Unlock Europe’s Majority

The real battle for Poland’s future

Jaroslaw Kaczynski promises the ‘Polish model of the welfare state’ and social protection like in the West – but if his party stays in power after the October 13 election, the country will drift further away from its hard-won freedoms and connections with Europe 

Von der Leyen’s safe Commission

Billed as a safe pair of hands, Ursula von der Leyen is about to find out that caution can only take her so far

Tricks of the trade

Trade policy is set to become one of the key tools of Ursula von der Leyen’s “union that strives for more”. But securing support from national governments and European citizens will be a challenge.

Europe’s new agenda in the Western Balkans

The main message for the Western Balkans is clear: countries in the region need to demonstrate a sufficient level of political governance before any technical process of EU accession can begin

Seven trials for von der Leyen

Seven key challenges lie ahead of von der Leyen who will have to invent a magic formula to solve the political puzzles of the European Union