January 26, 2012 - Last week, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán participated in a plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg. The agenda included current political developments in Hungary. Shortly beforehand, the European Commission had launched three infringement proceedings against the country. The Hungarian prime minister had invited himself to this session. Eva van de Rakt more»

The beginning of the end? A subjective assessment of the political situation in Hungary

- January 6, 2012 - This is the fourth piece of a series of articles in which the author endeavors to lift the veil on significant social, political and cultural transformations since the right-wing government came to power in Hungary. Here his main concern is to assess the country’s predicament after the new Constitution came into force on the 1st of January and to spell out the dilemmas of the nascent democratic opposition. The text is written from the perspective of a long-time member of the Hungarian green movement who co-founded the “Lehet Más a Politika” (LMP) party. Kristóf Szombati / Foto:LMP more»

Far right mobilization and the roots of anti-Roma sentiment in Hungary

- July 22, 2011 - This is the third piece of a series of articles in which the author endeavors to lift the veil on significant social, political and cultural transformations since the right-wing government came to power in Hungary. Here, he looks at right-wing extremism through the lenses of the recent ethnic conflict in the village of Gyöngyöspata, which rocked the Hungarian political scene and also made international headlines. The text is written from the perspective of a long-time member of the Hungarian green movement who co-founded the “Lehet Más a Politika” (LMP) party. Kristóf Szombati more»

The betrayed republic. Hungary’s new Constitution and the “System of National Cooperation”

- May 3, 2011 - This is the second piece of a series of articles in which the author Kristóf Szombati intends to lift the veil on significant social, political and cultural transformations since the right-wing government came to power in Hungary. In what follows Szombati seeks to outline and interpret the most significant changes brought about by the new Constitution which the Fidesz-KDNP coalition has decided to bequeath to the country. The text is written from the perspective of a long-time member of the Hungarian green movement who co-founded the “Lehet Más a Politika” (LMP) party. Kristóf Szombati more»

Sticks in the spokes of the “booth revolution”

- March 24, 2011 - This is the first piece of a series of articles in which the author intends to lift the veil on significant social, political and cultural transformations since the right-wing government came to power in Hungary. His main concern here is to assess and explain the political situation in Hungary.  Kristóf Szombati more»

What is happening to Hungary?

- Prior to the Hungarian EU-Presidency the country’s new media law has caused an international stir and a lot of criticism from abroad. The new media law is only the tip of the iceberg: Since April 2010 the Orbán government has passed several bills in an incredible speed. This has been possible due to the two third majority of the governing party Fidesz within the Hungarian Parliament. 

January 24, 2012 - SurVivArt has been inspired by the German Kulturstiftung’s initiative Über Lebenskunst and developed by the Heinrich Böll Foundation HQ with support from its offices around the world. By joining the “SurVivArt” initiative the Heinrich Böll Foundation Prague would like to contribute to the international mosaic with a rather different perspective. The Prague office has not approached any artists to elaborate a specific art project. The aim of the Prague project in its first phase is to provide a broader insight into contemporary artists’ practices, issues and projects in the Czech Republic and to outline whether and how they respond to current social and environmental challenges. more»

December 22, 2011 - A failure to book public-private partnerships on balance-sheets allows governments to drive a hole through plans to cap deficits in current fiscal and financial crisis, Juraj Mesík writes in his commentary. more»

The Czech and Slovak Parliaments After the Lisbon Treaty

- This publication is an output of a project called "New role of the national parliaments in the EU decision-making processes: previous experience and new challenges pursuant to the Lisbon Treaty", undertaken by EUROPEUM Institute for European Policy together with the Institute of Public Affairs in Warsaw and Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik in Berlin with the financial support of Heinrich Böll Foundation. 

"Enfant terrible" of the Eurozone - Why did Slovakia refuse to bail out Greece?

- August 31, 2010 -

Shortly after a new ruling coalition formed Slovakia’s new center-right government, a small shock wave rolled through Europe. First the Slovak government and then parliament voted to withhold Slovakia’s share of a European bailout loan for Greece’s embattled economy. Not that Slovakia’s minute share of the package would mean a lot for the eurozone – the decision’s importance lay in its symbolism and, therefore, in politics.

Juraj Mesík more»

The attacks of 11 September 2001 represented a historic turning point of a scope comparable to that of the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989. This year’s annual foreign policy conference of Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung took stock of the “war on terror” and formulated a vision for Afghanistan, the Middle East and global politics. Watch videos and read report from the conference.