The pandemic was supposed to be great for strongmen. What happened?
From Trump to Lukashenka, authoritarians are discovering that this isn’t their kind of crisis
Health & Covid-19
Pulling together or pulling apart: The coronavirus crisis and political participation
The sheer magnitude of the crisis and the way in which it exposes existing fault lines – particularly the shocking levels of inequality in many societies – are making political mobilisation more likely.
Why voters support both stricter borders and respect for human rights
Europeans are largely supportive of stricter border controls – but this may be more down to the huge impact of the pandemic than to the influence of populist parties
Why Europe needs a recovery plan for strategic autonomy
Just as they have on the economic recovery, Berlin and Paris must overcome their differences and present a courageous plan to create a Europe that takes decisive geopolitical action
The proof of the European Council pudding will be in the eating
EU leaders need to show that they are not only capable of reaching an agreement between themselves, but also of shaping the post-coronavirus world
China, Europe, and covid-19 headwinds
China’s attempts to divide Europeans during the crisis, along with its fierce and openly hostile rhetoric targeting the capacity of Western democracy to effectively respond to the health emergency, have served as a wake-up call
Instrumental solidarity: Hungary’s management of the coronavirus crisis
The Orbán government’s demonstrations of European solidarity have been partly motivated by its nationalist goals and its concerns about migration
Europe’s self-help moment
The covid-19 crisis has created an opening for stronger collective European action. But policymakers must understand that the demands of voters across the continent for greater cooperation do not reflect an appetite for institution-building, but rather a deeper anxiety about losing control in a perilous world.
Remarks delivered at the ECFR virtual Annual Council Meeting 2020
Perpetual bonds are the best – and, perhaps, only – way to raise the one or two trillion euros that the European Union needs to fight the coronavirus and climate change
George Soros: “I am proud of the enemies I have”
From Putin to Trump, to Viktor Orban and Xi Jinping, several world leaders accuse the Hungarian magnate of wanting to bring them down. In Spain, his main enemy is Vox.