EU/North America

On 22 June 2017 international experts Gerald Knaus, Rebecca Vincent, and Berit Lindeman spoke with Anar Mammadli and other representatives of Azeri civil society about the critical human rights situation in the country, ways to potentially solve it, and European strategies.

We all come into contact with it, especially when shopping for fresh fruit and vegetables, hardly anyone is aware of it: many hours of ‘invisible’ labor – often by migrant workers from Africa, Latin America, Asia and Eastern Europe toiling in agriculture in the Mediterranean region.

The Hungarian government’s recently adopted legislation seem to specifically target the Central European University, creating a situation of existential instability. Anna Frenyó spoke with Zsolt Enyedi, the university’s Pro-Rector for Hungarian Affairs about the latest developments.

Across the US, progressive Americans are looking for ways to engage in civil resistance and defend progressive legislation. The Victory Institute and its associated Fund identify, train and support members of the LGBTQ community to run for office. We spoke with Ruben Gonzales, Vice President of the Leadership Initiatives at the Victory Institute.

On Tuesday, 13 June, Hungary’s National Assembly passed a law that requires NGOs which receive foreign funds above the annual threshold of 24000 EUR to register and label themselves as “foreign-funded organisations” on their websites and in their publications.

Since the end of the East-West conflict in 1990, the shape of Europe has changed dramatically. The European Economic Community, which was founded in 1957 by six Member States, has become the European Union with currently 27 members. Europe, which had been divided by the Iron Curtain for decades, has grown completely new in its history.

President Donald Trump declared that he would start measures to withdraw the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement, putting his country back into the “rogue state” category in international climate negotiations. 

Are LGBTQ rights on the line under the new administration? We spoke with Sharita Gruberg, associate director of the LGBT Research and Communications Project at the Center for American Progress, about challenges that face LGBTQ community under Trump.

Despite the empowerment of the LGBTI movement during the last 20 years, LGBTI people in Russia face extensive legal discrimination, widespread homophobia and even massive violence.

In April 2017, a series of demonstrations took place in Budapest against an amendment to the Higher Education Act. They were organised by mostly social media-based groups, but they differed in several aspects from the demonstration culture that has been the norm in Hungary in recent decades.