HISTORY OF THE PARTY

The Unitary Democratic Coalition (Coligação Democrática Unitária -CDU) PCP-PEV is a political an electoral coalition established between the Portuguese Communist Party (Partido Comunista Português-PCP) and the Ecologist Party „The Greens” (Portuguese: Partido Ecologista „Os Verdes”-PEV). The coalition also includes the political movement Democratic Intervention (Intervenção Democrática-ID). The coalition was formed in 1987. PCP is the major force inside it. Communists have the majority of places in all electoral lists of the CDU. PEV holds some mandates in local assemblies, but, following the 2022 January elections, it lost its parliamentary representation. Today the CDU is represented in the Portuguese parliament only by the Communists. The coalition has been always in opposition. However, it supported the minority Socialist Government (2015–2019) with a confidence and supply agreement.

The PCP was founded in 1921, joining the Comintern in 1923. In effect it is the oldest Portuguese political party with uninterrupted existence. The party was banned after the 1926 military coup but the PCP went underground and continued its activities. It played a major role in the opposition against the dictatorial regime of António de Oliveira Salazar. It enjoyed a huge popularity after the end of dictatorship in 1974. In the elections between 1976 and 1985 the Communists won 15-20% of votes in national and local elections.  The Party is popular particularly in the rural areas of Alentejo and Ribatejo (centre of the country) and industrialized areas such as Lisbon and Setúbal, where it leads several municipalities.

PEV was established in 1982. It was the first ecologist party in the political history of Portugal. The party has had a close relationship with the Portuguese Communist Party (PCP) since its foundation.

HISTORY OF THE PARTY

The Workers’ Party of Belgium(PTB/PVDA) I the only relevant national and unitary Belgian political party, i.e. not divided along linguistic and political lines between Flanders, Wallonia and Brussels. . The PTB/PVDA identifies itself since the beginning as a Marxist, anti-capitalist party. However Today it is the only far left soft Eurosceptic party in Belgium that enjoys a substantial popularity.  The party was founded in 1979 in the context of the Cold War (and especially after the Vietnam War) when some young activists considered the Communist Party of Belgium as being too close to social democracy. From the beginning, the movement was inspired by the revolutionary movements throughout the world and supported them in particular the guerillas of Latin America.  Despite more than forty years of existence, the party only obtained its first elected members in the Belgian federal parliament in 2014. The further rise of popularity allowed it to obtain 12 deputies in 2019. This success can be explained by a sudden change in the party in the mid-2000s. Indeed, without renouncing its Marxist principles, the party tried to reinvent itself in 2008 by proposing less radical positions and making an end to past controversies, such as its relations with revolutionary groups and movements or the Stalinist positions of Ludo Martens, the party’s founder. The reformist evolution of the party was successfully led by Peter Mertens. In 2019, the PTB/PVDA obtained its first seat in the European Parliament.

HISTORY OF THE PARTY

The party was founded in December 2020 as a split from the Forum for Democracy (FvD) following an internal dispute over the party leadership’s response to allegations of racism, antisemitism and homophobia in light of the management of its youth wing. The dispute  involved Joost Eerdmans and Annabel Nanninga, on the one hand, and the party leader Thierry Baude “famous” of his repeated radical statements. Ja21 wants to be more moderate than FvD filling the gap between center-right VVD and radical right PVV. Ja21 put itself as the true right in the Netherlands.  In 2020 Ja21 “gained” eight seats in the First Chamber and three seats in the European Parliament due to the defection of former FvD members. The party participated in the parliamentary elections of March 2021. With almost 2.5%, the Ja21 won three seats in the Second Chamber.

FOUNDER

Joost Eedermans

„Joost” Eerdmans is a Dutch politician, broadcaster and former civil servant who has served as leader of Ja21 since its establishment. He co-founded the party back in late 2020 with Annabel Nanninga. Eerdmans had previously served as a member of the House of Representatives (2002-2006) for the Pim Fortuyn List and as an independent. After 2006 he quit politics for a while but came back as a secretary to Mayor of Rotterdam a few years later. Leading the Ja21 campaign in 2021 general election, after leaving FvD just a few weeks, he was successfully elected to the House of Representatives.

HISTORY OF THE PARTY

Partij voor de Dieren/Party for the Animals/ (PvdD) was founded in October 2002 by Marianne Thieme who headed the party for subsequent 17 years. The PvdD became a single-issue political party.  Its main purpose is the defense of animal rights. The party was established as an expression of disapproval of the animal policies of the various government cabinets. Criticism is also directed at parties more sensitive to this issue, such as the Green Left, which according to the PvdD, do not give enough importance to animal welfare and animal rights. Due to the specificity of the Dutch proportional system, although minor, the party could 'easily’ obtain parliamentary seats. The PvdD presents itself as being neither of the right nor of the left, and suggests that the theme of animals should transcend political divisions. In the 2006 parliamentary elections, the party became the first anti-speciesist party in the world to be represented in a national assembly. It has also managed to enter the European Parliament since 2014. The PvdD has succeeded in expanding their representation in local and national elections, for instance,  from 2 MPs to 6 in the House of Representatives.  However, the party has remained in opposition since its establishment.

HISTORY OF THE PARTY

The party was founded by László Toroczkai and several politicians who left the Jobbik Movement after the 2018 parliamentary elections when Jobbik abandoned its radical right-wing ideology. Mi Hazánk is the continuation of the radical wing of Jobbik. Although, MHM only reached 3% in the 2019 European elections, it was able to further increase their popularity ahead of the 2022 general elections. The party focused on topics that are deemed too extreme for mainstream parties, even for Jobbik and Fidesz. During the electoral campaign, MHM gained to a certain degree a tactical and indirect support of the government for instance, access to public media.  The pandemic and the disinformation that came with it strengthened the party as their members and audiences are prone to believe in conspiracy theories. They opposed COVID-restrictions and mandatory vaccination. With these narratives and their “anti-war” (pro-Russian) stance, they were able to enter the National Assembly in April 2022.

HISTORY OF THE PARTY

BBB was founded in October 2019 by journalist Caroline van der Plas, after huge farmers protests. In October 2020, she was unanimously chosen as the party’s leader. The Farmer–Citizen Movement   won one seat at the 2021 general election. The party is headquartered in Deventer, Overijssel.

FOUNDER

Caroline Van der Plas

She is co-founder of the BoerBurgerBeweging. Currently she serves as the only member of the House of Representatives on behalf of BBB. She is daughter of sport journalist from Deventer. Her mother, of Irish descent was an alderman in Deventer for many years on behalf of the Christian democratic party (CDA). Van der Plas worked for many years as a journalist writing about the meat industry. She occupied post of chief editor of Pig Business and Pluimveeweb. Van der Plas also worked as a communication officer for the Dutch Association of Pig Farmers. She was a member of the CDA, but she left the party after the Provincial Council elections 2019, criticizing the reduced support for the agricultural sector within the party.

HISTORY OF THE PARTY

For Stability! (S!) was founded on 26 February 2021 by former members of the Riga City Council Valērijs Petrovs and Aleksejs Roslikovs who are ethnic Russians. In 2017 they were elected from the list of the Social Democratic Party „Harmony” representing the Russian minority which accounts for around 25% of Latvia’s total population. (However, many Russians in Latvia do not have a Latvian citizenship.)  In Spring and Summer 2021 S! organized huge social protests in Riga against restrictions related to the COVID-19 and mandatory vaccination. The party defines its ideology as centrism but in fact its emergence was tightly correlated with the decrease of support for „Harmony” among many ethnic Russians. They perceived it as too moderate. In 2022 For Stability! was beefed up by the rise of Russian nationalism accompanied by Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. In consequence, in October 2022 the party achieved the best result among parties of Russian minority. (8% vs. 12% combined for three parties).

HISTORY OF THE PARTY

Bulgarian Rise was founded in May 2022 by Stefan Yanev, the former caretaker Prime Minister and Defence Minister.  In order to take part in the 2022 parliamentary snap October elections, it allied with four small parties. They run on one list and Yanev became the only party leader. BV finished in the 7th place gaining 12 seats in the parliament.

HISTORY OF THE PARTY

Danmarksdemokraterne (The Denmark Democrats) is a Danish right-wing political force founded in June 2022 by Inger Støjberg.  Eight members of the Danish parliament joined the party, making it the seventh-largest political group in the Folketing. It increased its political representation in the Folketing to 14 MPs after the 2022 November elections. In consequence, Danmarksdemoraterne became the fifth biggest parliamentary party which achieved better results during the elections than other two Eurosceptic parties that won in total 11 seats.

HISTORY OF THE PARTY

Confederation was established in February 2019 before the European elections as a single electoral list uniting several far-right political parties. Two main members of the Confederation are 1) Coalition for the Renewal of the Republic – Liberty and Hope (KORWiN), known also as Liberty and 2) the National Movement party. The first party was established in 2015 by Janusz Korwin-Mikke, almost 80 years old a veteran of Polish far right movement.  (The party’s Polish name was originally a backronym of the founder’s name.) The National Movement was founded as an association in 2012 and turned into a party in 2014. The National Movement was co-organizer of Independence March, an annual nationalistic manifestation which has been taking place since 2010 on the Polish National Independence Day (11.11). In May 2019 during the European elections, the Confederation did not manage to cross the threshold (5%) and get its representation in the European Parliament. However, in October 2019 during the national elections it won 11 seats in the Polish Parliament (2,5% of all seats). All MPs of the Confederation are men and almost of all of them young.

HISTORY OF THE PARTY

Freedom and Direct Democracy  (SPD) was founded in May 2015 by Tomio Okamura and Radim Fiala who seceded after an internal quarrel from Dawn – National Coalition, which was established in June 2013.  In the 2013 parliamentary elections Dawn obtained 7% of votes. Freedom and Direct Democracy is named after Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy, at that time a main Eurosceptic political group in the European Parliament. SPD gathered popularity by exploiting the refugee crisis of 2015-2016 and playing with a xenophobic card.  In the 2017 national elections, SPD gained the fourth result receiving almost the same number of votes as the third party. Between 2017 and 2021 it remained in the opposition and managed to maintain a relatively high support what was confirmed by its result in the 2021 parliamentary elections.

HISTORY OF THE PARTY

The party was founded in November 2015 by businessman Boris Kollár by renaming and repurposing the existing minor party, Our Land (Náš Kraj) and its merge with Party of Citizens of Slovakia (SOS). Its establishment took place before the 2016 parliamentary elections. Between 2016 and 2020 the party was in opposition. After the 2020 elections Sme Rodina joined the government and its leader became the chairman of Slovak parliament. In the government SR holds three posts (two ministers: Labour, Social Affairs and Family; Transport and Construction and one deputy prime minister responsible for Legislation and Strategic Planning).

