European Union (EU)

The EU and the US have to navigate bilateral differences and work with like-minded countries to formulate a response to China’s techno-authoritarianism. This effort should go beyond industrial policy towards shaping a positive and inclusive digital agenda.

The concept of ‘digital sovereignty’ has become more prevalent over the last few years, although its meaning remains diffuse. Between Chinese techno-authoritarianism and the U.S. model of surveillance capitalism, Europe is heading towards a third way.

The EU has traditionally been timid about its use of sanctions in foreign policy. Will this change with the current EU leadership’s plans to speak “the language of power”?

The EU’s southern flank has been under immense security pressure by external actors recently. These security challenges require the EU to adopt a holistic approach and address a range of complex regional issues, making use of a wide range of tools.

President Macron has been promoting the concept of European sovereignty and strategic autonomy for quite some time. His vision of a strategically autonomous Europe is based on the premise of profound geopolitical shifts and a new reality of big power rivalries. Still, Paris will have to convince skeptical EU Member States about the soundness of this concept.

The vision of a strategically autonomous Europe is not met with great enthusiasm in Poland and the Baltic states. On the contrary, the preferences between Warsaw, Vilnius, Riga and Tallinn point to a renewal of the transatlantic bond and a stronger NATO in order to contain the challenges represented by Russia and China.

Considering the current politico-economic situation in the EU, Hungary does stand a chance of achieving some of its immediate goals. So, the key question is: What does Budapest stand to gain by using its veto?

Interview with Benedek Jávor about the blackmailing attempt of Viktor Orbán and Mateusz Morawiecki, the importance of the rule of law in the EU and the responsibility of the German government.

Albin Kurti was Prime Minister of Kosovo from February to June 2020, when his government was toppled. Viola von Cramon-Taubadel is the European Parliament's rapporteur for Kosovo. Walter Kaufmann spoke to both of them about the domestic political situation in Kosovo, the rule of law and EU integration.

In the early hours of September 9th something rather expected happened. The Moria Refugee Camp on the Greek island of Lesbos was engulfed in flames, just a few hours after the announcement of the detection of 35 cases of coronavirus in the camp. The camp, which for years was a place of degradation of human dignity on the eastern border of the European Union, was almost completely destroyed. The EU Member states can no longer be inactive - they all share the responsibility for this disaster.