While a (rather small) part of the world is approaching the mostly western yearly festive season and people are evaluating the past year, I, too, look back and assess my personal achievements, but also what we have accomplished as a society. Did we grow, or did we fail? Did we make our society more equal, […]
The international community seems to be moving towards a historic agreement on the taxation of multinational corporations, hoping to end the race to the bottom by imposing a global minimum tax. At their meeting in Rome, the G20 leaders endorsed the underlying framework created under the auspices of the OECD. The current 100-year-old system was […]
Calling the situation of the centre-left parties in Central and Eastern Europe ‘difficult’ equals hiding behind a diplomatic langue de bois. In none of the countries of the region, Social Democrats are in government – neither at the helm of a coalition, nor as a partner in one. Sometimes they even failed to enter parliament […]
Politically, Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) is disappointing – but looking at it from outside of Europe it is a stunning economic success story. However, this success cannot be taken for granted – and its end could make the region even more politically disappointing. However, there are things Progressives could do. But they require political […]
To mark the start of the six-month EU Council presidency of Slovenia, a grandiose musical and ballet performance was arranged on Lake Bled. This reminded me of my own very first visit to Slovenia, which was also linked to music, though with a much more modest profile. As an unassuming clarinet player in the wind […]
The latest European Council held important discussions on democracy and fundamental rights, both within and outside the EU borders. Within these borders, the main topic was LGBTQI+ rights in Hungary. The criminalisation of human rights is unacceptable in any part of the globe. Doing it in an EU member state is intolerable. It is clear […]
