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NL Time for European democratisation
Autocratisation is on the rise in EU candidate countries and the far right is gaining ground in the Member States, yet the democratic deficit of the European Union itself remains unmentioned in von der Leyen’s State of the Union address. With the Russian escalations and the impending accession of Ukraine and Moldova, the EU and its Member States can no longer […]
The return hub: symbolic politics that comes at a price
Photo: a fence with barbed wire (Rawpixel). On 17 June 2026, the European Parliament adopted the new Return Regulation by 418 votes to 218 – the strictest migration law in the EU’s history – with the support of radical and far-right political groups. A key aspect of this return law is the option for Member States to send asylum seekers whose applications have been rejected to a […]
Glorifying the past: how Mladić’s funeral is a campaign stunt for Vučić
On 27 August, Ratko Mladić died whilst serving a life sentence at the UN detention centre in The Hague. The Serbian general, also known as the ‘Butcher of Bosnia’, was responsible for the worst massacre in Europe since the Second World War and was convicted by the International Criminal Court of genocide, war crimes and crimes against […]
Recap: Youth Think Tank representatives at the Africa Days in Brussels
Six of our EU-Africa Youth Think Tank representatives attended the S&D Africa Days in Brussels to share their views on EU-Africa cooperation. Tarik Smaaili and Latoya Balogun wrote about their experiences in this article: Day One: Rethinking the Africa-Europe Partnership Through Youth Eyes Our Africa Days adventure actually began before we even reached Brussels. […]
Migration as a Political Tool: The 2021 EU–Belarus Border Crisis
This article is a contribution from a project by students at Maastricht University. It was written in English and has therefore been published as such on our website. Photo: Lithuania-Belarus border (Wikimedia Commons). The views expressed in this opinion piece are strictly those of the author and do not represent the official position […]
Don’t leave democratic voices in Serbia to fend for themselves
The pressure on democratic forces in Serbia is constantly mounting. Critical journalists, activists and political opponents are being intimidated and publicly pilloried. Now their families are also being targeted, and we cannot accept this. Recently, the car belonging to David Gruhonjić, the son of journalist and professor Dinko Gruhonjić, was vandalised. According to the European […]
New publications: EU enlargement calls for political debate
EU enlargement is once again high on the European agenda. Due to the changing geopolitical situation, the accession process for candidate countries has gathered pace. This makes it all the more important that attention is paid within the European Union to the political choices that enlargement entails. During the 9th FoWB Network Meeting & Willy Brandt Programme […]
FMS in Warsaw: working together to build a strong, progressive network in Eastern Europe
Last weekend, the Max van der Stoel Foundation was in Warsaw for a varied programme entirely dedicated to international cooperation, democracy and political development. As co-organisers of the Friends of Eastern Partnership (FoEP) programme, we brought together young progressive activists from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. During training sessions, workshops and the […]
How the Netherlands is letting the Global South down in the fight for international tax justice
Image: Flags flying outside the United Nations headquarters in New York. “For many Africans, achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals is a matter of life and death. Unfortunately, their ability to meet these targets is hampered by illicit and hidden flows of capital amounting to vast billions each year. […] It is […]
Is Montenegro on its way to joining the EU? Read our statement
Last week, the Max van der Stoel Foundation attended the ninth meeting of Friends of the Western Balkans (FoWB) in Podgorica, Montenegro. The meeting took place in the run-up to the EU-Western Balkans Summit in Tivat and brought together politicians, parliamentarians and experts from across Europe. During the conference, the future of EU enlargement […]