European Union Archives

EUROPE: Far Right Comes Nearer

As European Union citizens prepare to go to the polls to elect representatives to the European Parliament this weekend (Jun. 4-7), in Brussels there continues to be much speculation about the political make-up of the next five-year parliament.

RIGHTS-SLOVAKIA: Getting Worse for Minorities

By Pavol Stracansky

The Council of Europe has warned in a report that attacks and political racism directed against Jews, Roma and Hungarian minorities have increased since the far-right Slovak National Party joined the government in 2006.

EUROPEAN UNION: Losing Its Shine

By Pavol Stracansky

In May 2004 eight East European states joined the EU, with their politicians and citizens harbouring high hopes of what accession would bring.

ROMANIA: Foreign Corporation Faces Public Scrutiny

By Claudia Ciobanu

Public pressure from Romanian citizens has forced one of the biggest European producers of wood products, Austrian Kronospan, to halt construction of new production lines and to improve environmental standards at its plants.

EUROPE: More to Trafficking Than Prostitution

By Zoltán Dujisin

The condition of victims of forced labour worldwide may be unrecognised because many states and organisations see it only in the light of a fight against prostitution.

EUROPE: Trafficking Rises as Incomes Fall

By Pavol Stracansky

The economic crisis sweeping Eastern Europe is leading to a sharp increase in people trafficking as people look to migrate for work amid rising unemployment and growing economic hardship, migration watchdogs and women's rights groups warn.

EUROPE: EU Looks East, Again

By Zoltán Dujisin

The European Union's Eastern Partnership, promoting closer cooperation between the EU and former Soviet Republics, has been enthusiastically endorsed in Eastern Europe, ignored in the West, and criticised in Russia.

EUROPE: Still Preparing to Trip Up the Big Treaty

By Zoltán Dujisin

In spite of the Lisbon Treaty's approval by both houses of the Czech Parliament, President Vaclav Klaus is refusing to sign the document that many believe would allow the EU to deal effectively with the global economic crisis.

EUROPE: Help the Economy, Hurt the Environment

By Claudia Ciobanu

The European Economic Recovery Plan devised by the European Commission last year to help deal with the financial crisis is likely to fast-track environmentally damaging projects in the new member states.

EDUCATION: Illiteracy Rising in Parts of Europe

By Claudia Ciobanu

A global event to promote literacy has drawn attention to the fact that an increasing number of Romanian and Bulgarian children are not getting minimal education.

BALKANS: Religion Makes a Worrying Call

By Vesna Peric Zimonjic

Five-year-old Admir does not come from a Muslim family, and so among the early lessons he is learning in school in Sarajevo is that he is out while most others are in.

EUROPE: The Right Rises

By Pavol Stracansky

Human rights activists have warned of a "proliferation" of far-right groups in central and eastern Europe amid an economic crisis fuelling support for extremist movements and political parties.

EUROPE: Democracy Failing Under Russian Shadow

By Kester Kenn Klomegah

Eighteen years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, many of the newly created republics are still struggling to find a working democracy amidst failing economies.

RIGHTS: Roma Seek to Flee Czech Republic

By Zoltán Dujisin

The situation of Roma in the Czech Republic has always been bad, but growing right-wing extremism has taken tensions to new levels, driving many to seek asylum in Canada.

EUROPE: Uncovering the Veil Over ‘CIA Prison’

By Zoltán Dujisin

An official investigation shows that it is more and more likely that a CIA prison existed in Poland at the height of the "war on terror".

EUROPE: Obama in a New Game Over Missiles and Iran

By Zoltán Dujisin

As the extension of the U.S. missile defence system to Eastern Europe is halted, U.S. President Barack Obama seems inclined to exchange it for Russian cooperation in taming Iran's nuclear ambitions.

RIGHTS: Bad to Beat Up Roma, if it Gets Filmed

By Pavol Stracansky

Slovakia's interior minister is facing calls to resign amid claims of institutionalised racism in the country's police force after a video emerged of policemen forcing Roma children to strip naked, kiss and beat each other while being held at a police station.