HISTORY OF THE PARTY

Domovinski Pokret was established in February 2020 by Miroslav Škoro who stood in the presidential election in December 2019. Miroslav Škoro is a Croatian musician and television host. As a musician, Škoro is best known for using the traditional Croatian instruments in most of his compositions. He collaborated with nationalistic singers.  In the 2007 parliamentary election he was elected member of the parliament for the Croatian Democratic Union but he resigned after one year. In the 2019 presidential election. Škoro won 25% and almost got to the second round.  Domovinski Pokret competed in the 2020 parliamentary election in a coalition with several other minor right-wing to far-right parties but achieved a considerably weaker result than Škoro in the presidential elections. In July 2021, Škoro resigned as party president because of a dispute over party finances. His resignation was followed by disciplinary proceedings. Therefore, he decided to leave the party. In October 2021 Škoro was replaced by Ivan Penava.

HISTORY OF THE PARTY

In 1990, the Association of Poles in Lithuania was formed in order to bring together members of the Polish minority in Lithuania. The objective was to defend the civil rights of the Polish minority by engaging in educational, cultural, and economic activities. According to the 2015 census, around 165.000 individuals compose the Polish minority in Lithuania which compromises around 5,5 % of the population. In 1994, the Association created a political branch under the name Electoral Action of Poles in Lithuania in order to operate on the political scene. Gradually its support increased, especially since the beginning of the 2000s when Valdemar Tomasevski took the leadership of the party. Due to the specific rules of the legislative elections in Lithuania, LLRA- KŠS has always managed to gain representation in the parliament. In 2012 and 2016, the party even won 8 seats, respectively. In parallel, the party has won several times seats at the European Parliament and is a member of the European Conservatives and Reformists. The party participated three times for a short period in government coalitions (2000-2001, 2012-2014, 2019-2020).

HISTORY OF THE PARTY

In 2010 during the Latvian parliamentary elections campaign two far-right parties – ‘For Fatherland and Freedom’ and ‘All for Latvia’ – joined their forces into a political alliance which was transformed into a political party in 2011 under the name “National Alliance”. This party succeeded in becoming an important player in Latvia’s political system. Indeed, since 2011, National Alliance has participated in every government. The party is benefitting from a situation in which different Latvian parties ally against left-wing pro-Russian “Harmony”. National Alliance has also been successful at the European level as they are currently represented by two Members of the European Parliament.

FOUNDER

Raivis Dzintars

Dzintars is the founder of the NA and its leader from the very beginning. In 2006 he established the nationalist party ‘All for Latvia”. Since 2010, he is a deputy at the Latvian Parliament (Saeima) and the Chairman of the National Alliance Group.

HISTORY OF THE PARTY

Vlaams Belang is a rebrand of Vlaams Blok, which dissolved itself after a trial in 2004 when it was condemned for racism. The Vlaams Blok contested the 1978 elections as a coalition created by the nationalist right-wing and conservative faction of the People’s Union (VU), the center-right Flemish party. The coalition transformed itself into a party in 1979. The electoral rise of the party begun at the end of the 1980s after the younger generation of its politicians shifted the party’s key emphasis from Flemish nationalism (separatism) to the immigration issue.  In 1988 in local elections in Antwerp, the biggest town in Flanders, the VB won almost 20% of seats. On 10 May 1989, in response to the Antwerp success, the presidents of all major Belgian parties signed a cordon sanitaire, where the parties agreed to never conclude any political agreements with the Vlaams Blok. The agreement is still in force. However, in 2019 a Belgian King invited a representative of the VB to government negotiations for the first time since 1978.

The party experienced serious internal strife and decline in support between 2004 and 2014.  After assuming leadership of the party in 2014, Tom Van Grieken, its new and young leader sought to moderate the party’s image further which resulted in a resurgence in support. Today, the Vlaams Belang continues the core ideology of its predecessor by campaigning on a separatist and nationalist platform. Nevertheless, the party toned down the most xenophobic elements of Vlaams Blok’s program. The party’s economic policy also has been changed significantly. While the Vlaams Blok called for a mixed economy foreseeing a significant role of the state in economic life, the Vlaams Belang shifted towards neoliberalism. However, for the 2019 federal election, the VB adopted an economic program supporting a social market economy.

HISTORY OF THE PARTY

ELAM was created by Cypriot members of Golden Dawn, a Neo-Nazi Greek party. It was officially registered as a political party in 2011 after it had unsuccessfully attempted to be recognized as “Golden Dawn-Cyprus Branch” in 2008. In the first years of its existence, ELAM was repeatedly accused of promoting racism and being involved in acts of violence. The support for the party has increased since 2014. The party launched targeted charity campaigns in the context of increasing poverty and dissatisfaction with the EU. Donations of food and clothing were based on the Golden Dawn model namely the help went only to ethnic Greeks and migrants were blamed for the country’s socio-economic decline. Moreover, the party has managed in recent years to dissociate itself from the neo-Nazi symbolism and especially the political violence that had become the trademark of Golden Dawn. ELAM has used the COVID-19 pandemic to advance its xenophobic agenda by accusing immigrants of spreading the virus.

HISTORY OF THE PARTY

The party was established in 2019 before the European elections by André Ventura, a former politician of the center-right Social Democratic Party. In October 2019 Ventura was elected as the only MP of the party to the Portuguese parliament.  The party established cooperation with the Zero Mouvement (an import of the American Blue Lives Matter) launched by policemen contesting the security policy of the government. In November 2019, the Mouvement organized a demonstration in front of the parliament, in collaboration with police trade unionists.  Ventura was the only political leader invited to speak in front of the demonstrators and was enthusiastically welcomed by demonstrators. In 2020 Chega won 5% of votes in the regional elections of Azores and contributed to the change of regional government by providing the center-right coalition with external conditional support in the regional assembly. The presidential elections of 2021 represented a breakthrough for the party because its leader came third gaining more than 10% of votes.

FOUNDER

André Ventura

Ventura is a jurist, writer, professor, and former sports pundit.  He was a member of the national leadership of the Socialist Democratic Party, a main center-right political force. In the 2017 municipal elections, the party presented Ventura as a candidate for mayor of Loures, Portugal’s sixth-largest municipality. During his campaign, he attacked the Gypsy community and defended the death penalty and a radical strengthening of police powers. Despite strong social opposition to his xenophobic and authoritarian discourse, the PSD supported him in the electoral campaign. Ventura won third place and was elected municipal councilor. He was elected to the Assembly of the Republic as the only representative of Chega in October 2019. He came third in the 2021 presidential election, with 12% of the vote

HISTORY OF THE PARTY

The National Rally, originally named National Front, was founded in 1972 and managed to unify a large fringe of nationalist movements in France.  Jean-Marie Le Pen became the first President of the National Front, after serving in the French Military Forces (Indochina, Algeria campaigns). He maintained that position up to 2011. He was nicknamed « the Devil of the Republic » by his opponents but was considered as « the last Samuraï in politics » among his supporters. Primarily an anti-immigration party, it gained votes by asserting anti-European Union, anti-Schengen area, and anti-Eurozone positions. It remained a marginal movement for about a decade but has succeeded in becoming an important force of French nationalism since the mid-1980s. The National Front entered the European Parliament as early as 1979 and has regularly gained seats becoming even the first political movement in France at the European elections of 2014, repeating this success in 2019. The first major electoral success of the National Front occurred in the South of France in the 1995 municipal elections. In 2002, Jean-Marie Le Pen, its founder came second in the first round of the Presidential election, but he stepped far behind Jacques Chirac in the second round with less than 18% of the votes. After that, Jean Marie Le Pen’s daughter Marine Le Pen took over the leadership of the party, trying to de-demonize with some success. As the party gets less radical it increased its support becoming mid-2010s the most popular political party in France.

HISTORY OF THE PARTY

The Northern League was founded in 1991 by Umberto Bossi, its Federal Secretary up to 2012, as a federation of six regional parties of Northern and North-Central Italy. The party primarily focused on the secession of Northern Italy, exploiting the economic and cultural differences between the North and the rest of the country, particularly the South, and rejecting the unitarian system. Hence the motto: ‘Roma Ladrona’ (Thieving Rome in English). The Northern League affirmed itself for the first time at the political election in 1994, after the corruption scandals ‘Clean Hands’ that invested the Italian political scene and brought to the collapse of the ‘First Republic’ and the transition towards the ‘Second Republic’. However, definitely, it was with Matteo Salvini replacing Bossi as the Federal Secretary in 2013, that the Northern League gained popularity – in the 2018 elections, the share of the popular vote rose from 4% to 18 % – placing itself as the first party. Salvini first changed the name of the party from ‘The Northern League’ to ‘The League’ (Lega) and reoriented the party’s manifesto from a regional perspective to a nationalist, sovereigntist, and anti-EU movement benefitting at the same time from the migration and refugee crisis (2014-2015) which affected greatly Italy.  In that period Lega strengthened cooperation with the Brothers of Italy, a more moderate far-right party, and Forza Italia, Berlusconi’s right political force. The three parties have won several regional elections in recent years and today they rule in 14 out of 20 Italian regions.  However, on the national level, after the election of 2018, Lega established the government together with the Five Star Movement, a center populist party. Lega’s popularity skyrocketed approaching 40% in summer 2019. In consequence, Lega, hoping of snap elections, tried in vain to topple down the government by launching a no-confidence vote. However, The Five Star Movement created a new government with the center-left and Lega’s popularity dramatically decreased. In February 2021 Mario Draghi’s cabinet, a technocratic government replaced the center-left coalition. Lega joined a new government that gained the support of a very wide coalition in the parliament.

HISTORY OF THE PARTY

Founded in 1918 following the Communist October Revolution that took place in Russia in 1917, the Socialist Labour Party of Greece (the party renamed itself Communist Party of Greece in 1924) is the oldest party that operates on the Greek political scene. Since its establishment, the party has been based on the fundamental principle of Marxism-Leninism, according to which modern societies are characterized by inequalities and class struggle. The KKE was banned in 1936 during the dictatorship of Ioannis Metaxas and was restored just after the fall of the Greek military junta in 1974. Over this period – even if illegitimate – the party played a great role to support the Resistance during the Second World War and was a main force during the Greek civil war. From 1974 onwards, the Communist Party of Greece participated in all the national, regional, and European elections, swinging from 6 to 10%. After the 2019 political elections, the Communist Party affirms itself as the fourth party in the Hellenic Parliament.

HISTORY OF THE PARTY

The Greek Solution (EL) was established in June 2016 by Kyriakos Velopoulos. Since its establishment, Greek Solution has held a very severe position against migration, both regarding the current situation that Greece is facing but also the future. It puts also an emphasis on the opposition to the presence of the Muslim community in Greece and the advocacy to strengthen the position of the Orthodox Church. The 2019 political elections – the first national elections for the party – were an important turning point for the Greek solution. The party overtook Golden Dawn – the Greek Neo-Nazi party which has eventually been dissolved in 2019 – in the Hellenic parliament, affirming itself as the most important far-right political force in the country.

FOUNDER

Kyriakos Velopoulos

Born in 1965 in West Germany from Greek farmers who emigrated to Germany, Kyriakos Velopoulos has been the founder and the leader of Greek Solution from the very beginning. Kyriakos Velopoulos consecrated his study in journalism, becoming suddenly a popular telemarketing salesman in the country. Although Greek Solution is a recently formed party, the political career of Kyriakos Velopoulo is long-standing. Until 1988, Kyriakos Velopoulos was a member of the ONNED, the youth organization of New Democracy (ND). More recently, Kyriakos Velopoulos was also a candidate of the Popular Orthodox Rally, right ultra-nationalist party in the 2004 Greek parliamentary elections. With Greek Solution, Velopoulos has been elected as MP in the 2019 general elections.

