Defending Democracy

President Zelensky

As Ukraine approaches the end of President Volodymyr Zelensky’s first term, questions about his legitimacy linger, particularly amidst Russia’s attempts to delegitimise him. However, a recent analysis by the influential weekly publication, The Economist, suggests that these efforts from the Kremlin are futile. Despite the ongoing conflict and propaganda onslaught, Zelenskyy’s legitimacy remains solid, both…

EU Attitudes to Migration

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Photo by Julie Ricard on Unsplash In some countries, emigration outweighs immigration as a concern. according to a new survey. It comes just ahead of the keenly awaited EU elections this June. Ahead of the poll, the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) tested public attitudes towards key themes of the political campaigns – including migration, the performance…

European Young Leaders

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Photo by Kiana Bosman on Unsplash Are you a high flyer with a “sense of European identity”? If so, the European Young Leaders (EYL40) programme could be just for you. It seeks to honour younger people who are striving to make an impact in their chosen field of work and, currently, nominations are being sought for…

Left Calls to Shun Radical Political Parties

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Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash The leaders of the S&D Group, Renew Europe, Greens/EFA and the Left in the European Parliament have called on all democratic European parties to reject any “normalisation, cooperation or alliance with far-right and radical parties.” In their joint statement, they say they “condemn” any form of violence and reiterate…

The European Elections of 2024

Edward Macmillan-Scott

I was first elected in 1984 as a pro-EU Conservative for a Yorkshire UK constituency. Since then, I fought no less than six more Euro-elections, mostly as a member of the Christian Democrat/Conservative European Peoples Party group, writes Edward McMillan-Scott. But when David Cameron, then UK premier, formed a new nationalist Conservatives and Reformists group…

No Dramatic Breakthroughs for EP Elections

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Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash A former UK minister under Tony Blair’s premiership says “no dramatic breakthroughs” should be expected in the upcoming EU elections. Denis MacShane, a former Europe Minister in the UK, was speaking about the EU-wide poll that takes place from 6 to 9 June. The EU parliament will spend an estimated €33 million…

Taiwan Resilient Democracy

Photo by Lisanto 李奕良 on Unsplash

Photo by Lisanto 李奕良 on Unsplash Taiwan’s elections in January demonstrated the “resilience” of a democratic society. That was one of the messages to emerge from an event in the European Parliament on Friday. The hearing in Brussels was organised by the Taipei Representative Office in the EU and Belgium along with three cross-party MEPs. They were:Petras Auštrevičius (Renew Europe), Vladimír Bilčík (EPP), and Markéta Gregorová(Greens/EFA). They…

Europe Shifts to Populist and Authoritarian Parties

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Photo by Christian Lue on Unsplash Support for authoritarian parties across Europe stands at 26.9%, finds new Populism Index The Authoritarian Populism Index published by Timbro and EPICENTER, finds that 26.9ercent of Europeans support authoritarian political parties both on the left and right wings of the political spectrum. The main conclusions of the report are: Average support for left and…