Democracy

The European Union’s Artificial Intelligence Act aims to regulate emerging applications of AI in accordance with “EU values”. But for the most concerning of all such potential applications, the line between regulation and prohibition can be a tricky one to draw.

The EU’s goal is to become a “global role model for the digital economy” and to promote its regulatory model beyond the EU’s borders. Accordingly, lawmakers are now considering various options for limiting the power of ‘Big Tech’ by regulating their data-driven business models.

The year 2021 is arriving to its end and we would like to take this opportunity to thank you for all your efforts, support, and inspiring cooperation. We wish you the best in this season, as well as good health and well-being for you and your loved ones.

Rasmus Andresen is the new spokesperson of the German Green delegation (Europagruppe Grüne) in the European Parliament. The Director of our European Union office, Eva van de Rakt, talked to him about the opportunities opened up at EU level by the Green participation in the German coalition government.

For a significant part of the last two years, the United States and Germany were polar opposites with regards to their success in handling COVID-19. While the Trump administration’s chaotic response to the virus left states effectively to fend for themselves, widespread testing, ample intensive care beds, and high levels of trust in the government led to talk of a “German exception” in the early months of the pandemic.

The year 2021 was an unprecedented one for the European Green Party (EGP) and its members. The transnational political party organisation of environmentalists in Europe enjoyed some of its best election results in Austria, Denmark, Germany, France, Norway and Switzerland. At the same time, European Greens often failed to meet the high expectations set by polling. Moreover, substantial levels of support remain limited to Western Europe, although the elections in Bulgaria show that EGP member parties can make it to the national parliament, and even into government, in Eastern Europe.

In the second round of the presidential elections on 19 December 2021, Chile will be deciding between the far-right candidate, José Antonio Kast, and the left-wing progressive Gabriel Boric. Non-voters and anti-politicians may be able to tip the balance in these pivotal elections. Interview with Gitte Cullmann, office director of the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung in Santiago de Chile.

Frieder Wolf-Buchert, our colleague at the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung for many years, has passed away at the age of 66, following serious illness. He built up and led our European Union office, which opened in January 1997.

The chapter of the coalition agreement of the new German government on integration, migration and flight is highly ambitious. What changes does it set out at EU policy level?

At the Eastern Partnership (EaP) summit on 15 December 2021, German Chancellor Scholz met with high-ranking representatives of the EU and its Member States and the EaP countries. How can the Traffic Light coalition contribute to a more effective Eastern Partnership?