On 15 September 2021, the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, gave the annual State of the Union address to the European Parliament (EP) in Strasbourg, France. With Europe still battling through the pandemic, newer and more pressing concerns about climate change and defence policy made their way to the forefront of […]
In 2021 Corona is back again, or more accurately, it never left, as is the case with the discussions about adequate responses to it. The German method of a moderate lockdown seems rather less successful. France has taken very drastic measures, but has de facto been able to reduce the numbers drastically, albeit from a […]
Photo courtesy of the European Commission. As in previous crises, the Coronavirus pandemic has highlighted the lack of economic “punch” that we have in Spain. Here, our commitment to tourism means that if we do not reverse it soon, that we remain at the mercy of the so-called frugal countries… Just to confirm, we are […]
The past couple of months have seen a flurry of enthusiastic articles on the green revolution in Europe’s cities. A somewhat idealized story of a change spearheaded by civil society, demanded by the people and implemented by local authorities as part of a larger European agenda. We have indeed witnessed pollution levels drop across the […]
They say to keep doing something over and over again but expecting different results is a sign of madness. So how can we expect Europe to really progress if we keep inviting the same people to the table, making the same old empty statements about “progress” and “unity” but without really making any action to […]
Photo courtesy of the BBC. The other night, after president Vučić announced a 60-hour-curfew in Belgrade – shutting down the city and not allowing anyone to go outside from Friday till Monday – a group of citizens spontaneously gathered in front of the Parliament to protest. The protest escalated quickly and it went on until […]
Tackling a pandemic is a highly technical matter, a subject on which most of us will never have comprehensive knowledge. As such, we may have been paying more attention to scientists’ opinions lately. But this has not magically fixed pre-existing societal tensions. The rise of populism in Europe has exposed and accustomed people to the […]
To mark Europe Day – otherwise known as Schuman Day – the European Future Forum (EFF) joined up with Citizens Takeover Europe for a panel discussion as a part of the #EuropeFutureFringe initiative. This Q&A session enabled both experts and citizens to discuss the future of Europe in light of the current situation with the […]
The corona crisis weighs on the EU’s neighbourhood policy – in favour of China. Since the 15th March, a state of emergency has been in force in Serbia due to the coronavirus pandemic. ‘The Serbian healthcare system is by no means prepared for this pandemic,‘ said President Aleksandar Vucic in his press conference on the […]
The coronavirus pandemic is troublesome enough – but does the politicisation of the crisis only mean more trouble lies ahead in the post-COVID-19 world? From nationalist leaders using the need for order to their advantage to the deepening divisions within the EU, is the full impact of this crisis yet to come? Last week, Yuval […]