As economists predict that another global recession is in the wings, have international leaders done their homework in the wake of the last global financial crisis?

In conjunction with the 70th anniversary of Germany's Basic Law, this edition of our Religion Monitor looks at the relationship between religion and political culture. Fundamental democratic principles and values enjoy broad support among members of the various religions. A majority also approve of religious tolerance, which is crucial for peaceful coexistence in a diverse society. However, not all religions are equally included.

What holds diverse societies together? How can we determine the contours of peaceful, open and solidarity-driven coexistence in a context of diversity? This June, 100 young committed people from across Europe will come together to discuss this issue with activists, politicians and experts at our Young Europeans´ Forum (YEF19) in Berlin. We’re organizing the YEF in cooperation with the Aladdin Project and UNESCO.

Europe has voted. Is a new era about to commence or will everything remain the same in Brussels? We spoke with Christian Kastrop, director of our Europe's Future program, about the outcome of the European Parliament elections.

We and the EU Commission issued an invitation to a major event – the EU Citizens' Dialogue in The Hague, which took place about a week before the European Parliament elections. 120 European citizens, chosen at random from five different EU countries, met to discuss one subject in four languages: Europe. Lively cross-border interest in Europe affairs, and the efforts of numerous interpreters, ensured that the event was not a Babylonian confusion of languages, but a genuinely European dialogue.

"Watershed election", "more important than ever before" – many politicians are wielding superlatives to describe this year's Elections to the European Parliament. Turnout for the election may increase overall. However, who stands to benefit from this? What do Europeans actually think about their continent? Where are the areas that require the most work in the EU? Please consult our overview page to find contacts and studies on Europe.

From September 4 - 6, 2019, we will be exploring the future of social cohesion at our international conference “Trying Times - Rethinking Social Cohesion” to be held in Berlin. In preparing for this event, the project team held a pre-conference workshop in Berlin in April with a group of personalities invited to take part in the conference this fall.

More than two-thirds of Ukraine’s voters believe Volodymyr Zelensky can put the country squarely on the path to becoming a modern state – just like Vasyl Holoborodko, the admirable history teacher and recently elected president in Zelensky’s TV series “Servant of the People” did.  

Our analysis of the European elections has revealed that many Europeans take a negative stance. A majority could therefore vote against certain parties in May, rather than voting for a party. At the same time, supporters of the extreme and Eurosceptic margins are more strongly mobilised than the political centre, which still suffers from voter fatigue. This could shape the election results and make it difficult to form positive majorities in the new EU Parliament.

President Emmanuel Macron's call for a "renewal of Europe" made a splash in the media but got a muted reaction from other national leaders. Is his European political offensive in fact a tactical move, aimed to resonate within France as well as beyond its borders?