In recent years, Denmark has passed several problematic laws restricting the rights of arriving refugees as well as the country’s residents with immigrant backgrounds. While attacks on rule of law Poland and Hungary have been in the headlines, relatively few have heard of what is happening in Denmark. Recently, the Social Democrat-led Danish...
History Repeats in Afghanistan – But Will it Be Dunkirk or Saigon?
The war had to end some time, but the way the US withdrawal was carried out has been a disaster. Commentators have made comparisons to Saigon, Suez and Dunkirk, but the long term impact on Western foreign policy will be shaped by what Western powers, including Europe, do next. When the US invaded Afghanistan in 2001, it was daring history to...
The Summer when the Climate Crisis Hit
Somehow, sometimes you find yourself in situations where the wheels of time are moving, and realise that these are turning points. Sometimes you find yourself in a moment that will stick with you, for something you saw, for a sensation you had. A few weeks ago, I had to set off from Brussels for some meetings in Frankfurt and Munich. As I try to...
We’re all Pegasus’ed
The leak about the extent of surveillance of journalists, dissidents and even leaders, confirms what we already knew about the threat democracy is under. That's the elephant in the room, the real story is not what we found out, but what we are prepared to do about these revelations. The Guardian and its coalition of newspapers have...
The far-right comes Together with new threats. What do we do about it?
This week, a corrupted Constitutional Court effectively took Poland out fo the EU's legal framework. Who could be next? Two weeks earlier, we saw nationalists coming together, and ever closer to the mainstream. This new gathering of Marine Le Pen, Victor Orban, Matteo Salvini and a motley crew of far right trolls-turned-leaders want to drive...
Click To Accept or Debate our Digital Future?
EU legislation currently being written will shape our digital future and our rights online. But are we ready to have a public debate about what it all means? For tech to win public trust, we need accountability and responsibility, and to get there, we need a clear agenda to debate. We all click away our days accepting long legal texts, and we...
How to build a welcoming Europe?
Frontex has failed dramatically, it has turned Europe’s borders into mass graves, and Europeans share responsibility for lost lives. The solution is not to abolish European institutions, but to build new humane ones that actually work. 815 people have died attempting to cross the Mediterranean to reach Europe in 2021, and thousands more languish...
Techno-Colony Europe?
If Europe doesn’t take action and put its money where its mouth is, it is likely to end up a Techno-colony. As the Conference on the Future of Europe meets for the first time, participants need to set out an ambitious vision with clear demands. By Omri Preiss and Benjamin Zeeb As the Conference on the Future of Europe Plenary session launches in...
Time to end the veto
The new US president tours Europe, and the need to abolish national vetos on EU policy becomes ever clearer. As Joe Biden arrives in Brussels on his European tour, he will try to meet with the EU. The European side will be represented by Ursula von der Leyen and Charles Michel, two of the bloc’s co-Presidents. The three no doubt talked about...
So it turns out you can save the world… this is how
What’s our purpose in life? Can I really make a difference? Should I really get involved? Cutting through our existential angst, the historic victory of climate campaigners over the oil industry last week says yes, saving the world is possible, if we try. We all have our off days, when it’s cloudy outside and we don’t want to get out of...