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Questions tagged [europe]

Questions related to the politics of countries within Europe (i.e. comparing aspects of policy regarding various European countries).

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What did Putin mean by "We have [...] withdrawn almost all large and heavy weapons from the European part of Russia" in a 2008 interview?

From a 2008 press conference: We have eliminated bases in Cam Ranh (Vietnam) and in Cuba. We have withdrawn our troops deployed in eastern Europe, and withdrawn almost all large and heavy weapons ...
Fizz's user avatar
  • 131k
2 votes
2 answers
301 views

Pension reforms. Why is the debate constrained to raising the retirement age or not, with no intermediate solutions?

This question was inspired by the French pension reform, but also in other European countries the situation is not different. The debate seems framed between the two extremes. Increase or not the ...
FluidCode's user avatar
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1 vote
2 answers
307 views

Why have European regions with strong desires for independence not been allowed to have either local parliaments or referendums? [closed]

Is it the fault of the government's progressiveness that regions with strong desires for independence and self-rule, such as Corsica, the Basque region, Catalonia, Bavaria, Moravia, and Sicily, have ...
bandybabboon's user avatar
  • 2,480
28 votes
8 answers
9k views

Why do some European governments still consider price capping despite the fact that price caps lead to shortages?

Context Due to multiple causes such as the Russian invasion of Ukraine, most European countries have faced soaring prices for essential products. In some cases, the governments decided to impose price ...
Alexei's user avatar
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2 votes
2 answers
263 views

What is the actual cost and human load (short and long term cost) of immigration across EU countries?

There is currently (November 2022) increased tension between France and Italy regarding the reception of migrants from Africa who were rescued by the humanitarian boat Ocean Viking. The boat has been ...
WoJ's user avatar
  • 2,244
11 votes
12 answers
3k views

Are there countries in Europe where there's a 10% (or similar, but low) numeric threshold for minority language rights?

The ill-fated 2012 languages law in Ukraine (proposed by the Party of Regions, but eventually found unconstitutional by Ukraine's supreme court) allowed the use of minority languages in courts, ...
Fizz's user avatar
  • 131k
4 votes
5 answers
382 views

Why are European countries interested in the Indo-Pacific?

The Indo-Pacific has become a new conflict zone these days, with China on one side, and other countries like Japan, Australia, and India on the other side. Organizations like AUKUS and the Quad have ...
whoisit's user avatar
  • 3,803
10 votes
5 answers
5k views

Why don't we see much enthusiasm in the case of other royal families in Europe?

There are many constitutional monarchies in Europe. However, I never see the enthusiasm people show for them as they show for the British royal family and their affairs. Why is that?
user366312's user avatar
2 votes
3 answers
2k views

In Europe, what happens when an embassy is doing all they can to start a war with the host country? [closed]

If an embassy decides to be troublesome with the host country, causing social issues, blaming people (such as celebrities), looking to bring people to court, and eventually try to start a war, what ...
Nuno's user avatar
  • 145
21 votes
10 answers
7k views

Why did (most of) the European NATO members support Ukraine's aspirations to joining NATO?

This article argues an alternative (maybe even complementary) view regarding the cause of the Russian invasion of Ukraine: (..) Russia’s security concerns are in fact genuine, and NATO expansion ...
Alexei's user avatar
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4 votes
6 answers
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Why is the left/right spectrum defined so ambiguously? (Europe)

I am currently in Germany so my views are from an European perspective. I never could quite comprehend how the definitions of "left" and "right" are used here. Right seems to be ...
rememberthename_94's user avatar
6 votes
1 answer
306 views

How Europeans identify Roma among the Ukrainian refugees [closed]

There have been several reports of discrimination in Poland, Czechia or Germany against refugees of the Ukrainian war who happened to also be ethnically Romani. I assume that there are no ID documents ...
Quora Feans's user avatar
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6 votes
1 answer
346 views

How can the EU leaders assure their commitment to the climate goals while they keep investing so much money on fossil fuels?

The REPowerEU plan was recently drafted by the EU authorities to address the energy crisis triggered by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Among the other things it plans to add 10 Billion Euro to what ...
FluidCode's user avatar
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-4 votes
1 answer
152 views

Are Estonia, Iceland, Hungary and Greece in a similar economical level? [closed]

I was wondering whether the Estonian or the Icelandic economies, despite being small, are relatively close to the Hungarian and the Greek economies, or whether they are much smaller Therefore, are ...
vengaq's user avatar
  • 101
7 votes
0 answers
109 views

Has any recent academic research been done on the comparative performance of FOIA response speeds by different European governments?

Recently, I took part in a large, international investigative journalistic project on dumps of oily waste water by ships. In that context, I did a FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) request to the ...
Max Muller's user avatar
4 votes
2 answers
913 views

Can taxes diminish Europe's dependency on Russian oil?

Can (higher) excise taxes, as well as taxes on cars with poor fuel economy, diminish the dependency of Russian oil? What are their advantages and disadvantages? PS: some believe that natural gas is ...
user31264's user avatar
  • 1,529
36 votes
9 answers
6k views

What are the benefits for strong economies like Germany and France for being members of the European Union?

