Democracy

In the 2024 European elections, young men voted for far-right parties more than young women did. A study of influencers in France, Germany and the UK shows how far-right creators start from young men's everyday interests and concerns, and what progressive actors can do to reach, listen and engage better.

Too often, Europe's story gets told through crisis and decline. We pushed back. Our 'Facts over fatalism' social media campaign cut through the noise with hard numbers, inconvenient truths, and reasons to take Europe seriously on climate, defence, democracy, and the economy. Swipe through our different posts, share what hits, and keep the facts front and centre.

Northern EU accession is becoming a political possibility that requires attention. Bundling enlargement could help build momentum. A carefully sequenced enlargement round that includes both Nordic and southeastern and eastern candidates could reinvigorate a fatigued debate. However, the EU needs to be careful to only incentivise, rather than push, EU accession.

The EU and the UK are holding their first post-Brexit summit on 19 May. Since coming to power in July 2024, the focus of Labour’s much-vaunted ‘reset’ with the EU has been on building friendly relations with EU institutions and Member States. Whilst these overtures have been positively received, (substantive) progress has been slow. The summit will therefore be crucial in determining whether the two sides can move from ambition to action.

In this era of information overload and endless content streams, time is precious. That’s why we’re launching the Böll EU Brief—a format designed to cut through the noise and deliver clear, concise, and impactful analysis on pressing EU issues and emerging debates. Each brief is packed with sharp insights and key takeaways, presented in a format that takes just 10 minutes to read. We focus on what really matters: offering concise, thought-provoking content that informs opinions and sparks meaningful discussions. Written by experts, the Böll EU Brief complements our in-depth e-papers and publications with relevant and timely perspectives.

These are the Members of the European Parliament seating in the Greens/EFA Group in the 10th parliamentary term (2024-2029).

Uncover the battle against one of our era's greatest challenges – climate change. This dossier unravels the web of falsehoods obstructing climate action initiatives, and delves into the work of the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung's Climate Disinformation Media Fellows. We expose the pervasive myths and misinformation campaigns hindering our collective efforts to address the urgent climate crisis.

2024 is a crucial year for Transatlantic relations, with EU and US elections at both sides of the pond. This web dossier compilates articles, podcasts and resources from the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung offices and partners on the future of EU-US relations.

Find out more about EU Member States, key EU institutions, current EP parliamentary majorities, recent voter turnout and the history of the EU.

The Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung is looking at critical themes for both the UK and the EU — their future relationship, democracy, foreign and security policy and the green transformation. We commission some of the leading thinkers on these topics to write commentaries and analyses.

We ask 3 questions to key EU decision-makers and stakeholders about hot topics!

Insights from the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung's offices and partners on the 2024 European Parliament elections, the next EU legislative term, and the "super election" year 2024 ✅🗳️🇪🇺

Since leaving the EU, the United Kingdom has new autonomy to explore differing approaches to regulating the digital economy and is seeking to deliver the potential benefits of regulatory divergence. This dossier considers the emerging issues within each major area of policy intervention – data protection, content policy and competition – to help policy makers in Europe and the UK begin a discussion about the potential effects of EU-UK divergence, to begin to think about where co-operation may still be needed, and, if this cannot be achieved, the best way to deal with the impacts they may be dealt with. 

So far there has been no separate legal status for associations organised at European level. This not only makes transnational cooperation more difficult, but also makes civil society vulnerable.

The team of the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung's Global Unit For Democracy and Human Rights, based in Brussels.

Böll·Europe is the podcast of the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung European Union office in Brussels, presented by Gail Rego.

Media mentions of the work, publications and events of the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung European Union.

Project partners of the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung European Union office in Brussels.

A follow-up of Germany's Traffic Light coalition (Ampelkoalition).

The major platform providers have become decisive players on the internet - not only as critical information infrastructures, but also at content level. They moderate, they curate content, and block accounts based on rules they set themselves. We ask: How do private companies influence the public debate, and how can they be democratically scrutinised?