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”.

After Das Progressive Zentrum received a first delegation of the new Assemblée nationale in October 2017, the Franco-German dialogue was further deepened during the weekend. Parliamentary tandems from both countries met in the German capital on Friday, before traveling to several German constituencies.

Four policy briefs, several workshops and two high-profile speeches conclude the more than two-years transnational dialogue process at eye level with young, promising thinkers from Greece, Portugal, Italy, France, Spain and Germany.

Over the course of the last two years, civil society experts and practitioners from across Europe gathered in four DIALOGUE ON EUROPE Thinking Labs to deliver fresh ideas and to independently elaborate concrete policy recommendations on four European key areas: Migration & Integration, Populism, Social Cohesion, and Sustainable Growth. Discover the summary of their proposals and the full-length policy briefs below.

The ebook examines internal developments within the Visegrad Group and sketches scenarios for its engagement at the European level. Distinguished scholars and renowned political figures from the region contributed to this publication, presented jointly by the Foundation for European Progressive Studies and Das Progressive Zentrum.

On 12 February 2018, Das Progressive Zentrum together with the Ferdinand Lassalle Centre for Social Thought will host the second #EuropeanTownHall Meeting in Warsaw.

On November 11, the renowned ‘A Soul for Europe’ conference took place at the premises of Radialsystem in Berlin. After an introductory panel various topics were discussed in parallel workshops sessions an at the European Marketplace, following three thematic tracks: Cities and Urban Change, Europe From the Bottom-Up and Arts & Politics – A Good Match? This year, Das Progressive Zentrum had the pleasure of co-hosting this extraordinary event.

During the second Thinking Lab Summit in Paris, Orange Magazine spoke with Elena García Mañes and Filipe Santos Henrique. They talked about their stances on Populism in Europe.

Currently, the future of the European Union is at stake due to many disintegrative developments: the Brexit-referendum, migration challenges, rising right-wing populism or the persisting economic crisis. The outcome of the Brexit-Referendum and the low turnout in their own age-group came as a wake-up call to many young Brits