European Union

The state of Hungary’s media has become the focus of intense public debate at home and across Europe after the national Media Council, run exclusively by people from the ruling Fidesz party, revoked the opposition Klubrádió’s frequency in February. EURACTIV's media partner Telex takes stock of the country's media landscape.

Find out about the role and the functions of the President of the European Parliament in our short video.

Source : © European Union, 2021 - EP

Find out about the role and the functions of the President of the European Parliament in our short video.

Source : © European Union, 2021 - EP

In Germany, how well a child does in school is closely linked to their parental background, with immigrants and their children worst affected by structural inequalities. Opposition politicians are calling for reforms, but experts fear there is a lack of political will for the necessary overhaul.

We welcome the EU Transparency Regulation that came into force on 27 March. Court records, land deeds, company financial statements and now a wealth of scientific research are easily accessible to the public online. Society is increasingly interested in having access to information – which includes access to research and scientific data.

The leadership contest at the Brussels-based Energy Charter Treaty Secretariat appears to be down to two candidates, the current secretary-general, Slovakia's Urban Rusnák, and Guy Lentz from Luxembourg, EURACTIV has learned from sources familiar with the situation.

The front runners are Israel, the US, and the UK. These countries have made much faster progress in vaccinating their populations against the coronavirus than the countries of the EU. Observers look at why the European Union is lagging so far behind and discuss how the speed and acceptance of vaccination can be increased.

Alexei Navalny's health has apparently deteriorated rapidly since he began his prison term in Russia. He complains of acute back pain and numbness in his right leg but has received hardly any medical care. Because he has been classified as "at risk of escaping", he is woken up by prison guards once every hour at night. Observers accuse the Russian state of torture and seek to clarify the motives.

The Slovak government looks set to end its current crisis with an exchange of posts: Prime Minister Igor Matovič is vacating his seat for the former Finance Minister Eduard Heger and taking over the latter's portfolio. Matovič triggered the crisis when he purchased the Russian Covid vaccine Sputnik V without consulting his coalition partners, who then demanded his resignation. Now they have agreed to the exchange of posts instead.

The Ever Given, which had been blocking the Suez Canal since last Tuesday, has been refloated. The 400-metre-long container ship was dislodged by tugboats and dredgers, with help from an unusually high tide on Sunday night due to the full moon. For around 370 waiting ships the wait to pass through the waterway connecting Europe and Asia will soon be over.