no comment Ai Weiwei warns of 'shaking foundation' of democracy Renowned Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei says Russia's invasion of Ukraine has revealed the "shaking foundation" of democracy as he unveils one of the biggest retrospectives of his work to date. Speaking at a press conference at the Albertina Modern gallery in Vienna, 16/03/2022
state of the union Europe's week: Fallout from Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues The Ukrainian president addressed MEPs in Brussels on Tuesday via videolink. 04/03/2022
Europe News EU's exercise in democratic accountability weeks away from conclusion The Conference on the Future of Europe asks citizens from across the continent what the bloc's priorities should be. 15/02/2022
Bulgaria Bulgarian PM Petkov says diplomatic solution is needed for Ukraine Kiril Petkov said the Bulgarian government had decided to update the country's security strategy and to prepare a battalion military group under its command, for defence purposes only. 27/01/2022
View Putin fears Ukrainian freedom and democracy, not NATO | View Europe and the US must not play into Putin's hands by turning the current crisis into a tussle between geopolitical entities. This is and has always been about Ukraine's absolute right to freedom and self-determination, writes Oleksandr Sushko of the International Renaissance Foundation in Ukraine. 25/01/2022
Europe News Metsola on abortion: 'My position is the EU Parliament's position' In an interview with Euronews, the newly elected President of the European Parliament vowed to respect the hemicycle's majority opinion on abortion. 18/01/2022
View EU must be prepared for a possible rigged election in Hungary | View In April the European Union could face the first ever significantly rigged vote in one of its member states. A full observation mission should be sent to this year's parliamentary election, warns German Marshall Fund fellow Daniel Hegedüs. 12/01/2022
USA Watch: Biden attacks on Trump on Capitol riots anniversary The US president pledged to fight for "the soul of America" in a blistering attack on his predecessor, on the first anniversary of the insurrection by Trump supporters. 06/01/2022
USA 'We were trapped': Trauma of Jan. 6 lingers for lawmakers Many lawmakers went on to seek therapy. Some were diagnosed with post-traumatic stress. 05/01/2022
China Hong Kong news site shuts as pro-Beijing lawmakers sworn in One of the city’s last remaining pro-democracy news outlets announced its closure. 03/01/2022
no comment Sudanese pro-democracy protesters brave tear gas during rally in Khartoum Sudanese pro-democracy protesters rally in the capital Khartoum as they brave tear gas to demonstrate against an October 25 coup launched by military leader General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan 02/01/2022
USA Joe Biden says defending democracy 'challenge of our time' The two-day event, held by video link because of the COVID-19 pandemic, was billed by the White House as US leadership in an existential struggle between democracies and powerful autocracies or dictatorships. 09/12/2021
Hungary UN Special Rapporteur says press freedom is under threat in Hungary The Central European country has been widely attacked for curtailing independent media and smear campaigns against human rights defenders. 22/11/2021
no comment Police in Khartoum use tear gas in protest clashes Sudanese demonstrators took to the streets of Khartoum on Sunday in protests over the leadership crisis in the country. Footage by the Omdurman Resistance Commitees posted on their Facebook page showed protesters on the streets of Khartoum and police firing tear gas. 21/11/2021
View EU election monitors can play a crucial role in Venezuela | View Venezuelans will go to the polls for regional and local elections on Sunday amid a crackdown on dissent by the Maduro regime. European observers must document any rights violations as they happen, say Human Rights Watch's Jose Miguel Vivanco and Tamara Taraciuk Broner 20/11/2021
View The Latvian ban on unvaccinated MPs should be a wake-up call | View The decision to exclude Latvian parliamentarians without a COVID-19 vaccine ought to ring alarm bells for democrats worldwide, argue Leiden University's Tom Theuns and Josette Daemen. 18/11/2021
View Belarus: A non-standard situation demands non-standard tools | View Sanctions won't be enough to resolve the political crisis in Belarus. International non-recognition and the opening of criminal cases need to follow the upcoming Vienna Conference, says diplomat and opposition figure Pavel Latushka 16/11/2021
Biztech news Nobel winner Maria Ressa calls Facebook 'biased against facts' Ressa, who was the joint recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize this week, slammed Facebook as a threat to democracy. 09/10/2021
View Iraqis go to the polls on October 10. What happens next? | View Iraqis will vote in snap parliamentary elections this Sunday, for the first time since protests rocked the country in 2019. SIPRI's Shivan Fazil and Dylan O'Driscoll explain what's at stake - and why the new government will have no time to lose. 04/10/2021
View The US and EU must put pressure on Tunisia before it’s too late | View The international community must speak up after the recent presidential power-grab in Tunisia, argues Adnen Hasnaoui, president of the Maghreb Institute for Sustainable Development. 04/10/2021
Germany 'Democracy is under attack' says Merkel at reunification ceremony German Chancellor Angela Merkel called for an ongoing commitment to democracy as she spoke at the 31st-anniversary ceremony of the reunification of east and west. 04/10/2021
View Germany's politicians need to address the state of democracy | View Goran Buldioski, the director of the Open Society Initiative for Europe, says that political parties need to pay attention to the state of democracy in Germany. 24/09/2021
View Hungary PM Viktor Orban responds to criticism from Timothy Garton Ash Timothy Garton Ash had accused Orban of having his cake and eating it in terms of Hungary's relationship with the EU. 14/09/2021
China Hong Kong protester handed nine-year sentence in security law case Tong Ying-kit, 24, was convicted of inciting secession and terrorism for his part during a pro-democracy protest in Hong Kong in July 2020. 30/07/2021
Green Opinion Why democracy is the key ingredient to battling climate change 9 out of the 10 top performers in the 2021 Climate Change Performance Index are democracies. 29/06/2021
Biztech news Hong Kong security law used to close overseas pro-democracy website Web host Wix was asked by Hong Kong police to shut down a website run by exiled activists. It has since reinstated it and apologised. 03/06/2021
