Photo by Keszthelyi Timi on Unsplash The ruling Fidesz party has announced that Tamás Sulyok, president of Hungary’s Constitutional Court, will be Fidesz-KDNP’s presidential candidate. Fidesz faction leader Máté Kocsis said, “He is the best person for the job, as he can best express the unity of the nation.” Kocsis said that Sulyok was proposed by Viktor Orbán. Orbán subsequently…
Year: 2024
Anti-SLAPP Directive
Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash New rules are set to be introduced which would protect journalists and activists from abusive lawsuits against public participation. The long-awaited anti-SLAPP directive protects journalists and human rights defenders from strategic lawsuits against public participation that aim to silence them. The new rules contain a set of safeguards to protect victims, such…
Anti-Money Laundering Authority
Photo by Hans Martin on Unsplash The German city of Frankfurt has been chosen by Parliament and Council as the seat of AMLA, the EU’s new enforcer in the fight against money laundering and terrorism financing. MEPs and EU ambassadors chose Frankfurt to host the EU’s central enforcer in the fight against dirty money, the Authority for Anti-Money…
The Battle for Europe
Photo by Cédric VT on Unsplash Over 7,000 people took part in a demonstration in Brussels on Sunday against the Russian invasion of Ukraine and in solidarity with the Ukrainian people. The gathering, on the initiative of “Promote Ukraine,” an NGO, is part of an international campaign commemorating the second anniversary of the war. The demonstration was supported…
The Fifty One
Business is booming at this pandemic-hit Brussels resto as it bounces back in style. Imagine opening a new business just on the eve of what turned out to be the worst health crisis in living memory. That is the fate that, inadvertently, befell the owners of The Fifty One a restaurant in Brussels. Little did…
Aid for Ukraine and Moldova
Photo by Marjan Blan on Unsplash The European Commission has announced an initial €83 million in humanitarian aid to support the people affected by Russia’s war against Ukraine for 2024. On Tuesday, it said that, of the funding, €75 million is allocated for humanitarian projects in Ukraine to provide emergency aid including access to basic needs such as shelter, protection services,…
EU’s Legal Framework
Photo by Guillaume Périgois on Unsplash EU auditors say that rule-of-law breaches can now be addressed more effectively since the EU’s legal framework was bolstered in January 2021 by the Conditionality Regulation. In a new report they say that together with other protective mechanisms under the Recovery and Resilience Facility and cohesion policy, the framework provides for the…
NATO Safeguarding EU Borders
Photo by Robert Linder on Unsplash For the first time ever, the NATO Airborne Early Warning and Control Force (NAEW&CF) conducted command and control operations with an all-female aircrew composition. The flight was a regular mission sortie for the multinational crew in support of NATO’s enhanced Vigilance Activities (eVA). NATO says the flight highlights the work of women…
China and the EU in the Year of the Dragon
Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash A respected think tank says that how the EU deals with China will have a “profound effect” on the sort of economic and geopolitical entity that the Union becomes in the mid-21st century. This is the view of the Centre for European Reform, an independent think-tank. In its annual report for 2023,…
Computer Games Attract Russian Propaganda
Cybersport is not out of politics: “Games of the Future” as a way of spreading propaganda messages to young people. Russia has repeatedly used sports and art for political purposes. Cybersport is no exception. By organising cybersport events, the Russian authorities not only want to show the world that they are not internationally isolated but…