European Union (EU)

Resolute action has never been one of the European Union’s strengths. Swift decision-making is not one of the advantages democracies offer. But are the other advantages enough in times of war, as in Ukraine now, when every moment of hesitation costs human lives?

Learn more about the EU member states, key institutions, current parliamentary majorities, recent voter turnout, and the history of the EU.

Many of the anniversaries we mark in 2024 will remind us of how we overcame separation and division, but also of the fact that the task of reuniting Europe is yet to be accomplished. EU enlargement is in our own best interest – after all, a safe and stable neighborhood makes us all safer and Europe more stable.

War in Europe, the escalating climate crisis, Europe's position in the global power structure: The European Union faces historic challenges. The year 2024 will determine how things will proceed.

The Europeanization of German identity runs like a red thread through Germany's post-war history and is also evident in its performances at the ESC: Germany presents itself as cosmopolitan.

The almost 70-year history of the ESC reads like a seismograph of the cultural and socio-political situation in Europe on many levels.

For one evening, a global audience watches a show staged with the most elaborate means at the height of technical feasibility. What makes the ESC one of the most fascinating media events of our time?

Although the ESC was not intended as an instrument of European integration, it has become a symbol of it - even if the relationship between national and European identity is contradictory.

The Kosovo war of 25 years ago serves as a reminder that frozen conflicts and bilateral disputes cannot be swept under the rug for long. In the current geopolitical environment, they will blow up in Europe’s face.

The EU's Critical Raw Materials Act is peppered with commitments to “value-addition” in the countries where critical minerals will be mined and processed. But there is reason to believe that this means little.