kuneva, who was personally attacked for her activism, now fights for female workers' rights in Europe

EU-Bulgaria, a multi-speed anniversary

06/04/2017 -  Francesco Martino Sofia

Bulgaria, the EU, and the 60th anniversary of the Treaties of Rome. From the collapse of the Berlin Wall to ''multi-speed Europe". An interview with Professor Anna Krasteva

The House of European History

03/04/2017 -  Marco Abram

A museum that seeks to project a transnational vision of European history. An ambitious project that has not escaped controversy and criticism. An interview with director Taja Vovk van Gaal

Humanitarian Visas, still an open question

23/03/2017 -  Francesca Spinelli

The recent verdict of the European Court of Justice comes as a blow to those who want to see safe and legal access to the EU for refugees. But the reform of the Code on Visas offers another chance for change, and the European Parliament is keen on not letting it get away

Defending in Court the case of humanitarian visas for refugees

06/03/2017 -  Francesca Spinelli

The EU Court of Justice Advocate General Paolo Mengozzi demonstrated that governments are legally obliged to grant asylum to Syrian refugees. In a landmark verdict to be delivered on 7 March, the Court could decide to adopt Mengozzi’s arguments or to strike a blow to the hopes of so many Syrians

Targeting Russian TV channels

15/03/2017 -  Lorenzo Ferrari

The tensions between the European Union and Russia are changing the ways in which the EU defines and combats hate-speech. Attention is growing on the role of Russian TVs in Eastern Europe

Bosnian ethnopolis in Strasbourg: a controversial resolution

03/03/2017 -  Alfredo Sasso

Tensions between Zagreb and Sarajevo over potential further decentralization of Bosnia Herzegovina, following the positions exposed in a resolution recently adopted by the European parliament

Women are the first victims

21/02/2017 -  Sergio Cebrián

Trafficked women in EU countries most commonly end up in sexual exploitation. And Member States’ different legal processes and legislation are not helping to combat this evil

Serbia: how the authorities block access to information

23/02/2017 -  Simon Lenormand

Serbia has one of the best laws in the world to guarantee public access to information. The problem is, the state does not respect its own laws. And the situation may get worse in the future

The EU opens to Georgians travellers

10/02/2017 -  Monica Ellena Tbilisi

On Thursday, February 2nd, the European Parliament approved visa liberalisation for Georgia. Now the formalities at the EU Council of Ministers, and by the end of March the first travellers

Refugees in Europe: “Let's not make it a battle of the bottom feeders”

07/02/2017 -  Fazıla Mat

More Eu funds are needed to support reception measures for refugees as well as European citizens experiencing poverty. Interview with Brando Benifei, Italian MEP, on the management of the refugees crisis in Europe

Diplomacy and change: on Georgia's recent access to H2020 funds

19/01/2017 -  Abel Polese

Georgia has now full access to Horizon 2020: a great opportunity for research and innovation but at the same time a challenge for scientists and academia

European Union: Who enforces fundamental rights?

10/01/2017 -  Alberto Tagliapietra

Setting high standards for aspiring member countries, but ineffective with Member States: European institutions have problems with fundamental rights

Cécile Kyenge on Europe and migrations

22/12/2016 -  Fazıla Mat

Facing the migration problem means keeping the European project alive. We spoke to the author of a recent report on the issue, Cécile Kyenge, Italian member of the European parliament

EU-Turkey Agreement: an appeal to the European Court of Justice

06/12/2016

Access Info Europe, a Madrid-based organization promoting access to information, filed a petition to the European Court of Justice asking the disclosure of the legal details of the EU-Turkey deal on migration

Our man in Moldova

21/10/2016 -  Eleanor KnottMihai Popșoi

In courting the country’s most loathed oligarch, the EU and US will only lose the sympathy of ordinary Moldovans

Hungary, after the referendum

07/11/2016 -  Marzia Bona

After a controversial and divisive referendum, what is the outlook for Hungary and the region on the subject of refugees? We interviewed Gábor Gyulai, of the Hungarian Helsinki Committee