Opportunistic authoritarian and illiberal politicians make use of the public’s support to curb the growth of extremist groups online, but in doing so hamper the civic freedoms of everyday citizens critical to their messages. What is needed is a cohesive, internationally supported policy which — at the moment — is...

This article is part of a 5-part series which covers the V4 governments’ plans to utilise the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) earmarked by the EU for reinvigorating the economies from the lengthy economic hardships imposed by the COVID-19 epidemic. Hampered by counterintuitive legislation and a plan that falls far...

The Conference on the Future of Europe loses the stage while Lithuanians continue to battle with an abnormal influx of migrants from their Belarusian border. Embattled Czech President Zeman supports Václav Klaus potential return to politics and Alyaksandr Lukashenka announces plans for the creation of an armed territorial defence force...

This article is part of a 5-part series which covers the V4 governments’ plans to utilise the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) earmarked by the EU for reinvigorating the economies from the lengthy economic hardships imposed by the COVID-19 epidemic. Czechia is currently just behind Slovakia with its plan to...

The politics of the region have been on full display, complete with legal, VAR challenges and more jovial friendlies. The captains of the Polish and Slovak cohorts have similar stated goals — albeit ideologically opposed in reality — and with very different strategies for implementation, to the woe of the...

Our region seems to be placed between a rock and a hard place; the NATO summit and the Biden-Putin meeting in Geneva tend to underline it. Next to Russia’s and China’s assaultive conduct, the Franco-German stewardship of Europe became an additional risk for Central and Eastern Europe, by its limited...

The move away from the carbon economy offers many avenues for progress, but also increases the likelihood of a developmental divide in Europe. Overcoming these challenges for Central and Eastern Europe could leave them vulnerable to increased influence from China, an outcome with unequal assessment from the EU and US.

Since the anti-corruption government of Igor Matovič came to power in Slovakia in March 2020, we have been witnessing massive arrests of security forces’ officials. Paradoxically, even nominees of the current government ended up detained. The question remains, how to decrease the high level of corruption inherent in the Slovak...

This article is part of a 5-part series which covers the V4 governments’ plans to utilise the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) earmarked by the EU for reinvigorating the economies from the lengthy economic hardships imposed by the COVID-19 epidemic. Here, Slovakia leads the V4 with more of the funds...

This article is part of a 5-part series which covers the V4 governments’ plans to utilise the Recovery and Resilience Facility funds earmarked by the EU for reinvigorating the economies from the lengthy economic hardships imposed by the COVID-19 epidemic. The limitations on the funding pose ideological quandaries for many...