The debate about how to define thousands of people moving to a different country is still ongoing in Europe. Expats, migrants, refugees… Many words are used to define people moving from their own country to another. But what is the difference between these terms? What makes an expat an expat and a migrant a migrant? […]
Nobody likes taxes. Okay, that’s not true. There are students on every university campus, who live in social housing and have never paid taxes in their life. They will tell you that they fully support taxation. But let’s focus on those of us who pay taxes on a regular basis: working people. Most everyone of […]
With the prophetic words of “opening a new chapter for Europe”, the EPP builds its manifesto around four catchphrases. Whether political soundness and coherence follow those, is more debatable. Spitzenkandidat for the party Manfred Weber, has little chance of actually following Jean-Claude Juncker next year, as the national heads of government favour Michel Barnier or […]
Another edition for the beady eyed followers of European politics and the current Spitzenkandidaten race for the EU Commission president. This time, we look at the centre–left liberal candidate – Margarethe Vestager – leading the charge for ALDE. A pragmatic and well-respected politician on the European stage: is it just what Europe needs now, or […]
The 29th March 2019 was engraved in many of our minds for 2 years as the day that the UK finally breaks away from its former EU family. Whether this day was eagerly anticipated or dreaded, it was unanimously deemed as a turning point for the future of Europe. Alas, the date came and went […]
We live in a time of major shifts and upheavals. Technology changes everything around us from (geo-)politics, the environment, markets and the media, to how we structure our very daily lives. But what drives all of these changes and are we getting closer to the end of this wild ride or is this just the […]
The Brexit campaign made numerous promises for what leaving the EU would mean. Looking at the arguments of the Leave campaign, it may now be that remaining is actually the best solution for keeping those promises to the voters. In a ‘meaningful vote’, the British Parliament rejected Prime Minster Theresa May’s Withdrawal Agreement. A better […]
Denmark recently followed France’s example of banning face coverings in public places, hitting niqab-wearing Muslim women the hardest. Shortly after, a Muslim couple were denied Swiss citizenship for refusing to shake hands with people of the opposite sex. Do these cases represent a justifiable attempt to limit crime and facilitate cultural integration, or an unnecessary […]
An interview with MEP Pavel Svoboda Pavel Svoboda – Czech politician and lawyer, Member of the European Parliament for the Christian and Democratic Union – Czechoslovak People’s Party (EPP), chairman of the Committee on Legal Affairs (JURI) and one of the most influential members of the EP, according to POLITICO. Marcin Chruściel: As a Czech […]
Two weeks ago, a new kind of festival hit Brussels’ quaint Leopold Park. But it wasn’t the usual suspects of food, drink or music which inspired many to brave the chilly Autumn Saturday morning, but rather politics which headlined the event. Though this may sound strange to some, such politically-fuelled festivals are embedded into Nordic […]