The German housing market is in deep crisis. Building permits are declining, cancellations are increasing, and consequently, fewer and fewer projects are being completed. This shrinking supply meets persistently high or even rising demand. The effects of this imbalance are immediately evident in rent price developments. Recently, significant rent increases have been observed, especially for new leases in Germany’s major cities.
Who will be the next president of Poland, one of the largest European nations? The presidential election in Poland has not yet been scheduled but is expected to take place in May 2025. However, it is already making headlines across the country. The Polish president, who serves a 5-year term, has a largely representative role but is also responsible for signing and vetoing legislation and exercising legislative initiative.
Political Capital Institute from Budapest has been conducting a five-year research project on the foreign policy-related votes of members of the European Parliament (MEPs). The recent edition of the Parliament’s 9th term (2019-2024) and the first plenary session of the 10th term (2024-2029) included also Polish MEPs.
The election of Donald Trump as US president should not come as a surprise. As Republicans transformed themselves in the image of the once and future president, so should the Democrats have rebranded to fit the unique times and challenges of 2024, but they missed the opportunity. European politicians should pay heed.
On November 22, 2024, the Civic Coalition (Koalicja Obywatelska), the current ruling political party in Poland led by Donald Tusk, held its much-anticipated primaries to select a presidential candidate for the upcoming 2025 elections. All KO members took part in this internal vote, a test of the party’s democratic procedures and its ability to unite behind a formidable candidate to retake the presidential palace from the incumbent PiS-backed Andrzej Duda.
Many people still do not seem to be aware of the Putin regime’s perfidious hybrid warfare against liberal democracy and the rule of law in Europe. It is therefore all the more important to talk about it publicly in order to fight against it. The European Liberal Forum (ELF) organized a panel discussion entitled “Russian Influence in European Democracy” on November 18 in Sofia with the Project: Poland Foundation and the Friedrich Naumann Foundation (FNF).
The outcome of the U.S. presidential election should not be too surprising. Not only did a careful analysis of the polls predict Donald Trump’s victory in all seven swing states, but the trend over the past four weeks was also clear. State polling averages increasingly favored the Republican, while individual polls showing Kamala Harris in the lead became fewer and less convincing.
I recently overheard an interview in which the irrationality of Slovaks who refuse to buy more economically advantageous electric cars was criticized. Quite often, I encounter the fact that owners of electric vehicles fail to look at this problem through the eyes of the average driver. First, it is important to realize that the average Slovak drives either a second-hand car or his old car. In September alone, 5,000 individually imported cars were registered in Slovakia.
Russia’s economic landscape is under strain. In this interview, Martin Vlachynsky, an analyst from INESS, sheds light on the complexities of Russia’s current economic policies, their implications for businesses and ordinary citizens, and how the ongoing war continues to shape the country’s financial reality.
Several days after the US election, it is time to focus on the possible and probable consequences. The Trump victory would present two main challenges for the EU. First, Trump and the Republican Party’s protectionist tendencies could result in a more aggressive trade policy toward Europe. Second, the Trump administration may show little interest in maintaining US support for Ukraine or playing a major role in European defense generally.
