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Czech society is polarised by attitudes to refugees. This is absurd given that fact that only 1,156 have applied for asylum in a country of ten million people. Xenophobia and hysteria drive the debate.

Due to their recent history many Croatians understand the plight of refugees. Others fear the influx of different cultural and religious influences, and the effects on the economic situation.

During the Slovak parliamentary election campaign even moderate parties adopted anti-immigrant language. But the strategy backfired and far-right politicians entered parliament.

Whilst the refugee crisis has dominated debates in Germany since 2015, it plays a subordinate role in France where the war on Islamist terrorism and tackling the problem with military intervention.

Thousands of Syrians have sought shelter in Lebanon. But having such a precarious status there and no legal recognition many feel their best option is to try entering the EU via the Mediterranean.

Currently the debate on nuclear weapons in the European Union is not making any progress, this could be due to the failure of the Non-Proliferation Treaty in 2015. Nevertheless, a nuclear-weapon-free zone in Europe should still be envisaged.

As Europeans struggle to deal with the tensions between growing right-wing, xenophobic parties and new refugee and immigrant populations, there is much to be learned from the US immigrant rights movement.

Greece as a key migrant entry point needs extra resources to secure the EU’s external border and provide humanitarian assistance. It's vital to manage the burden sharing and secure a pragmatic agreement with Turkey to stem migrant flows and facilitate returns.

Contrary to the objective to quit nuclear energy, a recent paper of the European Commission’s DG Research maps out possible nuclear research priorities. An analysis to put the latest developments into perspective.

State repression against non-governmental organizations is increasing globally. In this interview, Barbara Unmüßig calls for a reconceptualisation of solidarity with civil society and puts the issue of shrinking and closing spaces at the very top of the political agenda.