How the European Parliament fails to reflect the diversity of the EU
Investigation by Noteworthy finds disabled people are significantly underrepresented, with little practical support given to improve participation.
Retire to the European Parliament? Young MEPs are few and far between
Just three of the 705 current MEPs are under 30, with the European Parliament historically being seen as ‘a retirement place’ - and that's not likely to change soon.
Too many European children are strangers in their native land
One third of the people Spain and Italy naturalised in 2022 were born there to foreign parents. In these countries, as in most of the European Union, such children must apply for citizenship after several years of residence. Other countries, such as Germany, recognise them as citizens at birth if the child’s parents are legal residents.
Tips on how to submit a requests for access to public information in Europe
According to their own transparency laws – which vary from state to state – European countries have a certain time limit within which the authorities must respond to requests for access to information submitted by citizens and civil society organisations. As pointed out by Civio, in practice, compliance with transparency laws is often insufficient
A long and harsh path to citizenship: interview with Elvira Mujčić
Writer, translator from Bosnian to Italian, Elvira Mujčić arrived in Italy when she was 14 years old, escaping the war. Today she is an Italian and Bosnian citizen: a long, almost Kafkaesque journey of dual citizenship that only the support of the community of the country that welcomed her has made more bearable.
Becoming a European citizen is an obstacle race: the paths to naturalization
European Union countries naturalised just 2.64% of their non-national population in 2022. The process is full of obstacles and often takes years.
Women in politics are progressing in the EU, in Hungary they are not
In the last five-year term, both the proportion of women in the European Parliament and in relevant positions in European institutions have improved significantly. In contrast, the Hungarian government hold a negative record for the participation of female ministers: there are none. Hungary is also last in the EU when it comes to the percentage of women in parliament.
Among young Europeans, Hungarians are the most hesitant about whether to vote or not
Young people in all EU countries were asked by a recently published Eurobarometer survey whether they would vote in the upcoming European Parliament elections and what other ways - if in any - they would participate in political and social life. On a European level the results are encouraging, for Hungary, not as much.
Femicides: Belgium is still lagging behind in data collection
Last summer, Belgium adopted a pioneering European law on femicide, which aims to make up for lost time in collecting data on gender-based violence. However, feminist associations fear that it will not be enough to effectively curb the problem.
How is the Green Deal doing, five years later? A compass for Europe’s carbon neutrality
With its goal of carbon neutrality by 2050, the European Green Deal is crucial to the EU's green transition policy. But how should we gauge the progress made in implementing the pact’s various objectives? Economists from the Observatoire Français des Conjonctures Économiques have developed a tool that allows everyone to monitor the real-life progress being made towards the Green Deal’s medium-term targets.
