The new right-wing populism is not the rehearsal of something old but a new political phenomenon – and it is here to stay. In this, the new right-wing populism is the severest challenge to the European project since the beginnings of European integration. 

Last week, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán participated in a plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg. The agenda included current political developments in Hungary. Shortly beforehand, the European Commission had launched three infringement proceedings against the country. The Hungarian prime minister had invited himself to this session.

The anthology „Writing Revolution: The Voices from Tunis to Damascus“, supported by the Heinrich Böll Foundation’s office in Beirut, is one of the six books to receive the „English PEN Award for Outstanding Writing in Translation“ in the year 2013. 

Is the Czech Republic “a European state without Europeans”? Vladimír Handl analyses the dissolution of the Czech consensus, its relationship to the German approach in rescuing the EU, the “nation-state-based” current in Czech politics and the risks of Euroscepticism.

The effect that the economic and financial crisis has had on the European Union and its policies is the central theme of this publication. The authors have looked at European policies from different angles. They have analysed and evaluated how the Union has dealt with the different aspects of the crisis: which measures have been successful, which have failed and what still needs to be tackled.

Prior to the 11. Annual Foreign Policy Conference, we offer suggestions in this matter for a green policy towards the Eastern neighbors of the EU, different views and possible strategies.

Shortly after a new ruling coalition formed Slovakia’s new center-right government, a small shock wave rolled through Europe. First the Slovak government and then parliament voted to withhold Slovakia’s share of a European bailout loan for Greece’s embattled economy. Not that Slovakia’s minute share of the package would mean a lot for the eurozone – the decision’s importance lay in its symbolism and, therefore, in politics.

The European Union’s need for improved policy toward its eastern neighbors is increasing. To date, however, neither the European Union nor its member states have found a sustainable strategic approach to developments in the European neighborhood.

Saliem Fakir draws balance over of South Africas economic policy of the last 15 years and derives from it recommendations for a future political agenda.