International Relations

From today on, EU and US officials are meeting in Brussels for a new round of talks.

On 2 February, Angela Merkel visits Hungary. The German-Hungarian friendship has undergone fundamental changes in the recent past - and the rewriting of Germany’s Russia policy also entails reshaping its ties to Hungary.

Hannah Arendt would have found a lot to dislike about today’s Russia. But she would have loved Pussy Riot. An excerpt from the lecture of Ralf Fücks upon the occasion of the 2014 Hannah Arendt Prize.

Hungary continues to extend its energy relations with Russia causing another major tension in the already heavy-loaded Hungarian-EU relations.

More than six million Syrian refugees are in search of a different, a safer place in their home country and yet only arrive at places that are currently slightly less ghastly.

In 1989 the Romanians took to the streets in Timisoara and later in Bucharest to protest against the communist regime and its heavy handed ruler, Nicolae Ceauşescu. Because of its violent nature, its structural conflict and results, this upheaval against Ceauşescu can be considered as one of the last European revolutions. Why is that still important after 25 years?

For many years Hungary appeared to be the model pupil amongst EU candidate countries.  It was the only Eastern Bloc country that managed political transformation by means of an evolutionary process, albeit with the former communist party playing the most important role. Domestic events of recent years are evidence of a radically different picture.  Doubts about EU integration can no longer be ignored in Hungarian politics.

ISIS has plenty of funding, but it does not live on material sources only: one of their most powerful weapons is to commit the most monstrous atrocities - and make sure everybody sees them. Unable so far to stop them, Arab activists at least try and mock them, and the French foreign minister tries to ban them rhetorically where they want to be least: in the letter soup. Instead of their self-chosen name "Islamic State" he from now on wants to refer to them only by the acronym Daesh which they hate and try to ban by all means.

Philippe Legrain's speech to the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung European Union, 8 October 2014. Legrain is the author of European Spring: Why Our Economies and Politics are in a Mess - and How to Put Them Right.

Recent actions taken by Hungarian police against NGOs is not a singular manifestation of the excessive use of force. It is a logical consequence of Viktor Orbán’s campaign waged against the civil sector.