Recently I was reading things on the European debt crisis. It seems to me that when there is a financial crisis, strong economies in EU, like Germany and France, are supposed to help the countries in ...
No One's user avatar
  • 4,072
16 votes
8 answers
3k views

Can the current European sanctions against Russia have a significant effect?

Many European countries and the EU itself have imposed economic sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. However, according to this Guardian article citing this study, European nations are ...
terdon's user avatar
  • 985
34 votes
2 answers
6k views

What, if any, groups of pro-Russian separatists are in East-European countries?

Russian separatists in Ukraine have had an important role in "inviting" Russia to invade Ukraine. In order to predict future steps that may be taken by Russia, it may be useful to know: are ...
Erel Segal-Halevi's user avatar
-5 votes
3 answers
379 views

Why is Russia not considered a European Country?

Russia looks very much like mainland Europe, it dresses like mainland Europe, but it is not considered part of Europe. This is not a recent phenomenon. Even since the time of the Tzar's, especially ...
ksinkar's user avatar
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8 votes
1 answer
1k views

Would NATO intervene in case of an attack outside of Europe and North America?

Today during a special session in the Spanish parliament about the Ukraine war, Santiago Abascal (VOX) claimed that NATO wouldn't defend Ceuta or Melilla if they where attacked. Those two are ...
Diego Sánchez's user avatar
7 votes
3 answers
466 views

Was anything comparable to the current ban on Russian civilian aircraft in various Western countries ever imposed during the Cold War?

I'm curious if there is some historical precedent for this or if this a rather new level of friction that didn't even exist during the Cold War: Estonia, Latvia, Slovenia and Romania said on Saturday ...
Fizz's user avatar
  • 131k
9 votes
2 answers
958 views

What's the benefits of US strategic nuclear forces in Europe?

If I understand correctly, the US have long been capable of a retaliatory strike against the USSR / Russia that is powerful enough to nearly completely destroy the target state. (If I'm wrong on that, ...
MkV's user avatar
  • 451
3 votes
2 answers
165 views

What are "original struggles" according to the Belgian Ecolo party?

The name of the Belgian green party "Ecolo" stands for "Confederate Ecologists for the Organisation of Original Struggles" (Écologistes Confédérés pour l'organisation de luttes ...
Probably's user avatar
  • 1,501
7 votes
3 answers
2k views

What are some political subsets of the EU?

Somebody mentioned a Franco-Italian cooperation in the EU. I know that alliances like the Visegrád Group and the Three Seas Initiative are already around. Are there any other political cooperations ...
Mayor of the Plattenbaus's user avatar
9 votes
3 answers
2k views

Why does Germany's traffic light coalition seem more likely than ever before?

Even though the parties of the Germany's grand coalition - CDU/CSU and SPD regained majority support in this year's election, according to the commentators, the traffic light coalition has the ...
Probably's user avatar
  • 1,501
7 votes
6 answers
2k views

Why would the U.S. exclude Europe from the new Indo-Pacific security alliance?

According to the South China Morning Post The new Aukus security alliance formed by the United States, Britain and Australia has left France frustrated at being left out, prompting concerns over the ...
Sayaman's user avatar
  • 22.5k
6 votes
2 answers
327 views

What are some of the biggest differences between Germany's SPD and The Greens?

At glance, the SPD and green party in Germany seem to pursue agendas too similar for me to see the difference. What are some of the most prominent ones?
Probably's user avatar
  • 1,501
-4 votes
1 answer
144 views

Which countries have the same international importance, influence and power as Sweden? [closed]

Sweden is not a superpower at all and it's not a country with a high level of influence (such as Russia or China). However, it has a relatively large GDP for its population and it's known that Sweden ...
vengaq's user avatar
  • 101
10 votes
1 answer
2k views

Did all European countries choose to evacuate their diplomats from Afghanistan?

According to xinhuanet.com: BRUSSELS, Aug. 16 (Xinhua) -- More European countries said on Monday that they were evacuating embassy staff and nationals from Afghanistan following the latest ...
Sayaman's user avatar
  • 22.5k
21 votes
7 answers
11k views

If a King in a traditional European-style monarchy resigns in favor of his son (and is thus still part of the ruling family), what is his title?

The only instance I found in an admittedly quick internet search of a such an event was Edward VIII of England, but he was given the Dukedom of Windsor and became a Duke quickly after, and I couldn't ...
Logrun's user avatar
  • 347
38 votes
11 answers
8k views

Why do some (North Americans) consider Europe socialist?

Recently I see more and more posts on social media (mainly FB) in which people advocate socialism (and sometimes communism) or are anti capitalist. When mentioning examples (after being asked or when ...
A.bakker's user avatar
  • 1,907
4 votes
1 answer
181 views

Have the salaries or benefits of members of the Constitutional Court ever been decreased in an European country?

Background I have watched an interview with an economic analyst arguing that Romania is in a strange situation ("conflict of interest") because the Constitutional Court members are able to ...
Alexei's user avatar
  • 52.1k
33 votes
2 answers
11k views

Why are the Netherlands, Sweden, and Denmark among the countries with the largest wealth gaps in the world?