HISTORY OF THE PARTY

Fidesz, which forms an alliance with the Christian Democratic People’s Party (KDNP) is the largest political formation and the senior ruling party of Hungary. The party was created in 1988 as an underground civic activist movement against the then-communist rule in the country. The Hungarian pronunciation of the abbreviation Fidesz is also identical to the Latin word fides, meaning faith, honesty, trust. During Hungary’s first parliamentary elections in 1990, though it received only 6%, the party became a vocal and popular parliamentary formation. At its 1993 party congress, they changed their political position from liberal to « civic-centrist » which led to an ideological split in the membership. After disappointing election results in 1994, the party moved to become more conservative. For the first time, Fidesz formed a government between 1998 and 2002 and then went into opposition in the next 8 years, having grown to become the most popular party as support for its ideological enemy, the Hungarian Socialist Party, virtually disappeared. The fragmented predicament of the opposition, the control of media, capture of state institutions, and the electoral law based on gerrymandering and first-past-the-post system allowed the party to score three consecutive two-thirds victories (seats) in 2010, 2014, and 2018, simultaneously with scoring decisive wins in local elections. Fidesz gradually became a semi-authoritarian nationalistic party that subdued all national media. Hungary under Fidesz also experienced an unprecedented rise of corruption and the development of crony capitalism and oligarchy. Today the country is recognized as the most corrupted EU member state by Transparency International. In effect, according to the Freedom House, an American NGO that conducts research and advocacy on democracy, political freedom, and human rights, Hungary became a partly free country, the only EU member state relegated to that category.  The party gradually met with a rising criticism of the EU institutions, member states, and political parties. In 2018 the European Parliament triggered the EU’s so-called Article 7 procedure, a disciplinary process that can result in an EU country losing its voting rights. In consequence, in March 2019 Fidesz’s membership in the European People’s Party was suspended and the party left the EPP in March 2021.

FOUNDER

László Kövér

He is one of the founders of Fidesz. Prior to joining Fidesz, he had been a member of Hungary’s communist ruling party but defied his membership as communism in the Eastern bloc was coming to an end. He has been serving as Speaker since 2010 and briefly jumped in as the Interim President of Hungary in 2012 due to the resignation of former President Pál Schmitt.

HISTORY OF THE PARTY

After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, ideological disagreements arose within the Luxembourg Communist Party (KPL). Consequently, in 1993, dissenting members of the Communist Party decided to create The New Left, to move politically away from the KPL. The party was established by André Hoffmann. He was a student in Paris during the 1968 riots. He then joined the Luxembourg Communist Party, notably to campaign against the Vietnam war. The New Left will become The Left in January 1999, aiming to gather activists and voters from a wider left section of the electorate. The Left participated for the first time in parliamentary elections in 1999, resulting in gaining its first representative to the Luxembourg Parliament. Gradually since then, the party increased moderately its electoral base. Nevertheless, its representation in the Luxemburg Parliament remained limited (two seats of 60 MPs).  The party is headed by a collective leadership (national coordination).

FOUNDER

Marc Baum

Marc Baum was born in 1978. He is part of The Left founding activists and was a member of the Esch-sur-Alzette City council from 2008 to 2014. Between 2016 and 2017, Marc Baum represented The Left within the Luxembourg Parliament in replacement of one of the MPs. In  2017, he decided to return to Esch-Sur-Alzette City Council as an alderman.

HISTORY OF THE PARTY

During the technocratic government of Mario Monti – established in 2011 in order to recover from the severe economic crisis that Italy was going through – the right-wing parties suffered from a political crisis as well. In consequence, in 2012 Ignazio La Russa, Guido Crosetto, and Giorgia Meloni established a new party called “Brothers of Italy – National Centre-Right” (FdI-CN), which was renamed “Brothers of Italy” in 2014. This sovereigntist party claimed from its very beginning the traditional values of the family, Catholicism, and held strong opposition to immigration and rather a sceptical approach to the EU. It established close cooperation- particularly on the regional level – with Lega and Forza Italia. At the 2018 political election, the Brothers obtained 23 seats in the Chamber and 18 in the Senate. Gradually their parliamentary representation increased and they have 37 members in the Chamber and 21 in the Senate.   After the elections of 2018, the party remained in opposition even towards Mario Draghi’s government which was created in February 2021.

FOUNDER

Guido Crossetto

Crosetto is the founder of Brothers of Italy together with Ignazio La Russa and Giorgia Meloni. He was the party’s first leader (2012-2013). Born 1963 in Piedmont Region, during the 2008 government of Silvio Berlusconi was appointed as undersecretary at the Ministry of Defence. At the 2013 political elections, Crosetto was a candidate for the Senate for Brothers of Italy but he was not elected since the party did not exceed the minimum barrier of 3%. Although Crosetto is not an elected representative to this day, he can be definitely considered as a top politician within the Brothers of Italy since he is the main coordinator of the party.

HISTORY OF THE PARTY

The Alternative for Democratic Reform Party (ADR) was created in 1987 to campaign for equal pension regimes for private-sector employees and civil servants. One of the most important events in the history of the party was the adoption, by the Luxembourg government, of a law equalizing pension regimes between the private sector and public sector workers, in August 1998, achieving the very objective ADR was created to pursue. Since the general election of 1989, its electoral results ranged between 5 and 10%, representing 4 to 6 seats in the Luxembourg Parliament (out of 60 seats in total). Finally, it was the only party in Luxembourg that campaigned against the European Constitutional Treaty during the 2005 referendum in the country. Close to 57% of voters supported the ratification of this Treaty. Due to these relatively good results, ADR became the main populist opposition party in the country and has developed a comprehensive program: soft Euroscepticism, economic libertarianism, direct democracy, and Luxembourg identity.

HISTORY OF THE PARTY

The Left Party was created under the name Swedish Social Democratic Left Party in a split from the Swedish Social Democratic Party in 1917 and adopted its current name in 1990. The Left Party is a left-wing socialist and feminist party with an environmental perspective. It attempted to get Sweden to join the Non-Aligned Movement in 1980, but it did not succeed. V has never been part of the government at the national level, though it has supported the left governments in the Swedish parliament: 1932-1952, 1958-1976, 1982-1991, 1994-2006, and 2014-2018. After the election of 2018, the Left party provides the minority government with passive and selective support.

HISTORY OF THE PARTY

The Sweden Democrats were formed in 1988 with a nationalist opposition to immigration as the main purpose. A negative view on globalization and the opposition to Swedish EU membership was added early on. In 1995 the party began an ideological reform, removing links to the white power movement and neo-Nazism. In 2005, the current party leader Jimmie Åkesson was elected party leader and a new generation of people came to power. In the 2014 European Parliament elections, the Sweden Democrats received almost 10 percent of the vote, which gave the party a seat in the European Parliament for the first time. In the parliamentary election the same year, the party received 13 percent of votes, thus the SD became the third-largest political force and was entitled to the post of second deputy speaker of the parliament. In the 2018 Swedish general election, the party received increased support, when it polled 17 percent and again ended up the third.

HISTORY OF THE PARTY

The United List- Red-Green Alliance was formed in 1989 by the Left Socialists (VS), the Danish Communist Party (DKP), and the Socialist Workers’ Party (SAP). The Red-Green Alliance first entered the parliament in 1994 and has since developed into an independent party.  In the 2011 parliamentary election, the party tripled its representation from 4 seats to 12 seats in the parliament composed of almost 180 MPs. In the 2015 general election, the party increased its representation even further from 12 seats to 14 seats. In 2019 parliamentary elections partly overlapped with the election to the European Parliament and the Alliance received a very similar result. The Alliance has never joined any government, but it extended its parliamentary support to the governments between 1998 and 2001 and again between 2011 and 2015. Following the parliamentary elections in 2019, the party now serves as a support to the social democratic government. Prior to 2016, the Alliance never directly contested elections to the European Parliament.

HISTORY OF THE PARTY

The party was founded in 2015 by two former members of the Conservative People’s Party, Pernille Vermund and Peter Seier Christensen. The party entered the parliament after the elections of 2019, gaining four seats from almost 180. It attracted mostly voters and politicians of the Danish People’s Party and Conservatives. Since 2019, Nye Borgerlige has managed to gain considerable support from predominantly middle-aged, male, middle-class voters.

FOUNDER

Pernille Vermund 

She has graduated from the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts and worked as an architect before entering politics. Vermund was a member of the Conservative People’s Party and sat on the municipal council in Helsingør Municipality for the party from 2009 to 2011. Vermund stated that she founded the Nye Borgerlige, as she felt her old party had become too soft on the issues of immigration and the European Union. Vermund was elected to the Folketing in 2019.

HISTORY OF THE PARTY

The Finns Party was established following the dissolution of the Finnish Rural Party in 1995. Since then, the party has managed to grow from a marginal party to a serious contender of the mainstream parties. The Finns Party first gained representation in the European Parliament in 2009, when it gained almost 10% of votes. The turning point for the party’s success was the national election of 2011, where they became the largest opposition party with a vote share of almost 20 percent.  After the election of 2015, it became the party that joined the center-right cabinet. This coalition collapsed when the head of the Finns’ extreme anti-immigration faction, Jussi Halla-aho, was elected the party leader in 2017. The party split and Halla-aho’s faction regrouped in opposition. The party capitalized on the neoliberal shifts in Finland with anti-establishment and anti-immigration programs, making them the second-largest party in the 2019 national elections. The party achieved almost the same result as in 2015. In June 2021, Jussi Halla-aho announced that he will retire from the position of party leader in August 2021.

HISTORY OF THE PARTY

The Conservative People’s Party of Estonia (EKRE) was formed in March 2012 through the merging of two political forces with similar programs – the Estonian People’s Union and the Estonian National Movement. The party also established its youth wing Blue Awakening. The young activists have been behind many of the party’s protest marches. In addition to politics, the youth of Blue Awakening focus on art, music, and right-wing philosophy. The movement is disciplined, and its activists have formed several squads. Blue Awakening also organizes firearms training. Their activities include rituals shaped after Finno-Ugric shamanism, including celebrations of sunrise on ancient tumuli (a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves). Blue Awakening is the main organizer of the annual torchlight march through Tallinn on 24 February, Independence Day of Estonia. In the period after the 2015 parliamentary election, EKRE’s popularity surged significantly and in the 2019 Estonian parliamentary election, the party gained a third place and increased its number of seats from 7 to 19. In 2019 was EKRE was included in the coalition government. EKRE held 5 out of 15 ministerial positions.  At the beginning of 2021, Jüri Ratas, the Prime minister resigned, and the new government was formed but without EKRE.

