The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has forced Poland to undo some steps in the demolition of judicial independence. But Poland's judiciary is still under siege. No member state of the EU has ever gone as far in subjugating its courts to executive control. EU member states and all parliamentary groups should support the European Commission and the Court in their ongoing battle to protect the rule of law in Poland.

The EU accession process should offer membership in the Single Market as an interim goal to any of the six Western Balkan nations interested in it.

Nobody has turned to the European Court of Human Rights as often as Russian opposition politician Alexey Navalny – 20 times. It made no difference. Navalny was arrested again in January 2021 in a case that the Strasbourg court had already dismissed as arbitrary in 2017. Strasbourg ordered Navalny’s immediate release, but Russia openly refused to implement the binding ruling. The Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers should make clear: either Russia releases Navalny or will face suspension.

A humane global refugee system is one where more, not fewer, countries offer refugee protection. At this moment such a world seems more elusive than ever. So what is to be done?

Azerbaijan’s “Caviar Diplomacy” of systematic bribing to downplay Azerbaijan’s human rights record has led to investigations and convictions in several EU member states. So far, however, the main culprit has escaped unscathed. It is time that the Committee of Ministers investigate Azerbaijan’s role in the biggest corruption scandal in the history of the Council of Europe.

The two decade old consensus of no border changes in the Balkans keeps being challenged. Serbia's president Aleksandar Vucic, Kosovo's former president Hashim Thaci and some leading US and EU officials have supported border changes in recent years. In a region where most states are multi-ethnic this is dangerous. The EU should take a clear stance against.

The EU-Turkey statement in March 2016 has drastically brought down numbers of people trying to cross the Aegean and thereby also the numbers of people drowning. Then it broke down in March 2020. What is needed now is a revised statement 2.0 that addresses the shortcomings and builds on the successes of the first statement.