The Church, the Digital Sphere, and Europe’s Future

‘This could be fake news. The website InfoVaticana quotes anonymous sources who, they say, were also at the meeting, and who report that the Holy Father did not make “far-right ideology” a focus of the meeting. One hopes they are correct.’

The Telegraph Accuses Orbán of Planning Coup if He Loses April Election

A bizarre opinion piece published by The Telegraph claims that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is preparing for a coup in the event of an electoral defeat, relying on speculative arguments and political assumptions rather than verifiable facts. The article, authored by former opposition MP Zoltán Kész, reflects a broader pattern of narratives seeking to delegitimize Hungary’s democratic process while simultaneously preparing the ground for a possible electoral defeat in April.

Dr Hans-Georg Maaßen: Inside Germany’s Silent Turn Towards a Totalitarian Democracy

‘If current trends continue unchecked, Germany in 2030 will be a country…in which the range of acceptable opinion has narrowed dramatically. The constitutional vocabulary will still be used, but its content will have been hollowed out, rights will be conditional on democratic reliability, and whole social groups will live under a permanent cloud of suspicion.’

A woman rests beside the abandoned library ‘Luminita’ (The Glim), its name written in Cyrillic letters, in the village of Cimișeni, Moldova, 12 November 2023

On the Edge of Europe

‘For the EU, Moldova has become a litmus test for whether enlargement can be redesigned for an era of permanent instability. Successful integration would anchor the eastern flank, signal that the EU can still shape its neighbourhood, and close off a key corridor for Russian influence. Failure would expand the grey zone of uncertainty on Europe’s borders…’

JD Vance Announces Temporary Halt of Medicaid Funds to Minnesota over Fraud

US Vice President JD Vance has been tasked with leading the new ‘War on Fraud’ ininative in the counrty, as President Trump has announced in his State of the Union address. As the first step, Vice President Vance has shared that the federal government will be halting $259.5 millon in Medicaid funds to Minnesota due to concerns over widespread fraud.

Hungary Helps Hailed as Sovereign Alternative to Western Aid Programmes

Bilateral aid models took centre stage at the Danube Institute, where experts argued that direct, community-based assistance outperforms multilateral programmes burdened by bureaucracy. Hungary Helps, an aid programme launched by the Hungarian government in 2017, was presented as a sovereign, efficient alternative to global aid structures.