What kind of policies are needed to support the European arts and culture scene? How can new digital spaces empower cultural actors across Europe? To answer these questions, Das Progressive Zentrum and the Goethe-Institut organised the “Europe takes part!” digital summit on 29 April 2021.

At the beginning of 2021, the world waited in anticipation for Joe Biden to be inaugurated the 46th President of the United States and the first woman Vice-President, Kamala Harris. 100 days later, what is the state of democracy in the United States and the transatlantic partnership?

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.

As part of year-round activities complementing the annual Progressive Governance Summit, Das Progressive Zentrum and its London-based partner organisation Policy Network invited two Dutch experts to discuss take-aways from Europe’s first key parliamentary election this year.

A new cooperation platform for civil society will launch its exploration phase on 1 March 2021. The „European Hub for Civic Engagement“ will strengthen democracy in Europe by providing a digital infrastructure for activists and operatives of civil society organisations (CSOs). Since 2019, the „Hub“ has been developed in an extensive consultation process involving hundreds of civil society actors from across Europe.

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.

Joe Biden is the 46th President of the United States. From the minute he is sworn in, his administration will begin working on reversing many of his predecessor’s legacies on climate change, immigration, and domestic policy. Underlying these efforts will be the challenge of unifying a country in an era of rampant disinformation. To guide the country through this fact-rejecting fog and towards social and economic justice, the new administration must deliver visible relief and recovery.

„My message to everyone struggling right now is this: Help is on the way“, twitterte der designierte Präsident der USA, Joe Biden, am 1. Dezember 2020. Am Ende des Jahres 2020 haben nicht nur viele Amerikanerinnen und Amerikaner mit der Covid-19 Gesundheitskrise zu kämpfen, sondern auch mit den wirtschaftlichen und gesellschaftlichen Folgen.

A public sphere is not only created and stimulated through media or marketplaces – but also art and culture. Since they play such an important role in Europe and for connecting people, Das Progressive Zentrum felt like it was important to give them both a role at the Daring New Spaces Summit on the European Public Sphere.

Over 100 participants discussed and debated future visions for Europe during the Daring New Spaces Summit on the European public sphere on 10 December. In keynotes and debates, and listening to pitches and poetry, the participants envisioned what Europe and its public sphere could and should look like in 2025. The event culminated with two project fellows interviewing Minister of State for Europe, Michael Roth (DE) and Tiago Antunes (PT), Secretary of State Assistant to the Prime-Minister.

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.

“Kniefall von Warschau” was a symbolic and historic gesture that occurred during Chancellor Willy Brandt’s visit to Poland in December 1970. At a monument to the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, Chancellor Brandt unexpectedly knelt. The trip and that moment was one of the stepping stones towards a new Ostpolitik, aiming at improving relations with the Eastern Bloc while consolidating the West. It significantly contributed to easing geopolitical tensions and has become a blueprint for a paradigm of “change through rapprochement” in foreign policy.
 
50 years later, we again find ourselves in a turbulent situation. We face the ongoing escalation between the West and Russia. The EU has been struggling with a political crisis, best manifested by the unclear direction of further integration (Brexit) or disputes on shared values (Poland, Hungary). We also seem to lack a smart strategy for an Eastern Partnership, once a flagship foreign policy initiative of the EU. Last but not least, the transatlantic bond weakened by the last four years of the Trump administration demands immediate attention.
 
With a change of leadership in the US, there is a glimmer of hope that things will change. Inspired by this important anniversary, we want to seek a progressive answer to the challenges we face. What is left of Willy Brandt’s daring and dialogue-based foreign policy today? Do we need a new progressive Ostpolitik?
 

Am 3. November fanden in den USA sowohl Präsidentschafts- als auch Parlamentswahlen statt. Wie können sich ihre Ergebnisse auf die globale Rolle der Städte auswirken? Diskutieren Sie mit über eine neue Ära des Multilateralismus von unten – mit Almut Möller, Staatsrätin der Freien und Hansestadt Hamburg, und Stephen K. Benjamin, Bürgermeister von Columbia, SC.

The Democrats are locked in a head to head race under a unified, broad coalition on the national level – against Trump. However, winning the Senate and the House will determine if it is even possible to work towards a just normality that represents the people and reflects their hopes and desires. Diego Rivas analyses the US Elections and opportunities for progressive change.

Am 1. Oktober startet der transatlantische Dialog der 20 VordenkerInnen aus Deutschland und den USA. Die Projekt-Fellows erden sich damit beschäftigen, wie Städte mit globalen Herausforderungen umgehen und dabei gleichzeitig urbane Räume demokratisieren können.

Die COVID-19-Pandemie hat die soziale Lage in allen Mitgliedstaaten der Europäischen Union verschärft – allerdings in unterschiedlichem Ausmaß. Doch Ungleichgewichte und soziale Schieflagen können nicht allein von nationalen Politiken aufgefangen werden. Im Interview fassen Alexander Schellinger und Hatice Sever die zentralen Argumente der Untersuchung zusammen und erläutern die Idee von Europäischen Mindeststandards für die nationale Grundsicherung.

Mithilfe der Umfragen leisten die Universität Konstanz und das Progressive Zentrum einen Beitrag zum besseren Verständnis der sozialen und politischen Folgen der Corona-Krise. In den Studien analysieren die Forschenden die Themen „Solidarität mit den europäischen Nachbarn“, „Arbeit im Home Office“ und das „Vertrauen in Politik, Krisenmanagement und das Gesundheitssystem“.

The future needs a vibrant European public sphere. But we need to work in the present to make it a reality.

Das neue Projekt des Progressiven Zentrums will Zukunftsvisionen für eine europäische Öffentlichkeit entwickeln und in die Trio-Ratspräsidentschaft der Europäischen Union (EU) einbringen.

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.