HISTORY OF THE PARTY

The Danish People’s Party (DF) was founded in 1995. The DF’s first annual meeting was in June 1996, on which occasion Pia Kjærsgaard was unanimously elected chairman of the party. Pia Kjærsgaard was chairman until September 2012, when MP Kristian Thulesen Dahl was elected the chairman. With the small exception of 2011, the party has gained more votes with every election since its establishment in 1995 until 2019. The DF gave its support to the Liberal-Conservative government that ruled from 2001 until 2011. While not part of the cabinet, DF cooperated so closely with the governing coalition on most issues to the point that the government was commonly referred to as the „VKO-government” (O being DF’s election symbol). DF received government support for key political stances in return (immigration policy). In the national elections of 2015 DF won more than 20 percent of votes and became the second-largest party in the country. It provided parliamentary support to cabinets from 2016 to 2019, again without participating in it. Moreover, Pia Merete Kjærsgaard served as Speaker of the Danish Parliament from 2015 to 2019.  In the election of 2019 however, the support dropped substantially to less than 9 percent. The party, that led in several regions of the country in 2015, was no longer the biggest party in any of the constituencies.

HISTORY OF THE PARTY

The Alternative for Germany was founded as a soft Eurosceptic formation in 2013. The foundation of the party was a response to Germany’s allegedly “federalist” policies during the Eurozone crisis and it was endorsed by several economists, journalists, experts, scholars, and businesspeople who claimed that the economic mismanagement in Southern European states will harm the European bloc and that the eurozone failed as a currency area.  Developing its economic nationalism, AfD rapidly built its position on the German political scene, however, it did not enter the country’s federal legislation in 2013, securing slightly less than the required 5% of votes. Resulting from the 2014-2015 migration and refugee crisis, AfD underwent an increasingly nationalist transformation and became known for Germany’s anti-migration and Islamophobic party. Simultaneously as the party positioned itself as a xenophobic formation, AfD became increasingly open to working with other right-wing formations such as the extremist anti-Islam Pegida movement and even Neo-Nazi groups. While economic nationalism is still present in the party’s agenda, policies promoting German ethnic nationalism gained predominance in the AfD’s program. During the 2017 federal elections, AfD received almost 13% of votes and became the first radical right-wing party that entered parliament since the fall of the Berlin Wall. The party enjoys proportionally higher support among people of Eastern background (Ossis from former DDR, immigrants from the former Soviet Union, etc.). In March 2021, The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), had placed the entire AfD under surveillance. However, a court blocked it to assure equal opportunities among political parties in a key election year.

FOUNDER

Jörg Meuthen

He is one of AfD’s co-founders and one of the current co-chairs of the party. He was born in Essen (Western Germany). Meuthen became an MEP in 2017 and he served as Vice-president of Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy (EFDD), a Eurosceptic and populist political group in the European Parliament. He was the party’s Spitzenkandidat for the 2019 European parliamentary elections, and he is now an MEP and a member of the EP’s Economic and Social Committee. Meuthen is one of two Vice-presidents of Identity and Democracy, a far-right political group. He is known for defying a de facto pro-Nazi platform within his own party, arguing that extremists should leave AfD.

HISTORY OF THE PARTY

The Freedom Party of Austria is the country’s largest right-wing nationalist party that was founded in 1956. Originally, the party was established as a national liberal and pan-Germanist formation. The link of the party to former Nazis was undeniable. The first two party leaders were former SS officers. According to Anton Pelinka, an Austrian prominent historian, the party was formed by former Nazis for former Nazis. In 1986, the party underwent an ideological turn towards the far-right and Austrian-oriented nationalism after Jörg Haider became its chairman. The turn resulted in a gradual growth of its support, with FPÖ having become Austria’s second-largest political party ahead of Austria’s traditional center-right Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP), in the mid-1990s. Maintaining its position after ÖVP, the party received the second-largest share of votes in 1999 that was followed by an ÖVP-FPÖ coalition. However, the governing years (1999-2006) saw an enormous level of loss in popular support under Haider’s leadership that even resulted in a party split over internal disputes and Haider, as well as other leadership figures leaving the party. The party gradually regained its popularity under its new leader, Heinz-Christian Strache, and again became a governing formation with the ÖVP after the 2017 parliamentary elections. The coalition agreement, however, was terminated after the so-called Ibiza affair (a corruption scandal involving Strache) in 2019 that eventually led to a new election and a new government – this time without FPÖ.

HISTORY OF THE PARTY

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FOUNDER

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Pellentesque cursus, leo ac facilisis efficitur, lacus nisl varius quam, nec ullamcorper ligula mauris in ipsum. Nullam mattis commodo elit tincidunt mollis. Phasellus a ante et tortor finibus pharetra. Ut lacinia fermentum sodales. Etiam posuere metus urna, id posuere erat maximus vitae. Donec ligula nisl, tristique in nunc non, vehicula tempus nibh. Integer eu enim cursus, sodales diam convallis, accumsan nulla. Nunc vel consectetur erat.

HISTORY OF THE PARTY

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Pellentesque cursus, leo ac facilisis efficitur, lacus nisl varius quam, nec ullamcorper ligula mauris in ipsum. Nullam mattis commodo elit tincidunt mollis. Phasellus a ante et tortor finibus pharetra. Ut lacinia fermentum sodales. Etiam posuere metus urna, id posuere erat maximus vitae. Donec ligula nisl, tristique in nunc non, vehicula tempus nibh. Integer eu enim cursus, sodales diam convallis, accumsan nulla. Nunc vel consectetur erat.

FOUNDER

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Pellentesque cursus, leo ac facilisis efficitur, lacus nisl varius quam, nec ullamcorper ligula mauris in ipsum. Nullam mattis commodo elit tincidunt mollis. Phasellus a ante et tortor finibus pharetra. Ut lacinia fermentum sodales. Etiam posuere metus urna, id posuere erat maximus vitae. Donec ligula nisl, tristique in nunc non, vehicula tempus nibh. Integer eu enim cursus, sodales diam convallis, accumsan nulla. Nunc vel consectetur erat.

HISTORY OF THE PARTY

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Pellentesque cursus, leo ac facilisis efficitur, lacus nisl varius quam, nec ullamcorper ligula mauris in ipsum. Nullam mattis commodo elit tincidunt mollis. Phasellus a ante et tortor finibus pharetra. Ut lacinia fermentum sodales. Etiam posuere metus urna, id posuere erat maximus vitae. Donec ligula nisl, tristique in nunc non, vehicula tempus nibh. Integer eu enim cursus, sodales diam convallis, accumsan nulla. Nunc vel consectetur erat.

FOUNDER

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Pellentesque cursus, leo ac facilisis efficitur, lacus nisl varius quam, nec ullamcorper ligula mauris in ipsum. Nullam mattis commodo elit tincidunt mollis. Phasellus a ante et tortor finibus pharetra. Ut lacinia fermentum sodales. Etiam posuere metus urna, id posuere erat maximus vitae. Donec ligula nisl, tristique in nunc non, vehicula tempus nibh. Integer eu enim cursus, sodales diam convallis, accumsan nulla. Nunc vel consectetur erat.

HISTORY OF THE PARTY

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Pellentesque cursus, leo ac facilisis efficitur, lacus nisl varius quam, nec ullamcorper ligula mauris in ipsum. Nullam mattis commodo elit tincidunt mollis. Phasellus a ante et tortor finibus pharetra. Ut lacinia fermentum sodales. Etiam posuere metus urna, id posuere erat maximus vitae. Donec ligula nisl, tristique in nunc non, vehicula tempus nibh. Integer eu enim cursus, sodales diam convallis, accumsan nulla. Nunc vel consectetur erat.

FOUNDER

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Pellentesque cursus, leo ac facilisis efficitur, lacus nisl varius quam, nec ullamcorper ligula mauris in ipsum. Nullam mattis commodo elit tincidunt mollis. Phasellus a ante et tortor finibus pharetra. Ut lacinia fermentum sodales. Etiam posuere metus urna, id posuere erat maximus vitae. Donec ligula nisl, tristique in nunc non, vehicula tempus nibh. Integer eu enim cursus, sodales diam convallis, accumsan nulla. Nunc vel consectetur erat.

HISTORY OF THE PARTY

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Pellentesque cursus, leo ac facilisis efficitur, lacus nisl varius quam, nec ullamcorper ligula mauris in ipsum. Nullam mattis commodo elit tincidunt mollis. Phasellus a ante et tortor finibus pharetra. Ut lacinia fermentum sodales. Etiam posuere metus urna, id posuere erat maximus vitae. Donec ligula nisl, tristique in nunc non, vehicula tempus nibh. Integer eu enim cursus, sodales diam convallis, accumsan nulla. Nunc vel consectetur erat.

FOUNDER

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Pellentesque cursus, leo ac facilisis efficitur, lacus nisl varius quam, nec ullamcorper ligula mauris in ipsum. Nullam mattis commodo elit tincidunt mollis. Phasellus a ante et tortor finibus pharetra. Ut lacinia fermentum sodales. Etiam posuere metus urna, id posuere erat maximus vitae. Donec ligula nisl, tristique in nunc non, vehicula tempus nibh. Integer eu enim cursus, sodales diam convallis, accumsan nulla. Nunc vel consectetur erat.

HISTORY OF THE PARTY

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Pellentesque cursus, leo ac facilisis efficitur, lacus nisl varius quam, nec ullamcorper ligula mauris in ipsum. Nullam mattis commodo elit tincidunt mollis. Phasellus a ante et tortor finibus pharetra. Ut lacinia fermentum sodales. Etiam posuere metus urna, id posuere erat maximus vitae. Donec ligula nisl, tristique in nunc non, vehicula tempus nibh. Integer eu enim cursus, sodales diam convallis, accumsan nulla. Nunc vel consectetur erat.

FOUNDER

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Pellentesque cursus, leo ac facilisis efficitur, lacus nisl varius quam, nec ullamcorper ligula mauris in ipsum. Nullam mattis commodo elit tincidunt mollis. Phasellus a ante et tortor finibus pharetra. Ut lacinia fermentum sodales. Etiam posuere metus urna, id posuere erat maximus vitae. Donec ligula nisl, tristique in nunc non, vehicula tempus nibh. Integer eu enim cursus, sodales diam convallis, accumsan nulla. Nunc vel consectetur erat.

HISTORY OF THE PARTY

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Pellentesque cursus, leo ac facilisis efficitur, lacus nisl varius quam, nec ullamcorper ligula mauris in ipsum. Nullam mattis commodo elit tincidunt mollis. Phasellus a ante et tortor finibus pharetra. Ut lacinia fermentum sodales. Etiam posuere metus urna, id posuere erat maximus vitae. Donec ligula nisl, tristique in nunc non, vehicula tempus nibh. Integer eu enim cursus, sodales diam convallis, accumsan nulla. Nunc vel consectetur erat.

