European Union (EU)

Reflections on the Morning After the British General Election of 2015. Will the general election in the UK mark the beginning of the end of the United Kingdom? Read Alex Brianson's reflections on the morning after.

Why the Russian regime and the Hungarian far right are in an intimate relationship. A new study by Political Capital and Social Development Institute.

Medication and water bottles have numerous advantages in a crisis situation, but they cannot be used to stop ISIS. The greatest dilemmas of European Greens are rooted in a conflict of values. They need to work on a political solution.

In the conflict with Russia, the EU has considerd military action only as the last resort. This should not change in the future, says Rebecca Harms, president of The Greens–European Free Alliance group in the European parliament.

The trade relations of the six countries of the Eastern Partnership is a complex web of discrepancies. They have assigned different association agreements with Russia and the EU. The coexistence of these two models of economic integration poses challenges - and problems.

The crisis in Ukraine with all its reverberations comes at a moment when the EU and the European project are very weak and while international insecurity is on the rise. As a result the Perspectives for the EU’s Eastern Partnership will have to change.

Today, the future of European nations is at stake in eastern Ukraine. If not effectively addressed, the Ukrainian crisis will pose the biggest threat the EU’s member states have experienced since 1945.

Putin’s visit to Budapest in February 2015 was his first bilateral meeting in an EU and NATO member country since the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 over Ukraine. By inviting him Budapest has broken Europe’s tacit agreement on a united Russia policy, and is arguing for a normalisation of relations with Russia.

The conflict in Ukraine has shown that the EU’s energy security depends largely on strengthening its own resilience.

While Russia is redrawing the European map, Ukraine needs to move forward: A hybrid war cannot be ended with a hybrid peace and an economic crisis cannot be overcome with hybrid reforms. Changes have to be fast and radical.

The coming set of Sustainable Development Goals will seek to protect ecosystems, conserve resources, and, as with the Millennium Development Goals, lift millions of people out of poverty. Now that solid legal ground must be developed further.

Hungary continues to extend its energy relations with Russia causing another major tension in the already heavy-loaded Hungarian-EU relations.

The First World War proved to be a calamity for both Germany and Europe, and the Second World War magnified this tragedy even further. Without both World Wars the European Union (EU) as we know it today might not exist. This article delves into the consequences of World War I, shedding light on the profound impact it had on shaping the course of history.

The dominant West European narrative according to which Orbán is seeking to move Hungary to Europe’s political periphery is at least partially flawed. What is missing is not a pro-European policy, but rather a vision of Hungary's role in the EU.

The upcoming European Parliament elections are overshadowed by the perception of an indecisive European Union ill-prepared to deal with geopolitical challenges. Inferring from that a general indifference towards the European Union or its Parliament, however, is a short-sighted fallacy.

Most important now is that the international community responds speedily and clearly to what amounts to a Russian occupation of the Crimea and the additional threat of Russian troops being stationed in Ukraine. Europe is in no way powerless in the face of Russian actions, as Ralf Fücks and Walter Kaufmann illustrate in a ten-point plan.

Péter Krekó, research director of Political Capital, and Kornélia Magyar, director of the Progressive Institute, analyse the performance of the Fidesz government and reflect on the prospects for Fidesz and opposition parties in the 2014 election year.  

On November 6-7, 2008 South Caucasus Regional Office of the Heinrich Boell Foundation and Bertelsmann Foundation initiated a strategic cooperation dedicated to "A European Strategy for the Southern Caucasus".

After the five-day war between Russia and Georgia, actors, issues and the agenda involved need to be identified. A discussion paper for the conference “A European Strategy for the Southern Caucasus” in Tbilisi on 6-7 November 2008, jointly organized by the Bertelsmann Foundation, Guetersloh and the Heinrich Boell Foundation’s Southern Caucasus Office.

This Policy Briefing Paper aims to provide a concise background on the Arctic region offering a succinct analysis of the situation and a set of recommendations for the European Union.