Artists and cultural workers are among the worst affected by the coronavirus pandemic. While some countries have offered support, others have let their artists down. Especially independent creators without connections to well-established cultural institutions are struggling. In this Interview, Dr Michael Wimmer, a renowned political scientist, offers an overview of this sector’s current situation and future challenges. An industry that he predicts will permanently change due to the pandemic’s wave of digitisation.

This Discussion Paper takes a closer look at the current challenges of the European foreign policy vis-à-vis Russia and sketches a vision for a new generation of Ostpolitik, aiming at organizing European unity as well as strengthening the EU’s strategic alliances in Eastern Europe and across the Atlantic.

In 2020, we celebrate the 50th anniversary of Willy Brandt’s historical gesture in Warsaw. The so-called “Warsaw genuflection” was a symbol of reconciliation and dialogue between the East and the West. Today, we should see it as an inspiration for a new generation of Ostpolitik, especially taking a note on what is happening inside of the EU and just at its borders as well as the brand new reality in transatlantic relations.

Individual countries will not be able to successfully address society’s current challenges. Only a solidarity-based and networked Europe can rise to the occasion. For this, we need new spaces and methods of collaboration to strengthen the European public sphere. Join us on 10 December, 2:00 – 5:00 pm CET as participants from around Europe come together to debate and discuss the Europe of tomorrow.

The focus of this working group will be the role of civil society, more specifically European civic cooperation in the European public sphere. Civil society actors can take the role of watchdog of European politics and push for the emergence of a European demos. By introducing a greater variety of actors, issues, and perspectives to the public discourse, civil society can make the European public sphere more diverse and lively. A strong European civil society facilitates communication between European politics and citizens.

With these surveys, the University of Konstanz and Das Progressive Zentrum are contributing to a better understanding of the social and political consequences of the Corona crisis. In the studies, the researchers analyze the topics of solidarity with European neighbors, working from home, trust in politics, crisis management and the health care system.

The new project from Das Progressive Zentrum wants to develop future visions for a European public sphere and weave them into the goals for the European Council Trio-Presidency.

Responding to the COVID-19 outbreak in Europe, massive mobility restrictions were imposed in the Schengen area. While the internal Schengen border controls have mostly been lifted, the uncoordinated national reopening of its external borders have led to a patchwork of border regulations. An original analysis of the unilateral steps taken by Schengen states to reopen borders to third countries is presented here. In order to avoid any serious damage to the functioning of the EU borderless area, members need to stick to common rules and act in together, rather than in a single-handed fashion.

Presidential elections were planned for May 10th in Poland. The ruling PiS-party was determined to hold the election despite the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, but was forced to cancel it last minute as political pressure became too high. The current state of democracy and rule of law in the country has already been criticised for some time. In this interview, Maria Skóra, Head of the Programme International Dialogue at Das Progressive Zentrum, explains how the government is using the current health crisis to its advantage – and how this undermines democracy.

Just under 100 days before the start of the German Presidency of the Council of the European Union, the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung and Das Progressive Zentrum presented a study on the German populace’s expectations of the German Presidency of the Council of the European Union and how they perceive themselves as Europeans. Michael Roth, the German Foreign Office’s State Minister for Europe as well as Green Party Member of Parliament Franziska Brantner stood up for European solidarity in times of crisis. However, they each had a different assessment of the current state of affairs.

Maria Skóra and Sophie Pornschlegel take a closer look at the European Election Campaigns 2019 in France, Germany and Poland and analyse whether they favoured the emergence of a Europeanised public sphere.

We often hear that “Brussels is too far away” from the EU citizens: the turnout of the European Parliament elections is low, nationalist populism and Euroscepticism are on the rise. What to do? How to enhance citizens’ understanding of the EU, broaden ownership of the European project and build trust in the European structures?

In May 2019, Hungary celebrated 15 years of EU membership. However, the European Parliament believes that Hungary is in breach of EU values, thereby posing a threat to the existence of the union. The fundamental restructuring of the political system initiated by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his Fidesz party has had a tangible impact on the functioning of Hungarian democracy, raising concerns and criticism. How will this conflict develop – both with regard to Hungary as an EU member state and with regard to the future of the EU?

How should the European Union tackle the growing threat of cyber attacks? How can cybersecurity be effectively governed at a European level? To address these questions and advance the debate on the EU digital strategy, Das Progressive Zentrum partnered with EuropaNova and Renaissance Numérique to host an expert discussion on the topic.

The British Council, Das Progressive Zentrum and Policy Network are interested in hearing and promoting your ideas for fostering cultural exchange between the United Kingdom, Germany and Europe.

Together with its Bulgarian, Slovak and Polish partners, Das Progressive Zentrum kicks-off with a new project focused on mobilising voters for the May 2019 European elections. The objective of this initiative is also to hear the voices of young European citizens: what European Union do they wish for in the future?

Three French-German think tanks join forces for the first time to reflect upon the EU digital technologies strategy. Dedicated to cybersecurity, the second conference of the “EU Digital Challenges” series will take place in Berlin on 7 November 2018.

We are looking for six young European thinkers, professionals and activists to join a workshop in Bratislava on 29-30 November 2018 to draft recommendations for the renewal of the European Union.

Three French-German think tanks join forces for the first time to reflect upon the EU digital technologies strategy. The first conference of the series “EU Digital Challenges” will take place in Paris on July 11, 2018.

For the first time, three French-German think tanks join forces to reflect upon the EU digital technologies strategy: Renaissance Numérique, EuropaNova, and Das Progressive Zentrum. As a concrete realization of this partnership, the think tanks are launching a common series of conferences in both France and Germany: “EU Digital Challenges”.