Let’s talk about Poland, planes, and power in Ukraine – Beau of the Fifth Column

Democracy in decline worldwide

For the first time since 2004, the Bertelsmann Transformation Index (BTI) has recorded more autocratic states than democracies around the world. Civil society activists often represent the last bastion of resistance. Autocracies such as Russia and China on the one hand; democracies like the USA or Germany on the other. Is that the great conflict

Poland and Lithuania say Ukraine deserves EU candidate status due to ‘current security challenges’

Ukraine deserves European Union candidate status, and Poland and Lithuania will support it in this goal, the presidents of the two countries said in a joint declaration with the Ukrainian president on Wednesday. “We emphasize that, given the significant progress in the implementation of the Association Agreement and internal reforms, as well as the current

Polish leader admits country bought powerful Israeli spyware

Poland’s most powerful politician has acknowledged that the country bought advanced spyware from the Israeli surveillance software maker NSO Group, but denied that it was being used to target his political opponents. Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the leader of Poland’s ruling conservative party, Law and Justice, said in an interview that the secret services in many countries

EU starts legal steps against Poland over constitutional court ruling

The European Commission launched an infringement procedure against Poland on Wednesday over rulings by the country’s constitutional tribunal in July and October that challenged the primacy of EU law over national law. “The Commission considers that these rulings of the Constitutional Tribunal are in breach of the general principles of autonomy, primacy, effectiveness and uniform

In democracy’s birthplace, pope warns of populist threats

Pope Francis warned Saturday that the “easy answers” of populism and authoritarianism are threatening democracy in Europe and called for fresh dedication to promoting the common good. Arriving in Greece, the birthplace of democracy, Francis used a speech to Greek political and cultural leaders to warn Europe at large about the threats facing the continent.

Poland’s lawmakers reject bill seeking to outlaw abortion

Poland’s lawmakers on Thursday rejected a civic legislative proposal that would have outlawed abortion as homicide. The vote to reject the proposal at the initial stage was 361-48 with 12 abstentions, and was greeted with applause. It was overwhelming, also because most among the 228 ruling right-wing party’s lawmakers voted against it. The Law and

What is behind Russia’s build-up of troops behind the Ukrainian border? – DW News

“We’re the ones that keep other people awake at night”: That’s the impact US Marine Corps Brigadier General Simon Doran hopes this massive show of NATO power has on Russian military planners plotting their next moves. Doran is the senior American representative serving with the UK’s Carrier Strike Group 21 (CSG21), the largest fifth-generation carrier

Germany refuses to take in stranded migrants after calls from Minsk – DW

Germany has rejected calls from Minsk for the European Union to take in migrants stranded at the Belarus-Poland border. EU member states have also made it clear they won’t be blackmailed by Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko. He is demanding they take in thousands of migrants. They’re facing harsh winter conditions out in the forests along

Democracy slipping away at record rate, intergovernmental body warns

A greater number of countries are sliding towards authoritarianism, while the number of established democracies under threat has never been so high, the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) said on Monday. Populist politics, the use of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions to silence critics, a tendency of countries to mimic the anti-democratic behaviour of