Germany must not ignore the dismantling of democracy in Argentina böll.column On 23 June 2024, Chancellor Scholz will receive Argentinian president Javier Milei with military honours. Not only do Milei’s reform plans accept the dismantling of democracy and the rule of law, they will also deindustrialise Argentina. This does not correspond to Germany's interests. By Dr. Imme Scholz
European elections 2024: A wake-up call Analysis After the European elections, the democratic and pro-European forces in the European Parliament (EP) have been weakened. They must make cooperation much more binding in order to ensure reliable majorities for an effective EU. By Jan Philipp Albrecht , Eva van de Rakt , Roderick Kefferpütz and Marc Berthold
Europe after the EP 2024 elections: Analysis of the results and their implications for Europe Event recording Europe has voted! The new European Parliament will shape the future trajectory of the European Union. The election results will not only influence the constellation of the next European Commission. They will also affect future EU policies such as democracy, climate, economy and social affairs. In this context, we discussed what are the main takeaways from the EP election results, what political groups will be formed, what majorities are possible, and what potential political alliances can be foreseen, and what does this mean for key issues such as the green transformation as well as the EU’s reform and enlargement agenda. With Jan Philipp Albrecht, Prof. Simon Hix, Joanna Maria Stolarek, Dietrich Herrmann, Marc Berthold, Michalis Goudis, Nóra Köves, Armida van Rij, Mar Garcia Sanz, and Roderick Kefferpütz. By Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung European Union
Böll EU Newsletter 5/2024 - What comes after the election? Newsletter Today, citizens will start heading to the polls to vote for the next European Parliament. The outcome will in part determine the political correlation of forces in Europe over the next five years. If current projections hold true, we will not only witness a rightward shift within the EP but also more fragmentation. Instead of seven political groups, key officials in the parliament administration expect there to be nine. These tendencies will affect political majorities. By Roderick Kefferpütz
A newcomer against the Orbán regime Analysis The Hungarian political scene has never been more turbulent in the past 14 years. Since the start of the clemency scandal in early February, Fidesz has been unable to control the political narrative for months, despite its dominant position in power. The campaign leading up to the local and the European Parliament (EP) elections has been dominated by a new challenger, Péter Magyar, and his Respect and Freedom Party (Tisza) so far, although in recent weeks Fidesz has found its footing again. By Róbert László and Richárd Demény
Viktor Orbán’s foreign policy as reflected by his official trips Analysis With the Hungarian EU Council Presidency quickly approaching, it is instructive to examine how the Orbán administration has positioned itself through its global diplomatic visits over the last few years. By Kata Moravecz and György Folk
3 Questions on the situation in Georgia to Sonja Schiffers 3 Questions Just under six months ago, Georgia became a formal candidate for EU membership. The Law on Transparency of Foreign Influence, adopted in mid-May 2024, however, hinders Georgian accession to the EU and has drawn massive protests by Georgian society. The bill, which has great similarities to a Russian law, requires non-governmental organisations and media outlets that receive more than 20 percent of their funding from abroad to register as bodies 'pursuing the interests of a foreign power.' In this context, Zora Siebert and Helena Borst asked three questions to Dr. Sonja Schiffers, Director of the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung South Caucasus office in Tbilisi, on how she views the latest developments. By Zora Siebert , Helena Borst and Dr. Sonja Schiffers
3 Questions on LGBTQIA+ rights in Europe to Katrin Hugendubel 3 Questions This year’s Rainbow Map by ILGA-Europe, published at a time when Europe is gearing up for 20-plus elections, including the EU elections next month, shows that while authoritarian leaders across the region continue to use the scapegoating of LGBTI people to divide and mobilise their electorates, others are conversely showing robust political will to honour commitments to advancing and protecting the human rights of LGBTI people. Joan Lanfranco asks 3 questions to Katrin Hugendubel, Advocacy Director at ILGA-Europe. By Joan Lanfranco and Katrin Hugendubel
The EU and the European elections explained! Explainer Find out more about EU Member States, key EU institutions, current EP parliamentary majorities, recent voter turnout and the history of the EU. By Melanie Bernhofer and Joan Lanfranco
No carte blanche for Orbán - the European Parliament takes the European Commission to court Event recording The European Parliament made a decisive move on 11 March 2024 to initiate a lawsuit against the European Commission before the European Court of Justice, following the contentious release of €10.2 billion in frozen EU cohesion funds for Hungary. This occurred despite Hungary ceasing to be a democracy and continuing to suffer from systemic corruption and rule of law deficiencies according to experts, multiple indexes and the EP itself. This webinar took place on 20 March 2024, with Márta Pardavi (Hungarian Helsinki Committee), Kim Lane Scheppele (Princeton School of Public and International Affairs) and Prof. Laurent Pech (Sutherland School of Law), moderated by Adéla Jurečková, Director of the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung Prague. By Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung European Union and Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung Prague