As the last vote before the presidential race, France’s municipal elections are following a different pattern to the broader national political scene, with key issues and political alliances varying greatly from one municipality to another. While the Socialist Party (PS) and the Republicans (LR) hope to preserve their deep-rooted local support, the National Rally (RN), La France Insoumise (LFI) and the presidential camp are instead looking to nationalise the vote and to establish themselves as permanent fixtures in the everyday lives of French...
read more "France’s Municipal Elections: A Warm-Up for 2027?"
read more "France’s Municipal Elections: A Warm-Up for 2027?"
This joint publication by the European Network of Political Foundations (ENoP) and the Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung’s Brussels Office, authored by journalist and analyst Francesca De Benedetti, explores the growing erosion of civic space within the European Union. For a long time, the European Union has presented itself as a pluralistic, rights-based, open social and political space which is intrinsically oriented towards the expansion of freedoms: this is what the “European way of life” should mean. The EU has also been labelled as a “regulatory...
read more "Shrinking Civic Space in the European Union"
read more "Shrinking Civic Space in the European Union"
How movements in the streets paved the way for the institutions In 2005, Zapatero regularized the legal status of half a million people. Since then, no government has promoted any similar initiative, until the citizen movement Regularización Ya (Regularization Now) came on the scene. “Regularization was achievable, and it has been achieved. This progress demonstrates something fundamental: regularization was not only necessary, but possible, and it was the sustained pressure of the organized migrant movement that managed to break years ...
read more "The Extraordinary Regularization of Migrants in Spain"
read more "The Extraordinary Regularization of Migrants in Spain"
The idea of “nature” or “biodiversity” credits is gaining traction as a proposed solution to the growing biodiversity crisis. These credits should certify measurable biodiversity gains, such as habitat restoration or species protection, and make them available for purchase by companies, investors or governments. Advocates, including the World Economic Forum and some conservation organisations, describe them as tradable financial instruments that can mobilise private investment at scale. The European Commission has embraced...
read more "Selling Nature: The EU’s Role in Creating Markets For Biodiversity"
read more "Selling Nature: The EU’s Role in Creating Markets For Biodiversity"
Verena Glass, RLS Sao Paulo
Under the slogan “We are the answer”, traditional and indigenous communities are calling for a new focus in climate justice. After four years, the COP has once again been held in a democratic country. I say “democratic” but I’m not sure that’s the word to describe a system that allows more than 120 people to be massacred at the hands of the police, even if what happened in the outskirts of Rio just a few weeks ago already seems to be old news. Then again, in Spain we’re still flaunting our impunity regarding the 2014 Tarajal incident and ...
read more "The Peoples’ COP Called On Us to Change the Script"
read more "The Peoples’ COP Called On Us to Change the Script"
Brazil hosted COP30 this year, and under the leadership of President Lula da Silva it sought to set itself apart from previous COP presidencies and showcase its climate ambitions, even as it continues to back new oil extraction projects within its borders. At the same time, Brazil is one of the key areas of interest for the European Union due to its large reserves of minerals and potential for renewable energy, which are seen as strategic for European industries, including military and clean technologies. This report examines these two core aspects of...
read more "Brazil’s green transition beyond COP30"
read more "Brazil’s green transition beyond COP30"
IMAGO/ZUMA Press Wire
Labour solidarity is at the heart of the Blocchiamo Tutto movement
Although it had been simmering for months, few foresaw the magnitude of what unfolded between 22 September and 4 October 2025, when Italy — long perceived as apathetic, politically demobilized, and fragmented — suddenly came to a standstill. Under the cry “Blocchiamo Tutto”, Let’s Block Everything, a mass mobilization for the people of Gaza spread from the ports of Genoa and Livorno to the schools of Naples and the railway stations of Milan, Rome, and Bologna.
What began on 22 September as a call to ...
read more "The Days Italy Stood Still"
read more "The Days Italy Stood Still"
Reinout Bosch
Substantial wins for the Danish left, and for the hard-right, as the reigning Social Democrats hand over the keys to the capital for the first time in a hundred years. The governing Social Democrats (SD) took a massive beating in Denmark’s municipal elections on November 18, losing 5.2 percent support nation-wide. While still the party with the highest overall vote (23.2 percent), it took losses in many municipalities, and saw its support halved in some key strongholds, losing 18 mayors across the country and failing ...
read more "Danish Social Democrats shaken after heavy losses in municipal elections"
read more "Danish Social Democrats shaken after heavy losses in municipal elections"
IMAGO/TT
The Sámi, spread out over the northern parts of the nation-state territories of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia, are the only indigenous people recognised within the European Union. A young generation of Sámi activists is currently at the forefront of social struggles in northern Europe, rejecting “green colonialism” and demanding political sovereignty. When, in August 2025, the entire church of Giron (Kiruna)[1] was moved by special trucks to a new location five kilometers away, the event was broadcasted live on Swedish television. It marked the peak ...
read more "Resistance and Resilience in Sápmi"
read more "Resistance and Resilience in Sápmi"
IMAGO/NurPhoto
One million people marched across France on 18 September 2025 in response to a joint call from unions and the Bloquons Tout (Block Everything) movement. From the early morning, hundreds of grassroots initiatives joined picket lines following weeks of self-organized general assemblies. This second day of mobilization — coming after the protests on 10 September that drew 500,000 participants — confirmed both the scale and the radical nature of the emerging movement. While the call to action has resonated widely, the question of what comes next ...
read more "From Political Impasse to Popular Alternative?"
read more "From Political Impasse to Popular Alternative?"