Only two days separate us from the local elections in Albania, which have been at the centre of a crisis that has locked the country in uncertainty for the last months. While there is an open clash between institutions – the President Ilir Meta has tried to cancel the election date of 30 June set … Continue reading Albania at crossroads ahead of local elections: An easy win for an even easier loss
Biggest Czech protests since 1989! Czechs demand the resignation of PM Babis – a billionaire accused of EU subsidy fraud. A movement Million Moments of Democracy mobilizes masses of people across the country and shows that people are concerned about the current political situation.
During the last weekend, from Friday 23rd to Sunday 26th May, the citizens of the 28 Member States of the European Union voted for the renewal of the European Parliament. The 2019 European elections are characterized by a tough electoral campaign based mainly on issues such as immigration, nationalism and Euroscepticism. This has led most … Continue reading European Parliament Elections 2019: what future for the EU?
The Roma are the EU’s largest minority and one of the most discriminated group in the European block. Notwithstanding the Indian origins, the Roma settled in Romania during the XIV century. With the 2007 enlargement of the European Union, large shares of people migrated to Western Europe, becoming a crucial part of the society in … Continue reading The Roma in the European Union: the fragile fight against discrimination
by Pia Dittmar Nowadays, the rise of populism in Europe is a phenomenon that cannot be ignored when it comes to analyzing contemporary politics. Scholars try to explain how populism emerges and search for common features in order to find a universal definition for this recent trend. Although some characteristics of populism might be … Continue reading Right-Wing Populism and National Identity in Central and Eastern Europe
The history of the European continent is a history of divisions and reunifications. In 1989 the fall of the Berlin Wall has reunified Europe after almost forty-five years. East Europe and West Europe, with the end of the Cold War divide, could finally get back what history stole from them. In 1990, the Czech President … Continue reading Fifteen years of membership: the complexities of the EU’s eastward enlargement
The Western Balkans Labor Market Trends 2019 report, published by the Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies (wiiw) and the World Bank Group, described the improving labor market and overall GDP growth of the Western Balkans. Albania, Montenegro and North Macedonia reported the strongest job growth in the Western Balkans. Most jobs in this region, … Continue reading Western Balkans Accession Assessment
After two years of negotiations, the Brexit drama between Brussels and London is coming to an end. The deadline to reach a final withdrawal agreement has been set for March 29, two years after the Prime Minister Theresa May has triggered article 50 in 2017. The international community is experiencing a troubled and unprecedented moment … Continue reading Brexit and the implications for Central Eastern Europe
In mid February 2019, Italian right-wing party League relaunched its longtime plan for the legalisation of prostitution. While the draft seems not more than a pretext for distracting the electorate, it has resulted in a heated and rather polarised debate. The discussions largely neglected the link between prostitution and human trafficking for sexual exploitation, a … Continue reading If Italy legalises brothels it will be the victims of trafficking — especially those from Eastern Europe — to pay the toll
Weeks of political and social unrest in Albania. The opposition parties have jointly organized protests in the streets of Tirana in front of the main institutional buildings, asking for the resignation of the Prime Minister Edi Rama and for early elections. On the other hand, the head of government has denied all accusations of links … Continue reading The Albanian Unrest: A new hurdle in the path of European integration?