Aenean nisi sem, tempor sed consectetur in, pellentesque a massa. Donec faucibus, dui at mollis tincidunt, arcu nibh eleifend ante, nec placerat felis mi sed magna. Pellentesque pharetra facilisis blandit. Etiam gravida dapibus magna, sit amet aliquet arcu ultricies non. Curabitur aliquam enim ex, at elementum dolor gravida et. In tristique nulla tortor, nec porta elit cursus ut. Fusce at tincidunt erat. Phasellus non lacus eros. Pellentesque vel metus leo. Nullam dictum quam velit. In pharetra congue nibh tincidunt fringilla. Sed vel purus viverra, posuere urna vel, molestie ante. Sed facilisis auctor risus in posuere. Nullam condimentum enim neque, nec accumsan eros feugiat nec. In congue tellus ac ligula molestie fringilla. Nunc vitae libero vel nisl suscipit sodales vitae at orci. Pha

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Aenean nisi sem, tempor sed consectetur in, pellentesque a massa. Donec faucibus, dui at mollis tincidunt, arcu nibh eleifend ante, nec placerat felis mi sed magna. Pellentesque pharetra facilisis blandit. Etiam gravida dapibus magna, sit amet aliquet arcu ultricies non. Curabitur aliquam enim ex, at elementum dolor gravida et. In tristique nulla tortor, nec porta elit cursus ut. Fusce at tincidunt erat. Phasellus non lacus eros. Pellentesque vel metus leo. Nullam dictum quam velit. In pharetra congue nibh tincidunt fringilla. Sed vel purus viverra, posuere urna vel, molestie ante. Sed facilisis auctor risus in posuere. Nullam condimentum enim neque, nec accumsan eros feugiat nec. In congue tellus ac ligula molestie fringilla. Nunc vitae libero vel nisl suscipit sodales vitae at orci. Pha

HISTORY OF THE PARTY

The Law and Justice (PiS) was founded in 2001 by the Kaczyński twins, Lech and Jarosław, as a centre-right and Christian democratic party. The party was created on a wave of popularity gained by Lech Kaczyński while heading the Polish Ministry of Justice (June 2000 to July 2001) in the government lead by the Solidarity Electoral Action (AWS). It was created from a part of the AWS, with the Centre Agreement (PC) forming the new party’s core. PC was party established by the Kaczyński twins in 1990 and briefly was briefly part of coalition governments (1991-1992). PiS won the 2005 parliamentary election, while Lech Kaczyński won the presidency. The Law and Justice formed a coalition with two Eurosceptic parties. Jarosław served as Prime Minister, but because of failed attempts to subdue coalition partners, he called snap elections in 2007, in which the party came second to Civic Platform (PO) and went to opposition. In these elections, PiS lost most of its moderate electorate but attracted voters from its former coalition members and gradually turned into a more nationalistic and populistic political force. Several leading politicians of the party, including sitting president Lech Kaczyński, died in a plane crash in 2010 in Smoleńsk. This tragedy became the main point of reference for the party which believes that it wasn’t an accident but a Russian terrorist attack. The tragedy accelerated the radicalization of PIS. In 2014 PiS established the United Right (ZP) a political alliance (one electoral list and one political group in the parliament) with two small parties. Andrzej Duda, their candidate, won the presidential elections in 2015, while ZP gained the same year an outright majority in the national elections—something no Polish political force had done since 1989.  PiS launched “reforms” concerning especially judiciary which were recognized by various EU institutions as the dismantling of rule of law. In the 2019 parliamentary election ZP received the highest vote share by any political force since Poland returned to democracy in 1989, but lost its majority in the Senate. Moreover, in 2020 Andrzej Duda won re-election but in his second term he has undertaken considerably more independent course in regard to his party. Finally, in 2021 the Law and Justice expelled one of small coalition partners from the parliamentary club and its majority in the parliament is very tiny. In fact, the government depends on an external support of several independent MPs.

SOCIETY

Austria’s population approaches 9 million and has increased by almost one million since the beginning of the 21^st century.  The percentage of foreign-born people is around 20% of the total population. The immigrants originate mainly from Germany, Romania, Turkey, and the Western Balkans. Religion, though losing importance, still has a certain influence on social life in Austria. Around 70% of the population is Christian (mainly Roman Catholic) and 8% belong to the Muslim community. The attitude of Austrian society towards the EU is rather ambivalent. On the one hand, the majority of Austrians do not trust the EU and around 40% believe that the country could better face the future outside of the EU. This group was even bigger before the pandemic. On the other hand, 70% of Austrians support the Eurozone.

ECONOMY

Austria is one of the richest EU member states (5th position regarding the GDP PPP per capita) with quite solid growth performance between 2010 and 2019 and a level of innovativeness only slightly lower than Germany’s. The Austrian economy was hit by the pandemic losing almost 7% of its GDP but projections for the coming years are relatively optimistic. The public debt exceeds 85% of GDP and unemployment which does not surpass 7% remains slightly below the Eurozone’s average.

SOCIETY

Belgium’s population exceeds 11,5 million and has increased by more than one million since the beginning of the 21^st century. People of foreign background and their descendants are estimated to constitute one-third of the total population of the country. The country is populated by a Flemish majority (almost 60% of the citizens) speaking Dutch and a French-speaking minority (Walloons and French-speakers in Brussels) which comprises close to 40% of inhabitants. The largest group of immigrants (people born with non-Belgian citizenship) in Belgium are Moroccans (almost 15%), Italians (more than 10%), and French (close to 10%). Christians (mostly Roman Catholics) constitute around 60% of the Belgian population. Muslims make the second religious community (7%). The religious practice is very limited.  The great majority of Belgians (around 85%) do not subscribe to the opinion that Belgium could better face the future outside of the EU. In fact, their number increased substantially during the pandemic. In the same period, the level of trust in the EU among the Belgians also improved considerably. In the most recent Eurobarometer (Spiring 2021), more than 55% of Belgians trusted the EU and less than 45% did not. Belgians distinguish themselves by a very high level of support for the Eurozone (90%).

ECONOMY

Belgium is one of the richest member states of the EU which the European Commission recognizes together with Scandinavian countries as an innovation leaders. The global economic crisis (2008-2009) did not hit severely Belgium. The pace of GDP growth between 2010 and 2019 was higher than the average in the Western European countries of the Eurozone. The general government gross debt (around 100% of GDP) in the same period did not increase significantly. However, the pandemic contributed to a substantial rise of the public debt to around 115% of GDP and according to projections, it will continue to grow in the coming years.  On the other hand, unemployment has remained on a relatively low level in recent years (around 6%).

SOCIETY

Bulgaria is a relatively small country in the EU with less than 7 million inhabitants. Like many other CEE countries, Bulgaria is severely impacted by emigration and is losing rapidly its population. It has lost almost 2 million people since the end of communism and this trend has accelerated since the 2000s. Bulgarians constitute around 85% of the total population Turks (almost 10%) and Roma (almost 5% according to estimations) are the largest national minorities. Immigration is very limited. When it comes to religion, the great majority of the population identifies themselves as Christian Orthodox. This branch of Christianity constitutes an important element of Bulgarian ethnic identity, but the level of religious practice is low.  The Muslim community in Bulgaria possesses the biggest share in the population of any EU member state (close to 15%).  Bulgaria joined the EU only in 2007 and does not use the EU currency as of today and did not join the Schengen zone. When it comes to the Eurozone, Bulgarians are split over the issue as only 40% are in favor of the single European currency and almost the same group is against it. On the other hand, almost 55% tend to trust the EU and 30% do not and the same number of them believe that Bulgaria could face a better future outside of the EU.

ECONOMY

Bulgaria’s economy did not suffer too much from the financial and economic crisis as in 2009, it economy experienced only a 3% recession. However, the country already suffered severely from an economic crisis in the 1990s. After that, Bulgaria developed for some years with a solid pace of growth, linked with the perspectives of EU integration. In the 2010s, the Bulgarian economy first experienced some stagnation before its growth stabilized around 3% for several years – which was still below the average of CEE economies. With a 4% of GDP decline, Bulgaria evidently suffered from the Covid-19 crisis but far less than most of the other member states. Forecasts from the European Commission let hope for a return to normality in the next two years with a predicted 3,5% in 2021 and 5% in 2022. When it comes to public debt, the country managed to reduce its debt to 20% before the Covid-19 crisis thanks to very intense efforts as its public debt was reaching 100% at the end of the 1990s. Regarding unemployment, the situation of Bulgaria is also convenient as the unemployment rate is stabilized at 5%.

SOCIETY

Croatia’s population slightly exceeds 4 million. Croatia lost due to emigration and low fertility rates almost 10% percent of the population since the end of the last century. Serbs comprising almost 5% of the population, constitute the largest national minority. Around 15% of the population is foreign-born. Ethnic Croats from Bosnia and Herzegovina constitute the majority of them. Croatia attracted also a substantial number of immigrants from former Yugoslavia (Bosniaks, Albanians, others). Moreover, 15% of ethnic Croats in the Balkans live outside of Croatia, mostly in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Ethnic Croats belong mainly to the Roman Catholic Church. Despite a decreasing church attendance. Religion still plays an important role with only a small minority (5-10%) declaring themselves as atheists and irreligious. Croats are moderately pro-European with a huge mildly Eurosceptic minority. Around 45% of Croats tend not to trust the EU and do not support the Eurozone and a slightly smaller number believe that Croatia could better face the future outside of the EU.

ECONOMY

Croatia’s GDP PPP per capita is the lowest in the EU after Bulgaria. Its economy is based indirectly and directly to a large degree on tourism and characterizes itself by a moderate level of innovativeness. This situation should be explained by a deep economic crisis (2009-2014) that hit severely Croatia and the pandemic which provoked a huge contraction (almost 10% of GDP). The public debt has more than doubled since 2008 and now it exceeds 85% of GDP. Unemployment is relatively high (around 8%).

SOCIETY

The part of the island under the effective control of the Republic of Cyprus is inhabited by almost 900 000 people. The population has increased dramatically by almost 200 000- mainly due to immigration- since 2000.  More than 20% of the population is composed of non-citizens (Greeks from Greece, Britons, Romanians, Bulgarians, and others). Greeks make almost 100% of citizens of the part of the island controlled by the Republic. 90% of citizens of the Republic of Cyprus living in government-controlled areas belong to the Orthodox Christian community. Religion still plays an important role in the social life of the Cypriot community. The attitude of Greek Cypriots to the EU is rather ambivalent. On the one hand, close to 80% of them support the Eurozone, while almost 55% reject the idea that the country could face better outside of the EU. However, slightly above 40% of them subscribe to that opinion. On the other, the trust in the EU in the Republic of Cyprus is on one of the lowest levels in the Union. Less than 40% of Greek Cypriots tend to trust the EU.

ECONOMY

Cyprus is a high-income advanced economy. The country’s economic life has been dominated in recent times by the 2012–2013 financial crisis, part of the wider European debt crisis. Between 2011 and 2014 the country experienced stagnation and recession. After 2014 the economy of Cyprus recovered spectacularly but also experienced a dramatic increase in public debt which rose almost three times between 2008 and 2020 (from almost 45% to around 120%). The unemployment rate skyrocketed during the financial crisis reaching more than 15% in 2014 (4 times higher than in 2008) but gradually fell to 7% but increased again to 10%  due to the pandemic crisis.

