Czech Republic: state of emergency
18 Feb 2021
The Czech government re-declared a state of emergency to tackle the coronavirus pandemic in defiance of the lower house of Parliament, which refused the minority government’s request to extend the powerful tool. The state of emergency…
EU: Covid vaccination challenges
18 Feb 2021
Many are now saying the vaccination rollout has been plagued by bureaucracy, poorly-negotiated contracts, penny-pinching, blame-shifting, and secrecy. The result is a shortage of vaccines, and an immunisation crisis On 17 February Brussels announced it is…
Bosnia: no way forward, no way back
11 Feb 2021
Bosnia is a transit country for migrants trying to get to the EU, but the border is currently closed. This has left thousands of migrants stranded like Salman and his brothers, sleeping rough in abandoned buildings,…
EU trade deal tensions with UK
11 Feb 2021
The EU is expected to ask for more time to ratify the Brexit trade deal. UK’s chief Brexit negotiator, David Frost, claimed that a resolution to EU/UK strained relations required a ‘different spirit’ from the EU.…
Russia: protesters receive harsh show of force
04 Feb 2021
Protesters throughout Russia gathered on two consecutive weekends to support jailed opposition leader Alexey Navalny, who accused President Putin of poisoning him with Novichok. Over 5,000 were detained, including Navalny's wife who was later released. The…
France: religious transformation of schools
04 Feb 2021
A French low-intensity war is bubbling around radicalising education. At a school in Saumur, a student told his teacher, ‘My father will behead you’. It is impossible to make a precise list of similar incidents that…