Polish laws on abortion are the strictest in Europe. The government refuses the right to safe abortion to people with wombs, allowing for abortion tourism and self-induced miscarriage. This wasn’t enough for religious fundamentalists in the Polish parliament.
The European Commission has approved of a very important merger – between a powerful Chinese ally and Czech billionaire, Petr Kellner and the influential media group, Central European Media Enterprises. This could result in manipulation of public opinion in favor of China all over the CEE region.
I keep hearing news about yet another ambulance with COVID-19 patients driving around between hospitals looking for beds, the lack of a basic coordination system for allocating patients to hospitals, and I really have the impression that Poles live in some surreal, tragic reality.
In the midst of a pandemic, an unstable situation beyond our eastern border, disastrous relations with the EU countries, and uncertainty about the future of Poland’s key military ally, i.e. the United States, power focused on factional wars is a scenario that Poland simply cannot afford.
Refugee policy has gained momentum. In the run-up to the EU summit, the EU Commission wants to accommodate the representatives of the Central European countries of the Visegrad Group (V4): “Flexible solidarity” is the motto.
It is not very often that the Liberální Institut can praise a politician for something. The happier I am that I can do so today, because an entourage of Czech senators – headed by the President of the Senate, Miloš Vystrči, – went in their official capacity to the Republic of China – the country generally known as Taiwan.
Have you ever been told you cannot put a price on peace, love, etc.? It’s a lie. Everything has a price, albeit not necessary a monetary one. Failing to understand this usually leads to a failure in securing one’s goals. This is why we need to talk about the price of victory.
The protests in Bulgaria have been going for almost two months now. As the government has failed to provide a meaningful alternative that could satisfy the demands of the demonstrators and thus solve the ongoing political crisis, let us examine the root causes that have driven it.
The Polish President is not only a ceremonial representative of the country. He is commander-in-chief of the armed forces and can veto legislative decisions without providing reasons. In order to pass laws against his veto, a 3/5 majority in parliament (Sejm) is required.
The Hungarian parliament voted to end the state of emergency, which gave the government the power to decide by decree on issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The emergency legislation adopted in March was heavily criticized because it did not have a clear end date.