SOCIETY

Czechia’s population has increased mostly due to immigration by around 5% since the beginning of the 21st century. The great majority of the 10.7 million citizens of the Czech Republic are linguistically Czech (around 95%). Moravians an ethnic community living in Moravia, one of the historical regions, compromise around 5% of the population and make the largest ethnic minority in Czechia. Around 5% of inhabitants of Czechia have an immigrant background. Almost half of them are citizens of Ukraine and Slovakia. In the case of Slovak nationals, many belong to the Roma community. The people of Romani origin in total constitute close to 3% of inhabitants of Czechia and suffer from a particularly strong anti-Gypsyism on the side of Czech society, one of the highest in Europe. Czechs have distinguished themselves in the EU by a widespread soft Euroscepticism. However, the attitude towards the EU improved substantially during the pandemic. According to the Eurobarometer, in 2021, the percentage of people believing that Czechia could better face the future outside of the EU, decreased from above 40% to 25%, while the number of persons rejecting this idea rose from almost 50% to three-fourths. However, despite the rise of trust in the EU, still more than half of Czechs tend not to trust the EU. Finally, the great majority of Czechs remain skeptical towards the accession of Czechia to the Eurozone.

ECONOMY

Czechia is the richest country (GDP per head measured in power purchase parity) among EU member states that joined the Union during the most recent enlargements (after 2004). Today Czechia’s GDP PPP per capita approaches Italy and will surpass it in the coming years. In the medium term, Czechia’s GDP PPP per capita will also overcome the EU’s average. Czechia witnessed impressive economic growth in recent years (2014-2019). According to projections, after the pandemic year of 2020, the Czech economy will come back on the path of growth because it is based on solid macroeconomic foundations. The public debt remains on one of the lowest levels in the EU (less than 45% of GDP) while unemployment is the smallest in the EU (3%).

SOCIETY

Denmark has 5.8 million inhabitants (2020) and unlike many countries in Europe is experiencing since the 2000s a smooth rise (more than 500.000 inhabitants in 20 years). Among those, the greatest majority are Danes (around 85%) while the immigrant-background population represents approx. 15% of the total population. The most important diasporas being Turkish, Polish, and Syrian. In Denmark, religion is still an important societal feature as 75% of the population is registered within the Lutheran Church while less than ¼ of the population considers itself as “non-religious”. Nevertheless, the level of religious practice is very low. Regarding the European Union, its population is not particularly Eurosceptic. According to the most recent Eurobarometer survey (2021), the great majority of Danes (almost 80%) do not believe that Denmark could better face the future outside the EU and trusts the EU (more than 60%).   On the other hand, Denmark does not have the euro currency. In 2000, a referendum was made and led to the non-adoption of the euro (53% voted no). As of today, opinions remain largely against the adoption of the euro (only around 30% in favor).

ECONOMY

Denmark is a very innovative and modern economy and one of the richest countries in the EU.

Between 2008 and 2019, the Danish economy has experienced annual growth of GDP of around 2% on average. Denmark’s general government gross debt in 2020 did not exceed 45% of its GDP and the unemployment rate was on the level of 5%.

SOCIETY

Estonia has 1.3 million inhabitants, the country has lost more than 15% of its total population since its independence. Among those, almost 70% are Estonians while almost 25% are Russians. Other ethnic groups including Ukrainians, Belarussians, or Finns are much smaller. Around 15% of Estonia’s population does not have Estonian citizenship. In Estonia, religion is less and less popular as in the last census around 55% declared themselves as non-religious and more than 15% did not respond to the question regarding their religious affiliation. Lutheranism and Orthodox Christianity are the two most important religions.  Regarding the trust in the European Union, it is on a high level, approaching today 65%.  Moreover, almost 80% of Estonians do not subscribe to the opinion that Estonia could better face the future outside the EU and an enormous majority of the population supports the euro currency (almost 90% in 2021).

ECONOMY

Estonia is one of the richest countries among states that joined the EU after 2004. It distinguishes itself by the most innovative economy among them. Since the 2008’s economic global crisis, the Estonian economy has experienced convenient growth (3-4%), but which remains much more limited than in the 2000s (6-8%). The projections of growth in upcoming years look positive. Estonia’s public debt was very low before the Covid-19 pandemic (less than 10%). It will increase to around 25% in 2021. Unemployment in Estonia raised because of the pandemic from 4% to 7% but according to projections, it is going to decrease in coming years.

SOCIETY

Finland has 5.5 million inhabitants and unlike many countries in Europe is experiencing since the 2000s a smooth rise (+350.000 inhabitants in 20 years). Among those, the greatest majority are Finns (above 85%). Other ethnic groups including Swedes (5% – official ethnic minority) or Russians are much smaller. In parallel, immigration has been rising in the past 20 years, and as of today immigrant-background population represents more or less 7% of the total population (mostly from Russia, Estonia, and Sweden). In Finland, religion is still an important societal feature as more than 70% of the population is Christian (mainly Lutheran Church), though the level of religious practice is low. Regarding the trust in European Union, the Finns are deeply divided into two almost the same groups. However, the great majority of Finns (around 75%) do not agree with the statement that Finland could better face the future outside the EU. The relation towards the euro currency has not been easy for Finns.  In the mid-2010s support was falling and a debate about a potential referendum was ongoing. Nevertheless, today the support seems very convincing around 75% (2021).

ECONOMY

Finland is one of the richest EU member states with a particularly innovative economy.   Nevertheless, since the 2008’s global economic crisis, the Finnish economy has experienced difficult times. Economic growth was only convincing in 2016 and 2017 (2-3%). Today general gross government debt approaches 70% of GDP and increased considerably from 30% in 2008.    Unemployment in Finland is at a relatively low level (8%).

SOCIETY

France is the second-most populous country in the EU after Germany with a little bit less than 70 million of inhabitants (2021). Since the 2000s France’s population is slightly increasing on a continuous basis (+ 300.000 inhabitants on average per year). This increase is due to one of the most important fertility rates in Europe. In France, the proportion of the population with an immigration background is one of the biggest in Europe. Migration comes predominantly from North Africa and West Sub-Saharan Africa which can be explained in general by historical links. Secularism (laïcité) has greatly influenced the societal developments of the French Republic. Religion is no more an important societal feature in terms of numbers as only around 40% declare themselves as Christians which is the most important religious group in France. However, religion came back in the first plan of political debates when it comes to Islam (which is the religion that Is practiced- with various intensity- by more than 5% of the population and there Is a smaller group of Muslim cultural background) these past years. In effect, France hosts the largest Muslim community in Western Europe.   When it comes to the EU, the French population has a rather lukewarm approach to the EU as only around 40% of the population tend to trust the European Union according to the 2021 Eurobarometer, which is the second-lowest score after Greece. A small note of optimism is that the French population seems to have gained a bit of confidence in the EU during the COVID19 pandemic (+ almost 10 points in favor). At the same time, the confidence towards the euro currency is relatively high as 70% of the population supports it. Moreover, only the minority of French people endorse the idea that France could better face the future outside of the EU.

ECONOMY

Like other countries of the EU, France has been greatly affected by the financial and economic crisis that affected Europe after 2008. In fact, the French economy has experienced an important stagnation as GDP growth per year has never peaked at more than 2,2% since 2007. At the same time, French has been importantly disturbed by the sanitary crisis as the country experiences a serious recession in 2020. However, expectations are rather good for the upcoming years. When it comes to public debt, the situation of France is rather alarming as it already reached almost 100% of GDP before the crisis and approaches now 120% (2021). The unemployment rate which is high in France for many decades as the country is facing structural unemployment (close to 10%).

SOCIETY

Germany’s population is 83 million and has increased very modestly since the beginning of the 21st century. More than one-fourth of Germans have at least one parent born abroad. The largest communities with an immigrant background in Germany are people from Turkey, Poland, Russia, and Kazakhstan, including many German repatriates. In recent years the number of people from the Middle East (Syria, Iraq) and Afghanistan increased considerably. Religion plays a rather limited role in the social life of the country, maintaining a bigger influence in the southern and western parts of the country. Nowadays around two-thirds of the German population identify as Christians, about half of them being Roman Catholics and almost half belongs to the Lutheran Church. Muslims constitute today around 7% of the population. Germans belong to the most Euro-enthusiastic nations in the EU. The great majority of Germans (more than 80%) support the Eurozone. More than three-fourths of Germans do not agree with the idea that Germany could better face the future outside of the EU.  However, the level of trust in the EU in Germany is almost the same as the EU’s average, namely a substantial minority (almost 45%) tend not to trust the Union.

ECONOMY

Germany is the largest economy of the EU and one of the biggest exporters in the world which according to the EC, distinguishes itself by strong innovativeness and a high national income. After the global crisis (2008-2009) Germany experienced several years of solid growth but the economy slowed down decisively in 2018-2019. The recession in 2020 (almost 5%) caused by the pandemic was not severe and projections suggest that the economy will rapidly resurge in a short-term perspective. General government gross debt oscillates around 70% of GDP. Unemployment remains on a very low level (4%).

SOCIETY

Greece has a population of slightly over 10,6 million people. Since 2010 its population has been however in decline. It has lost since then almost 500 thousand inhabitants.  This decline of the population has been especially caused by the difficult economic crisis that Greece experienced in the past decade. It provoked a huge migration from the country. The great majority of the citizens of Greece are ethnically Greek (around 95%) while the Muslim community living mostly in Thrace comprising around 1% of the population represents the only officially recognized minority. Immigrants constitute more than 12% of the Greek population. They are mostly Albanians and people from the Black Sea region. Religion is still an important societal feature as almost 95% of the population declare themselves as Christians, mainly Orthodox. Regarding the trust in the EU, it decreased dramatically after 2009 because Greece has experienced a disastrous financial and economic crisis. It is slowly recovering but remains well below the EU’s average as Greeks are the most distrustful population in the EU towards the Union, according to the Eurobarometer, with slightly more than 35% having trust in the EU. From 2020 to 2021, though, support for the EU gained 5 points. On the other hand, the support for the Euro currency Is very high, exceeding 80% and two-thirds of Greeks don’t accept the idea that the country could better face the future outside of the EU.

ECONOMY

Greece has one of the lowest GDPs PPP per capita in the EU (25^th place). Its economy characterizes itself by moderate innovativeness. Because of the global economic crisis (2008-2009), Greece experienced a very serious economic depression (2008-2016). In that period the economy contracted every year average by almost 3,5%.  The GDP started to recover modestly in 2017 but in 2020, Greece, whose economy is largely built around tourism, was greatly impacted by the sanitary crisis and experienced a huge decline (8%). However, projections are relatively optimistic for the years to come. Nevertheless, Greece is still suffering from important structural problems especially regarding public debt which is now peaking at 210% of GDP. At the same time, unemployment is the highest in the EU (15%).  On the other hand, it Is worth reminding that in the early 2010s, unemployment was at more than 25%.

SOCIETY

The population of Hungary has been decreasing year by year since the beginning of the 1980s. In the 21st century, it has fallen from 10,2 million to 9,7 million. Around 2,2 million ethnic Hungarians live in the neighboring countries (especially in Romania, Slovakia, Serbia, and Ukraine). Most of them possess Hungarian citizenship. Hungary distinguishes itself in the EU by a high level of ethnic homogeneity. In the most recent micro-census conducted in 2016, almost 95% of citizens declared only the Hungarian national identity. According to the official data, the Romani people constitute the largest minority (more than 3% of the population). However, experts estimate that the number of people with a Romani background is at least two times bigger. According to Eurostat, almost 10% of inhabitants of Hungary have an immigrant background, however, most of them are ethnic Hungarians from neighbouring countries. The Hungarians are a multi-confessional nation belonging particularly to the Roman Catholic Church and to a lesser degree to the Calvinist community. The other denominations are decisively less numerous.  Nevertheless, the role of religion in social life is declining (e.g., a low level of church attendance). Moreover, in the last census conducted in 2011, a huge minority of citizens (45%) did not wish to state her/his religious affiliation or did not identify with any religion.  Hungarians are a strongly pro-European society. Almost 60% of Hungarians tend to trust the EU. Two-thirds reject the idea that Hungary could better face the future outside of the EU and finally almost 65% support the accession of Hungary to the Eurozone.

