Czech NGOs are bracing for an uncertain future as US-linked funding cuts bite, exposing cracks in an already fragile financing system that even the largest organisations struggle to navigate.

Poland’s presidential election has set the stage for a defining runoff between reform and rupture. With KO’s Rafał Trzaskowski and PiS-backed Karol Nawrocki neck and neck, the 1 June vote will determine whether Warsaw moves forward with long-delayed reforms that would strengthen its position in Europe – or remains paralysed...

Now the hard work begins… Pro-European forces breathed a collective sigh of relief yesterday as liberal centrist Nicușor Dan staged a remarkable turnaround and defeated nationalist pro-MAGA George Simion to become the next Romanian President.  

A year after the assassination attempt on Slovakia’s prime minister, political divisions have hardened. Trauma is no longer a wound to heal, but a weapon to silence critics and intimidate journalists.

Róbert Ondrejcsák offers a sharp assessment of shifting alliances, strategic confusion in Bratislava and what’s at stake for NATO unity.

Romanians are heading to the polls this weekend to choose their next president, but this is more than a domestic political contest. It is a referendum on the country’s democratic trajectory, its role in European security and its economic future at a time of mounting regional volatility.

Former Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen’s visit to Vilnius comes as Lithuania’s new government reassesses its ties with Taiwan, raising questions about whether past solidarity will translate into future cooperation.

Liberal Mayor Nicușor Dan is trailing by 10 points. The frontrunner pledges to get Cǎlin Georgescu into power. If polls are to be trusted and George Simion wins on 18 May, Romania will soon become a soft underbelly in NATO’s eastern flank. On the same day, in Poland, Rafał Trzaskowski...

In Slovakia, the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak has become more than just an agricultural emergency – it’s a political battleground. As PM Fico grapples with the virus, disinformation from within his own party is threatening to unravel the government’s response, eroding trust in institutions just when it’s needed most.

Vučić cites blood pressure problems. Fico has anxiety from his assasination attempt. This year, no European leaders will be present in Moscow for Russia’s ‘Victory Day’ on 9 May. Instead, this week Kyiv will ratify a minerals deal with the US, EU ministers will meet in Warsaw for informal Gymnich...

A transatlantic alliance of far-right think tanks is promoting an illiberal reset of the European Union. With roots in the US Project 2025 and growing links to European actors, this effort aims to weaken EU institutions, roll back rule-of-law mechanisms and challenge the Union’s democratic foundations.

It would solve a number of problems at once.