Public-interest asset management foundations (KEKVAs) were a key pillar of the Fidesz system. According to the State Audit Office, at least HUF 3,000 billion in public assets was transferred to these foundations. The system was designed to survive even a change of government without a two-thirds majority. KEKVAs were embedded...
AfD considers abolishing the Office for the Protection of the Constitution
In November 2023, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution classified the AfD branch in Saxony-Anhalt as a confirmed right-wing extremist organisation. According to the agency, the classification was based on numerous anti-Muslim, racist and antisemitic statements made by party officials and elected representatives. The AfD is challenging the...
Poland demands permanent “European Legion” as Sikorski warns of active Russian hybrid war
Poland’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski stressed in an interview the need for much deeper military integration in Europe, including the creation of a permanent “European Legion” that would operate in complement to, rather than in competition with NATO. Poland’s top diplomat warns that Russia is already...
Russia builds secret drone bases in striking distance of Nato
Russia has built and expanded at least 10 military bases along its borders with Ukraine and Belarus, designed to launch large numbers of new jet-powered drones in an effort to systematically exhaust and break through Ukrainian air defences. Journalists and military analysts identified 59 mechanical launch rails along the Ukrainian...
Burnham urged to take on firms exploiting gig workers
Andy Burnham is being urged to protect 4 million gig economy workers by prosecuting companies that use widespread “bogus” self-employment practices to deny people their rights. As the prime minister fleshes out his agenda, the Fabian Society and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation have warned that millions of workers are missing...
Refugees’ contribution to Poland’s GDP outstripped official aid to Ukraine
Former Polish ambassador to Ukraine (2001–2005) Marek Ziółkowski has challenged official narratives around Warsaw’s support for Kyiv in a report titled “Polish Aid to Ukraine: Bare Facts and a Bitter Diagnosis,” prepared for the Stefan Batory Foundation. Ziółkowski acknowledges that Poland’s assistance after Russia’s full-scale invasion was substantial and unprecedented,...
Lithuania builds anti-tank ditches up to 150 meters wide on Its border with Russia
The Lithuanian government has decided to significantly strengthen security along its eastern borders. The country is establishing a large-scale counter-mobility barrier along its frontiers with Russia and Belarus, scheduled for full completion by the end of 2028. Under the approved project, anti-tank ditches will be dug along the border with...
Nearly half of EU under drought amid extreme heat
Nearly half of the European Union and the UK faced drought conditions in late July 2026, according to a report from the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC). Data from the European Drought Observatory (EDO) show critical and warning-level drought conditions persisted and intensified across western, central and parts of...
Poland faces massive medical data breach
Polish authorities have officially confirmed one of the largest personal data leaks in the country’s history. On 12 August 2026, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Affairs Krzysztof Gawkowski stated that a cyberattack on the systems of the company MyDr compromised the data of nearly 19 million people. MyDr...
UK responds to Putin’s threats
Following threats by Russian dictator Vladimir Putin to respond “in kind” to actions against Russian vessels, the UK has stressed that the detention of Russia’s “shadow fleet” tankers is fully in accordance with international law. “The UK is disrupting and deterring shadow fleet vessels and their harmful maritime activity which...