ECONOMY

Hungary is one of the poorest countries of the EU which after the fall of communism experienced a considerably slower pace of growth than other Central European countries. The years 2007-2012 were periods of stagnation and recession. However, the economy recovered after 2012 achieving an impressive pace of growth until 2020.  The public debt increased from 60% of GDP to 80% during the crisis period but it fell to 65% in 2019. Nevertheless, because of the pandemic, it rose again and today stands at 80%. Unemployment also soared during the crisis, but it declined after 2012 to a very low level (around 4%).

SOCIETY

The Republic of Ireland can be called a rather small member state of the EU as it is inhabited by 5 million inhabitants. Ireland is continuously gaining citizens since the 1960s. At that time, its population was only 2.8 million. Such evolution can be explained by the great attractivity of the Irish economy while the country was also benefitting from a higher birth rate than most of the European countries (around 2 per woman during the 2000s). Due to the economic boom, Ireland has welcomed a large number of foreigners in the last decades. As of now, Irish people make a little bit more than 80% of the total population while Poland and the United Kingdom are the most important origins of foreign citizens living in Ireland with respectively above 120.000 and 100.000 individuals (data from 2016). More generally, people from Central and Eastern Europe are making the largest proportion of foreigners in the country. Regarding religion, Catholicism is still very much a societal character that influences society as almost 90% of citizens from the Republic of Ireland identify themselves as Catholics but the church attendance has decreased dramatically in the 21st century. The Church to a large degree lost its political power. When it comes to the EU, the Irish are very Europhile as more than 90% support the EU currency, while almost 75% tend to trust the EU and only 10% assume that their country could face a better future outside of the EU.

ECONOMY

Ireland has been severely affected by the 2008 economic and financial crisis as the national economy experiences a -5% recession both in 2008 and 2009. Then, the economy recovered strongly and even reached a spectacular pace of growth in 2015 (25%) as well as +8-9% in 2017 and 2018, respectively. These incredible high percentages are explainable by the fact that in recent years, Ireland attracted numerous business companies due to its low corporation tax rates which stored intellectual property in Ireland. Despite Covid-19 Ireland experienced 3% growth in 2020. as the only EU member state. In 2021 and 2022, growth is expected to increase with 7 and 5% GDP growth forecast by the European Commission. When it comes to public debt, Ireland can be considered a success story as it managed to decrease it drastically after the global crisis from 120% to less than 60% in 2019 and the small increase experienced during the pandemic is not an issue. Regarding unemployment, the rate in Ireland remains manageable but has witnessed an increase and is now relatively high 7,5%).

SOCIETY

Being the third most populous country in the EU, Italy has almost 60 million inhabitants (2021). After a rise in the early 2000s, the Italian population has experienced stagnation and has slowly decreased since 2014. Since then, Italy has lost around a million inhabitants. Around 90% of the population is considered Italian while almost 10 % of inhabitants have an immigrant background, more than 50% of them come from Eastern Europe (Romania, Albania, Ukraine). Most of the other immigrants are from Morocco and China. The immigrant-background population tends to live, in great majority (85%) in Northern and Central regions (which are richer). In Italy, religion is still an important societal feature as more than 80% declare themselves as Christians while only 12% claim to have no religion.  The level of religious practice is one of the highest in Western Europe. When it comes to the attitude to the EU, Italians have expressed a great lack of confidence in the EU. Indeed, in the recent times of economic stagnation as well as COVID-19 crisis and the perceived lack of solidarity from EU neighbors and institutions has produced consequences on the support of the EU. However, in 2021 trust has rebounded (more than 15 points) thanks to the EU recovery package announcements for which Italy will be the most important beneficiary. However, the Italian population remains in majority distrustful towards the EU as only less than 45% of it tends to trust the European Union according to the 2021 Eurobarometer. Despite the certain improvement of confidence, a substantial minority of Italians (one-third) believes that Italy could better face the future outside of the EU.  On the other hand, above 70% of the population remain in favor of the Euro currency.

ECONOMY

The GDP per capita is still lower than in 2000 and, although the volume of the growth rate of the real GDP had a peak in 2016 and 2017, the growth rate in 2018 and 2019 was respectively about 0.8% and 0.3%. Italy, as one of the most affected countries during the first wave of Covid-19, has economically suffered in 2020 with a recession of almost 10%. However, economic prospects are relatively good both for 2021 (4,5%) and 2022 (3,6%). In parallel, the Italian public debt is very high and remains a topic of concern within the EU. It is now reaching 160% of GDP. The unemployment rate rose during the pandemic and it remain high (almost 10%), particularly in the case of young people.

SOCIETY

Latvia is considered a small country in the EU as it Is home to now more than 1,9 million inhabitants. The demographic situation in Latvia is particularly problematic, as the country has been losing constantly population since the breakup of the USSR and the restoration of its independence. As a reminder, in 1990, the population of Latvia was 2,6 million. Within this population, only slightly more than 60 of the population is ethnically Latvian.  Russians with almost 25% of the total population make the second-largest community but a huge part of them do not possess Latvian citizenship. When it comes to religion, Latvia remains a highly religious country as around 80% of the population identifies itself as Christians, shared between Lutherans (35%), Catholics (25%), and Orthodox (20%), but the number of people attending religious services is very low.  When it comes to the EU, the population is generally Europhile as almost 90% support the recently introduced Euro currency and more than 60% tend to trust the EU and less than 25% subscribe to the opinion that Latvia could face the future better outside of the EU.

ECONOMY

Latvia was one of the EU member-states the most severely impacted by the economic and financial crisis of 2008-2009 as its GDP growth declined for two years with a dramatically huge slump in 2009 (almost -15%).  From 2010, the Baltic state experienced again a stable economic growth in the 2010s. Unfortunately, the Covid-19 sanitary crisis changed this positive tendency as the national economy plunged by more than 3,5% in 2020. Latvia has positive perspectives in 2021 (3%) and 2022 (5,5%). When it comes to public debt, Latvia has proved to be able to keep it at a very low level at around 35% even if the 2008 economic crisis has produced a sharp temporary increase.  Regarding unemployment, Latvia has experienced a very positive evolution since the 2008 crisis and managed to decrease to a 6% unemployment rate in 2019. However, the situation deteriorated due to the pandemic and this rate is now around 8%.

SOCIETY

Lithuania is a small country in the EU as its population is only 2.8 million inhabitants. Like other Baltic states, the demographic situation in Lithuania is particularly problematic as the population is in great decline since the restoration of independence in 1991. At that time population was 3.7 million.  One-third of the population migrated to the EU countries and the UK. Within the population, most of the citizens are Lithuanians (around 85%).  Several important national minorities live in Lithuania, the most important being the Polish one with 200.000 citizens (6,5%) followed by the Russian minority (175.000 individuals – 5,5%). In terms of foreign citizens, the most important community is Ukraine with around 15.000 individuals only. In the past year, the Belarussian community grew to some extent as many opponents decided to flee to Lithuania to escape political retaliation from Lukashenka’s regime. When it comes to religion, Lithuania remains one of the most religious countries in Europe as almost 95% of the population sees itself as Christians – 75% of them being Roman Catholics. When it comes to the EU, Lithuanians are Europhiles as 85% are in favor of the Euro currency and 70% tend to trust the EU. Nevertheless, the number of Lithuanians believing that their country could face the future better outside of the EU increased in recent times, and currently, it exceeds 25%.

ECONOMY

Lithuania has been severely but shortly impacted by the 2008 economic and financial crisis. In fact, from 2000 to 2019 Lithuania experienced only one year of economic recession. It was in 2009 with a striking -14%. Since that year, the national economy recovered successfully thanks to its capacity for innovation and resilience. From 2011 to 2019, economic growth has been always above 2% and generally around 4%. It makes the Lithuanian economy one of the most dynamic in the whole EU. Thanks to these qualities, the tendency remains during the Covid-19 crisis as Lithuania only experienced a -0,9% decline in 2020. Perspectives are rather positive as the European Commission expects a 4% and 4,5% growth in the next two years. When it comes to public debt, Lithuania has proved to be able to keep it at a very low level at around 35% even if the 2008 economic crisis has produced a sharp increase. Regarding unemployment, the situation in Lithuania is stable but the Covid sanitary situation has deteriorated this indicator as now the rate of unemployment has reached 7,5%.

SOCIETY

Luxembourg is one of the smallest countries in Europe with only around 600.000 inhabitants. However, the country is experiencing a very important increase in its population as it gained around 200.000 inhabitants since 2000 (1/3 of its population). A very simple explanation is that Luxembourg as a very rich country is attracting EU citizens, namely Portuguese (100.000), French (40.000), or Italians (20.000). In total, Luxembourgish people represent only a little bit more than 50% of the total population of the country. It is worth noting that the country has three official languages: Luxembourgish, French, and German. In Luxembourg, religion remains a relatively important societal feature as still about 75% of the population describes itself as a Christian (mainly Roman Catholics). When it comes to the European Union, the population from Luxembourg is Europhile as 55% tend to trust the EU and 90% (one of the most important score) trust the euro currency and 75% reject the idea that Luxemburg could better face the future outside of the EU.

ECONOMY

Luxembourg is the richest country in the EU in terms of GDP per capita thanks to its economy being largely composed of banking and other financial activities. For this reason, the Luxembourgish economy greatly suffered from the 2008-2009 economic crisis but was able to recover quite well in the successive years with economic growth of around 4,0% for example between 2013 and 2016. In 2020, the COVID-19 made limited damage to the national economy (less than -1,5%) and has great prospects for the coming two years (around +4,0%). In parallel, the Luxembourgish general gross government debt stays manageable under 30% and the unemployment is maintained at the level of around 5%.

SOCIETY

Malta is the smallest state in the EU when it comes to the population as it is home to only 500.000 inhabitants. However, its population is on a constant rise since the 1970s when the country had only 300.000 citizens. Within its current population, the vast majority of citizens are native Maltese (more than 80%) while most foreigners originate from Europe and have been established in the country for many decades (especially people from the United Kingdom and Italy). The most important non-European community is made of Libyans (less than 5.000 individuals). In terms of religion, Catholicism is highly predominant as 90% of the population identify with this religion. When it comes to the EU, the population of Malta is greatly Euro-enthusiastic as around 65% of the Maltese people tend to trust the EU while more than 75% support the EU currency. Finally, a tiny minority assumes that their country could face better the future outside of the EU.

