United States of America / USA

Silicon Valley businesses will be able to re-establish old connections within the Biden-Harris government. Civil society organisations are warning that Big Tech will have too much influence in the political discourse. But there will be no return to the Obama era – from competition law to data protection, the sector will have to expect tougher rules.

"Build back better" has been Joe Biden’s campaign promise. Climate policy is central to this, both in domestic and foreign policy. Ultimately, it is also a question of whether the Biden government can succeed in regaining lost credibility on the international stage.

The first American presidential candidate to put tackling climate change at the heart of his campaign, Joe Biden has boasted that his victory will return America to a position of global leadership. But first he needs to set an example to follow.

Eva van de Rakt, director of our Brussels office, interviewed Reinhard Bütikofer (Member of the European Parliament, Greens/EFA) about the US election results, the priorities of the Biden-Harris administration, and the future of the transatlantic relationship.

The election of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris is a significant victory for liberal democracy in the US and for a policy of compassion and cooperation. At the same time, the new government is facing a political pile of rubble full of enormous challenges.

The murder of George Floyd amidst of a global pandemic has triggered a global conversation among the Black diaspora and its progressive allies. In the editorial for our #BlackLivesMatter focus, award-winning journalist Gary Younge analyses the current debates in the U.S. and in Europe.

The murder of George Floyd has thrown the United States into a state of unrest. President Trump is throwing fuel on the fire in an attempt to increase his re-election chances. The main problem, however, is historical, structural racism – and not just in the U.S. An interview with Bastian Hermisson, Head of the Foundation’s office in Washington, and Mekonnen Mesghena, Head of Migration and Diversity at the Heinrich Böll Foundation in Berlin.

After the assassination of Iran’s high General Qassem Soleimani by the US on Friday 3rd January 2020 in Iraq, the already very strained situation between the US and Iran, became even more critical. Head of Global Transformation Programme at Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung Brussels European Union, Anna Schwarz, spoke to MEP Hannah Neumann (Greens/EFA) about how the EU is to react to the further escalating conflict between the US and Iran.

With more than a year to go until the elections, the race to the White House is already in full swing. The impeachment inquiry against Donald Trump makes it additionally difficult to predict. But even without that, there are a number of reasons that speak against Trump’s re-election in November 2020.