Hundreds of tones of dead fish have recovered from the Oder river. First dead fish were spotted already in late July. In early August, some anglers and local politicians from Lower Silesia alarmed regional authorities. There was no reaction. The mass die-off was detected when locals came across thousands of fish corpses near the village of Widuchowa on 11 August.
The European Union often struggles with their external policy making, the EU wants a common, thus strong, and reliable external policy, but the member states always had a different point of view.
In recent weeks, the topic of Russian travel into the European Union has become the subject of public debate in Estonia and Finland. Many Russians are taking advantage of the fact that the Finns lifted the pandemic restrictions this July as the opening of the Finnish-Russian border is an opportunity for them to use Finland as a transit point to other European countries.
The war in Ukraine put many Eastern European countries, among them Hungary, in the hot seat. With the Western world providing strong financial and military support for Ukraine and emphasizing the unlawfulness of the invasion, the allies of Russia must reassess their relationship with Moscow.
Since the launch of the Belt and Road Initiative in 2013 by the Chinese leader Xi Jinping and the Eastern Opening by the Prime Minister of Hungary, Viktor Orbán, economic and diplomatic cooperation between China and Hungary has increased significantly. However, the lack of transparency and the politically infused nature of this cooperation makes Hungary’s relationship with the EU difficult.
The role of the media is more important in politics than it was 20-30 years ago. Political parties and politicians are using the media all around the world to promote themselves, their ideology, and their aims. These actions made media post objective, which means that almost every media outlet is close to a political party, which, of course, doesn’t mean that they’re making propaganda.
Estonia has witnessed several changes of government in the last few years. In July 18, there has been another one. However, Estonia’s success story as the most economically and technologically developed country in transition has not stopped yet. The previous Prime Minister, Kaja Kallas, has now retaken his position as the new Prime Minister, thus ensuring that his country manages well under transition.
The civic legislative initiative “Legal abortion without compromises” was rejected by the Sejm. The draft law assumed legalization of abortion in Poland up to the 12th week of pregnancy. After this period, termination of pregnancy would be possible in the case of a threat to the life and health of the mother.
At the NATO summit in Madrid, the decision was finally made to agree to the accession of new members: Sweden and Finland. In recent weeks, the presidents of Croatia, Zoran Milanović, and Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, have emerged as the biggest opponents of expanding the alliance to include the Nordic countries.
On June 1, the European Commission approved Poland’s national recovery plan worth ca. EUR 35 billion. Ursula von der Leyen, has warned that money will be transferred only if Poland doesn’t fail to reach all “milestones” in granting judicial independence: abolishing the Disciplinary Chamber of the Supreme Court, rewriting its rules and allowing judges sanctioned or suspended by the chamber to have their cases reviewed.