Wealth Inequality By Country 2021 Here are the 10 countries with the highest wealth inequality: Netherlands (0.902) Russia (0.879) Sweden (0.867) United States(0.852) Brazil (0.849) Thailand (0.846) ...
user366312's user avatar
11 votes
3 answers
3k views

Why is the European Peace Facility considered risky?

Recently, I've read a Guardian article, describing the risks of the European Peace Facility: Despite its name, the European peace facility, worth €5bn over the next seven years, will allow the EU to ...
user2501323's user avatar
  • 11.8k
4 votes
1 answer
122 views

Why do most European countries choose to keep their national patent offices when the EPO itself can serve as a patent office?

Patents having effect in most European states may be obtained either nationally, via national patent offices, or via a centralised patent prosecution process at the European Patent Office (EPO). The ...
Sayaman's user avatar
  • 22.5k
5 votes
3 answers
366 views

How do all the different European Union countries maintain their different laws while being a part of the Schengen zone?

How do two countries that share a border in the EU (which are a part of the Schengen area) maintain their different laws regarding customs regulation and price regulation of various commodities (as ...
Schwarz Kugelblitz's user avatar
20 votes
5 answers
6k views

Why do white supremacists use the term "Anglo Saxon values"?

I heard on the news about a group called "America First" that supposedly wants to protect "Anglo-Saxon values". Other American and European nativists have also used that phrase. ...
New Jerseyan Yooper's user avatar
5 votes
2 answers
364 views

How did Croatia join the EU without settling the border dispute with Slovenia?

There is a curious dispute between Croatia and Slovenia in regards to their land and maritime border. It appears to be ongoing since the breakup of Yugoslavia. Noticeably Slovenia tried blocking ...
M. Y. Zuo's user avatar
  • 1,305
32 votes
5 answers
10k views

Are police in Western European countries right-wing or left-wing?

In America, the police have a reputation for being politically conservative. One rarely sees clashes between conservative demonstrators and police. In Europe, though, there seem to be lots of clashes ...
Betterthan Kwora's user avatar
18 votes
7 answers
7k views

Has any European country recently scrapped a bank/public holiday?

I have tried to find whether any European country has recently (in the past 30 years or so) scrapped a national free day or similar. The closest I could get is the idea of replacing/moving a bank ...
Alexei's user avatar
  • 52.1k
1 vote
2 answers
376 views

To what extent have developed European countries utilized strategies that Australia utilized against Coronavirus?

Compared to Europe, Australia has had a low rate of coronavirus infections and deaths. There are a large number of differences between Australia and Europe, such as population density, the ease of ...
Andrew Grimm's user avatar
  • 13.3k
15 votes
1 answer
704 views

How did the view of Continental Europe on Brexit change between the 2016 Referendum and today?

There are plenty of polls asking the British population what they think about Brexit, but there are hardly any polls regarding Continental Europe's view on it; especially no recent ones. Judging from ...
Robert Tausig's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
230 views

Has any European far-right party managed to enter the legislative body relying almost exclusively on social media promoting?

Romanian has recently held the general elections and a far-right party managed to enter the Parliament. This is not a surprise in itself since the COVID-19 crisis helps rising the popularity of such ...
Alexei's user avatar
  • 52.1k
3 votes
1 answer
132 views

Are all EP plenary vote results publically accessible? Where?

Recently I struggled to find the EP vote results in case of this regulation. Although it's marked as adopted on the EUR-LEX website, none of the related votes I could find on VoteWatch ended up ...
Probably's user avatar
  • 1,501
33 votes
8 answers
9k views

In general, do European right wing parties oppose abortion?

I was wondering about the abortion issue in the US which is a hot topic. Poland just banned abortion and people are protesting against it in the capital. I was wondering about whether or not this ...
Michael Mormon's user avatar
4 votes
0 answers
117 views

Which, if any, EU28 countries have expressed opposition to the creation of a European Security Council?

There has been some talk about setting up a European Security Council to make collective foreign policy decision more swiftly. For example, an article on the German Institute for International and ...
JJJ's user avatar
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3 votes
0 answers
66 views

How has the support for integration within the EU changed during the COVID-19 pandemic?

I'm interested in any surveys studying the popular support for EU and EU integration done in the EU memberstates within the period of the coronavirus. How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected the EU's ...
Probably's user avatar
  • 1,501
2 votes
1 answer
374 views

Does Germany's Union have a significant Eurosceptic faction?

Do the CDU and CSU have a significant Eurosceptic faction (either hard or soft) which is represented at either grassroots or parliamentary level? Or is support for the European project so deeply ...
Statsanalyst's user avatar
  • 1,595
7 votes
5 answers
616 views

What are some representative European political news sources? [closed]

In an effort to become more exposed to perspectives from outside the US, I've sometimes looked for European news sites to read from. I read El Mundo for a while but I think it's a little more slanted ...
Kyle's user avatar
  • 195