European Union

In this episode of the Liberal Europe Podcast, Leszek Jażdżewski (Fundacja Liberté!) welcomes Dr. Thomas Bagger, Germany’s Ambassador to the Republic of Poland. They talk about the EU Energy crisis, German eastern policy, EU response to the war in Ukraine, and Polish-German relations.

On paper, Hungarian abortion policies are much like those of most EU countries: women can terminate their pregnancy on request up until the 12th week and can do so through state-funded institutions. Yet, in reality, the accessibility of abortion in Hungary is only a façade.

The talks over the National Recovery Plan were to begin in February. Since then, the European Commission set particular conditions on which the assets would be transferred to Poland, mainly linked with the improvement of the deteriorating situation regarding rule of law in the country.

The Polish government, criticized for violating the rule of law, often refers to a sense of limited \'sovereignty\', which, according to the opposition and some commentators, may in the future lead to a so-called Polexit.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has marked a critical turning point in world politics. In addition to the unfathomable human suffering on the ground, the war in Ukraine has also had a profound impact on people\'s lives in the rest of Europe and around the world: record high commodity prices, disrupted supply chains, and looming energy shortages.

A month ago, Ukraine and the EU signed a road agreement that simplified road freight requirements between the parties. The arrangement proved to be mutually beneficial – trade volumes increased, and the cost of transportation from Ukraine decreased.

After months of debate, in late 2022, the Lithuanian Parliament passed into law a package of legislative amendments that reforms Lithuania\'s migration system. The reform creates more favorable conditions for the recruitment of non-EU nationals.

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.

In this episode, we talk about European resilience and solidarity, how the EU has responded to the COVID-19 crisis, and the importance of European public.

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.