Democracy

Equal power for women, a life with less violence and more justice are the goals that were set 25 years ago at the 4th World Conference on Women and in the Beijing Platform for Action. So far, gender equality has never been achieved.

February 2020 will be written into the modern political history of Slovakia as a month with a great turning point which combined in a special way two dramatic themes in the internal political development of the country.

A virus riding on another virus. That is how the ‘infodemic’ is raging in online spaces around the outbreak of the novel coronavirus called COVID-19, which has been on just about everyone’s radar since late January 2020. As grave as the quest to manage the respiratory disease and cure those ill with it is not only the challenge of using facts versus fear - but how to create and keep avenues of information that withstand the unrelenting drip of skewed, confused, partially true to totally false information, to racist and prejudiced views, or a cocktail of these.

Slovak political landscape is exceptionally fragmented ahead of February 29 general elections. One of the last opinion polls published before the election polls moratorium foresees eight parties to be represented in the parliament. However, conceivable scenarios include 6 to 12 parties possibly entering the parliament.  This pre-election analysis was published by EuroPolicy in cooperation with the Prague office of the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung.  

After countless hours of negotiations, frustration and the United Kingdom officially withdrew from the European Union after 47 years of membership bearing the words “Peace, prosperity and friendship with all nations. 31 January 2020”. 

Computers are often thought of as neutral technology. However, it becomes alarmingly clear that machines learn from training data made up of outdated social norms, values and attitudes towards race and gender. This can have insidious consequences.

Close coordination and smooth cooperation between Berlin and Paris is crucial for Europe and its foreign politics, particularly considering rising intricate geopolitical rivalries. Differences in style and approach must not impede cooperation on substance and common interests.

As 2020 opens with dramatic global events demanding attention and care, the countries of the European Union remain divided on crucial issues from climate change to foreign policy. The relationship between Germany and the countries of Central Europe is pivotal to many of these impasses.

Climate change and the consequential natural disasters have become common drivers of migration – a phenomenon that will be further exacerbated as the climate crisis continues. Maria Giovanna Manieri, Advisor to the Greens/EFA group in the European Parliament on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, explains the policy framework affecting climate refugees and highlights prospects for Greens in the European Parliament to foster progress on the issue.