Articles

On 25 September 2022 Italy goes to the polls in an election that is characterized by many “first times.” It is the first time ever that the country votes just after the summer. Moreover, Italy is, for the first time, the country receiving most of the EU’s Next Generation EU budget (around 191 billion euros granted by common bonds). The “how to spend it” is of concern not only to the Italians and Brussels, but to the EU as a whole.

The technical problems with international rail in Europe are quite well understood. But are there ways to improve the situation while not challenging the fundamental status quo? Ways where, at the border, some basic changes could improve matters for international railway travellers?

In June 2022, the European Commission presented a new regulation on the sustainable use of plant protection products. This regulation is a long awaited response to the insufficient results of the Sustainable Use of Pesticide Directive (SUD) that framed the use of pesticides since 2009. Conclusions from many reports, including a report from the EU Court of Auditors, have shown that there had been very little progress in reducing use and risks for the environment and human health of pesticides. With 75% of food production depending on pollination, the urgency of the situation is alarming and a strong response is needed. Here, we will have a quick look at this regulation and check if the CAP Strategic Plans can provide good tools to help reach the ambition of the text.

The Inflation Reduction Act is seen as an expression of climate pragmatism by some and a Faustian bargain with the fossil fuel industry by others. What exactly is it?

“Ceasefire without regaining control over our land means that my son will inherit this war.” In the interview, Inna Sovsun and Yehor Cherniev, members of the Verkhovna Rada, demand to stop denying what Russia's war against Ukraine is about. The conversation was conducted by Robert Sperfeld.

In the months of July and August 2022, Senegal and Kenya will hold their general elections. However, the big question remains: Where do Senegalese and Kenyan women stand on their quest to parliamentary mandates and political offices?

For years, civil society players in Syria have had to go through agonies of uncertainty about the future of humanitarian supplies to the country every six months, as the battle over the corresponding resolution grinds into deadlock at the United Nations Security Council. It was no different this time when the mandate ran out, only to be extended yet again two days later – albeit for just another six months. If cross-border aid to Idlib dries up, the region will be under threat of famine, but medical supplies, education programmes and the fight against sexualised violence and violence against women and girls are also areas of concern.

After the German federal elections in September 2021, the Greens joined a government coalition with the Social Democrats and the Liberals. MdBs Dr. Anna Christmann and Claudia Müller are respectively the new Federal Government Coordinators of German Aerospace Policy, and for the Maritime Industry and for Tourism. Philipp Cerny and Martin Keim conducted a joint interview to find out more about their priorities and thoughts.

Anna Lührmann, Minister of State for Europe and Climate at the German Federal government, talks to Christine Pütz about the results of the "Actually European?! 2022" study and what the citizens expect from Germany’s European policy at this “turning point in history”.

The EU–Western Balkans Leaders' Meeting concluded more as a win for Putin and his allies than for progressive forces in the Western Balkans. The European Council did not meet the challenge of the moment, writes Simon Ilse.