The European Commission held technical rather than high-level talks with Poland and Slovakia over their failure to keep the EU’s external border with Ukraine open to road transport. Illegal blockages by small groups of Polish and Slovak truckers demanding curbs on their Ukrainian counterparts have caused miles-long queues on the...

Hungary’s draft Sovereignty Protection bill will serve as an informal campaign tool at least until the June 2024 EP elections and will most likely be challenged by the European Commission, but its chilling effect and negative impact on Hungarian civil society can hardly be overestimated.

Within five months of taking office, Bulgaria’s “grand coalition” of one-time sworn political enemies is making substantial progress in realigning the Balkan nation with the EU mainstream and limiting Russian influence.

MAGA Republicans are proposing policies which are in lockstep with the illiberal tendencies witnessed in Europe, and if successful in the polls, these transnational movements can potentially remake both the American and European systems of government to the detriment of democracy.

Ukraine is struggling to maintain momentum in its war with Russia and drive to begin EU membership talks as the US remains deadlocked on further aid for Kyiv. At the same time, the EU is grappling with Hungary’s intransigence and Germany’s budget crisis ahead of the crucial December summit.

The Velvet Revolution has also become a battlefield of rivalling political narratives, with billionaire and ANO party leader Andrej Babiš setting the populist agenda.

Poland’s new incoming government will seek to mend fences with Germany, but despite Berlin’s turn away from the flawed Russia policy, both countries will need to bridge several fundamental differences over security and the future of Europe.

The European Commission recommended opening accession talks with Ukraine and Moldova, while in Warsaw, the ruling Law and Justice delayed the transfer of power to the new majority in parliament, accusing it of colluding with the EU to destroy Poland’s sovereignty by supporting internal reforms of the bloc. 

Viktor Orbán’s shrewd talent for perpetuating a permanent campaign mode in Hungary has a new slogan, “Protecting Sovereignty”.