Fortress Poland – Polish public opinion massively opposed to immigration

Poles do not want to be forced to take in migrants from outside Europe. They strongly oppose this, whether they sympathize with the right-wing Confederation (Konfederacja) group that brings together nationalists and conservative libertarians, the ruling social-conservative Law and Justice party, the…

News

Slovakia suspends arms deliveries to Ukraine

The Editorial Board October 12, 2023

Slovakia – The victory of Robert Fico and his party, Smer-SD, in Slovakia’s parliamentary elections on Saturday, September 30 is already having consequences, even though a new government coalition has not yet been formed. In addition to the fact that the interim…

Society

Migration Conference Marks Key Moment in V4 Alliance

Michael O'Shea October 11, 2023

Hungary - On September 28, the Mathias Corvinus Collegium (MCC) hosted, at its Budapest campus, a panel discussion on the pressing subject of irregular migration to Europe. “The Decade of Movement: Challenges and Stakes of Irregular Mass Migration in Europe” was a…

News

Border controls reintroduced between Central European countries because of new influx of migrants on Balkan route

The Editorial Board October 9, 2023

Central Europe – Just a few days after Germany decided to reinstate border controls at its borders with Poland and Czechia, those two countries did the same last week along their borders with Slovakia, through which increasing numbers of migrants are trying…

News

$2 billion US loan to modernize Polish army

The Editorial Board October 5, 2023

Poland – In the last days of September, the US State Department announced the signing of a “$2 billion Foreign Military Financing (FMF) direct loan agreement to support Poland's effort to modernize its armed forces. ” The US administration’s press release stresses…

News

Former PM Robert Fico wins Slovakian election and Viktor Orbán rejoices

The Editorial Board October 3, 2023

Slovakia – The early parliamentary elections held in Slovakia on Saturday, September 30 once again reshuffled the political deck in this Central European country. In all likelihood, the social democrat Robert Fico, a former prime minister (both in 2006–2010 and 2012–2018), should…

News

AfD playing footsie with Fidesz

The Editorial Board September 28, 2023

Hungary – The next European elections to be held on June 9, 2024 could see a reshuffling between the two Eurosceptic groups: Identity & Democracy, which includes France’s National Rally, Germany’s AfD, Austria’s FPÖ, and the Flemish Vlaams Belang; and the European…

Interviews

R. Hüseynov: “Azerbaijan decided not to align itself with some power bloc”

Ferenc Almássy September 26, 2023

Interview with Rusif Hüseynov, director and co-funder of the Topchubashov center, an Azerbaijani think tank based in Baku: "While other post-Soviet countries have been desperately seeking EU membership, the Azerbaijani side decided not to align itself with some power bloc in order…

News

End of love affair between Warsaw and Kyiv?

The Editorial Board September 22, 2023

Poland/Ukraine – As we reported on September 15, Poland has decided, alongside Hungary and Slovakia, to extend the import ban on Ukrainian cereals beyond September 15 after the European Union tacitly decided not to do so. In response, the authorities in Kyiv…

News

Demonstration against the high cost of living on Wenceslas Square

The Editorial Board September 22, 2023

Czechia – Several thousand people (10,000 according to the police, 100,000 according to the organizers) gathered on Wenceslas Square in central Prague on Saturday, September 16 at the call of the extra-parliamentary opposition movement Law, Respect, Expertise (PRO) to demonstrate against…

News

Polish secretary of state allegedly ran illegal immigrant smuggling channel

The Editorial Board September 20, 2023

Poland – With the campaign for the Polish parliamentary elections on October 15 in full swing, a new scandal involving the Morawiecki government has just broken out. In a dramatic development, a secretary of state at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Piotr…

News

Ukrainian grain: Poland raising its voice

The Editorial Board September 15, 2023

Poland – At a meeting in Warsaw on July 19, the agriculture ministers of Hungary, Poland, Bulgaria, Romania, and Slovakia urged the European Commission to extend the ban on grain imports from Ukraine from September 15 to December 31. The previous ban…