Croatia has been on quite a journey – from the initiation of its European Union accession process in 2000, to its 10th anniversary celebration as a full EU member in 2023. The accession process involved overcoming historical challenges, such as transitioning from socialism, defending against aggression, and addressing issues related to war crimes and reconciliation.
Examining the past 20 years of the European Union is no easy feat, nor is evaluating the success of the recent members. Two decades is not enough, but it is sufficiently long to give a good overview of where the EU stands today and what lessons can be drawn from the integration process.
Why are French farmers protesting? What is the current socio-political situation in France? And what can we make of the forthcoming EU elections and the presidential race in the United States?
The team from Liberte, the Institute for Economic Research and Policy Consulting and Bendukidze Free Market Center, with the support of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom, continue to monitor Ukraine’s progress or regression on its path to the EU on a monthly basis.
Current global developments are prompting many nations to define their political paths and select their future strategic partners. Some have already applied to join BRICS and it expanded from 5 to 11 nations, while others are in line. The European Union, recently hesitant about its enlargement, has accelerated membership discussions with nations in the Western Balkans and Eastern Europe.
In this episode, we talk about the Ukrainian grain crisis, its economic and political context, the role and response of Poland and other EU countries to the issue, and the way forward for Ukrainian-Polish relations.
In this episode, we talk about controversies sparked by President Emmanuel Macron with his comments on China, Taiwan, and the United States, about French position on China and transatlantic relations, and about the future of strategic autonomy and different perspectives within the EU.
The Visegrad Group — comprising the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia — has been declared dead, barely alive or at least unconscious a number of times due to disagreements on a wide range of issues such as democratic values, rule of law, European Union as well as foreign policy in a broader sense.
EU countries are trying desperately to incentivize people to boost the population –to little avail. This phenomenon, in turn, leads to an aging population, which increasingly burdens social systems.
The past year was full of events related to the ongoing crisis of the rule of law in Poland. The last few months have been dominated mainly with the issue of the “milestones” attached to the National Reconstruction Plan and the disagreement within the ruling coalition as to how to achieve them. Among other things, for this purpose the infamous Disciplinary Chamber was abolished and replaced with Chamber of Professional Responsibility.