ECONOMY

Unlike many other Southern economies, the Maltese economy has been moderately impacted by the economic and financial crisis which affected Europe in the 2000s. The country only knew negative growth in 2009 (-1%). In the 2010s, the Maltese economy experienced convenient growth, always at least +5% each year. However, the country suffered heavily from the Covid-19 sanitary crisis as the economy went down to 7% in 2020. Perspectives for 2021 and 2022 are very promising as the European Commission is expecting rapid growth at respectively more than 4,5% and above 6%, respectively. When it comes to public debt, Malta achieved an important success by slashing it to less than 45% of GDP after several years when it was at around 70%. Unfortunately, due to Covid-19, public debt in Malta increased to a higher level at 55% but remains manageable. Regarding, unemployment, Malta achieved to keep it low even during the sanitary crisis as it is reaching now around 4%.

SOCIETY

Poland with 38 million inhabitants is the fifth most populous country in the EU. Its population has decreased very slightly since the beginning of the 21^st century. Poland is ethnically and religiously a very homogenous country. In the most recent census, around 97% of citizens identified themselves as ethnic Poles and around 90% declared themselves as religious belonging mostly to the Roman Catholic Church which possesses still a huge influence in the social and political life of the country. Immigration to Poland has only picked up recently and the number of immigrants accounts for around 3% of the entire population. Most migration is temporary and originates from Ukraine. Poles reject massively the exit from the EU but their attitude towards the EU has become much less unequivocally positive. According to the most recent standard Eurobarometer (Spring 2021), almost 40% of Poles do not trust the EU and believe that Poland could better face the future outside of the EU. A slightly smaller group is for the Eurozone, though the most recent flash Eurobarometer (Sumer 2021) suggests a considerable increase of support for the introduction of the euro among Poles. However, this trend must be confirmed by subsequent opinion polls.

ECONOMY

Poland has experienced a spectacular and uninterrupted period of growth between 1992 and 2020. The pandemic crisis did not hit severely Poland. Its economy contracted only by less than 3%. Moreover, according to various projections, it will witness a robust recovery in the coming years. General government gross debt is low, slightly exceeding 55% of GDP and unemployment remains one of the lowest in the EU (4%). . However, Poland remains a rather poor country among member states of the EU (20^th place regarding GDP PPP per capita).

SOCIETY

Portugal is a mid-sized country inhabited by 10,3 million inhabitants. Since 2010 though the population is in a slight decline as the country has lost almost 300.000 inhabitants. In 2020, around 650.000 individuals were considered foreigners, representing more than 5% of the total population. Among them, the largest contingent comes from Brazil followed by Cape Verde and Romania. In Portugal, religion is still an important societal feature as around 85% of the Portuguese declare themselves Christians (mainly Roman Catholics). When it comes to the EU, the Portuguese population is radically Euro-enthusiastic as almost 80 % of the population tends to trust the European Union according to the 2021 Eurobarometer. Even more Portuguese people reject the idea that Portugal could better face the future outside of the EU. Finally, 95% of the population is in favor of the Euro currency, which is the highest score in the whole EU.

ECONOMY

Portugal’s GDP PPP per capita is considerably below the EU’s average and it resembles Poland’s one. Portugal has been severely affected by the economic crisis that hit Europe in 2008, causing a long period of recession and stagnation between 2008 and 2014. Since 2014, the economy has recovered but the pace of growth has not been very impressive.  Portugal was again hit very hard by the COVID-19 sanitary crisis, which provoked a striking downturn (-7,5%).  However, in the short-term perspective, the pace of growth of the Portuguese economy should recover to the previous level. At the same time, public debt remains a huge challenge. It has peaked at almost 130% of GDP in recent years. Finally, unemployment is still relatively high compared to many EU economies oscillating around 7%.

SOCIETY

Romania should be recognized as a mid-sized country in the EU as its population does not exceed 20 million. However, as in most Central and Eastern European countries, Romania is suffering greatly from depopulation as people tend to emigrate more and more to Western Europe (Spain, Italy, Germany, Greece). Indeed, at the beginning of the 1990s, Romania was inhabited by more than 23 million people. Romanians compromise 85-90% of the total population of the country. Gypsies which, mostly identify themselves as Romanians in official censuses represent in fact the largest minority. In the last census, 600 thousand citizens declared Romani identity. According to estimations the number of people of Romani/Gypsy origin- at least partially- might even exceed two million. It is the largest- in absolute numbers and proportionally- Gypsy community in Europe. In the last census, almost 1,3 million people described themselves as Hungarians making up to 6% of the total population. Other small national minorities include inter alia Ukrainians, Tatars, Turks, and Germans. President Klaus Iohannis is the most symbolic representation of this community. The main immigrants are people from Moldova who often perceive themselves as Romanians. When it comes to religion, Romania remains one of the most religious countries in Europe as more than 90% of the population sees itself as Christians – more than 80% of them being Orthodox. Society distinguishes itself by the high level of religiosity and social conservatism. When it comes to the EU, Romanians are rather Europhiles. Almost 60% of them tend to trust the EU and 35% do not. 55% of them support the Euro currency and slightly more than 30% reject it. Finally, more than 35% of them assume that their country could face the future better outside of the EU.

ECONOMY

In Romania, the 2008 economic and financial crisis put a stop to the period of very dynamic economic growth which the country experienced in the 2000s. For several years, the annual growth was between 7 and 10%. However, in 2009, the national economy went down by 5,5% and in 2010 suffered again the recession (-5%). In 2011 the country returned on the path of growth, while 2015-2019 became again the golden age of Romania’s economy. However, like other countries, Romania suffered in 2020, with a limited but important 4% decline. Nevertheless, the European Commission made projections for Romania which look optimistic (6% growth in 2021 and 4% in 2022). When it comes to public debt, Romania is among the EU member states which have a limited one. Although the Covid-19 crisis negatively impacted the level of public debt, it is still around 50%. Regarding unemployment, despite the pandemic, it has been stabilized around 6%.

SOCIETY

The population of Slovakia approaches 5,5 million and has increased slightly since the beginning of the 21st century. Around 80% of citizens are ethnic Slovaks. Hungarians compromising almost 10% of the population constitute the largest national minority. Roma people, which, mostly declared themselves in censuses as Slovaks make more than 5% of the population.  According to opinion polls conducted by Pew Research Centre, the attitude of Slovak society towards Roma people is very negative. The Slovaks are highly pro-European. Only slightly above 15% of them believe that Slovakia could better face the future outside of the EU. Even less of them have a negative approach towards the Eurozone. However, a huge group of Slovaks (almost 45%) tends not to trust the EU.

ECONOMY

Slovakia belongs to a group of the poorest EU member states (22^nd place concerning GDP PPP per capita), but its economy performed relatively strongly between 2010 and 2019. The public debt does not represent a serious problem because it does not exceed 65% of GDP. On the other hand, unemployment in Slovakia is one of the highest in Central Europe. It oscillates around 7%.

SOCIETY

Slovenia is considered a small country in the EU with a population of 2 million. However, contrary to most CEE countries, Slovenia is not losing its population. In fact, compared to the beginning of the 1990s, at the time of Yugoslavia’s breakup and independence, the Slovenian population is larger. Regarding foreign population, Slovenia is hosting a great number of people of Western Balkan origin, especially from Bosnia, Kosovo, and Serbia. Overall, Slovenians make around 85% of the total population. Most Slovenians identify with Roman Catholicism, but the level of religiosity is low. When it comes to the EU, Slovenians can be considered Europhiles as 95% support the euro currency. 55% trust the EU, while 45% do not.

However, almost 40% believe that Slovenia could face a better future outside of the EU.

ECONOMY

While Slovenia experienced a stable growth before and after its adhesion to the EU in 2004, the 2008 financial and economic crisis has produced important and negative consequences on its growth until at least 2014. As a reminder, in 2009 its annual GDP was -8%. The situation became better in the mid-2010s while growth came back to the level of around 3%. Unfortunately, the Covid-19 crisis stroked the country and the GDP in 2020 reached -5.5%. However, expectations for the Slovenian economy are not bad in the coming years as the European Commission is expecting 6% (2021) and 5% (2022). When it comes to public debt, once again, 2008-2009 has strongly impacted Slovenia. While public debt was around 20% before the crisis, it peaked at more than 80%. Slovenia proved able to reduce it slowly until 2020 when it decreased to 65%. Unfortunately, the pandemic reversed this positive trend and public debt surged again to 80%. Regarding unemployment (around 5%), the situation is under control in Slovenia.

SOCIETY

Being the fourth most populous country in the EU, Spain has 47 million inhabitants (2021). Its population has been stagnating since the 2010s after a rise of 5 million inhabitants during the first decade of the 21st century. As of 2021, around 85% of the population is Spanish while among the 15% of the population is foreign-born, around 40% are from Latin America (Columbia, Ecuador, and Venezuela being the most represented), 15% from North Africa (especially Morocco) and 15% from Eastern Europe (mostly Romania). In Spain, religion is still a relatively important societal feature as more than 60% declare themselves as Christians while 35% do not have any religion (2020). Nevertheless, religious practice decreased dramatically in recent decades. Around 25% of Spanish people are speakers of Catalan, Galician, Basque and other languages. When it comes to the EU, the Spanish population is rather Euro-enthusiastic. According to the 2021 Eurobarometer, the great majority (above 75%) rejects the idea that Spain could better face the future outside of the EU.  At the same time, more than 85% of the population is in favor of the Euro currency. Finally, more than 50% of the population tend to trust the European Union and less than 40% do not trust it.

ECONOMY

Spain has been severely affected by the economic crisis that hit the EU in 2008-2009, causing a long period of stagnation. However, compared to other European countries, since 2014 Spain has made a great recovery. Spain’s real GDP grew by around 3% from 2016 to 2019. Evidently, the Covid-19 crisis has affected this positive trend as Spain experienced a huge recession in 2020 (-10%). However, economic prospects are optimistic for Spain in the coming years with a rebound of more than 6% in 2021 and more than 4% in 2022. At the same time, the public debt remains high (120% of the GDP in 2021). The same considerations can be made concerning unemployment which is still one of the highest rates in the EU (above 15%), particularly among youth and women.

SOCIETY

Sweden has almost 10.5 million inhabitants and is experiencing – contrary to many other EU member states a rise in its population. Since 2000, Sweden has gained almost 1,5 million inhabitants. This rise is partly due to the arrival of immigrants. According to statistics, around 25% of inhabitants in Sweden have a migrant background and every third has at least one parent born abroad.  It is one of the highest indicators in the EU. In Sweden, religion is still a relatively important societal feature as 60% declare themselves as Christians (2017). The great majority of them are Lutherans.  People of Muslim background constitute more than 8% of Sweden’s inhabitants. The attitude of Swedish people towards the EU has improved considerably in recent years. Today, almost 60% of Swedes trust the EU. Moreover, only 30% of Swedes believe that Sweden could better face the future outside the EU. On the other hand, around 75% are against the euro currency as of today.

ECONOMY

Sweden belongs to the most developed and richest countries in the EU. According to the EC, Sweden has the most innovative economy among the EU-27. Since the 2008’s economic crisis, the Swedish economy has experienced convenient growth (2-3%). Simultaneously, Stockholm has managed to maintain a general gross government debt on a low level (40% of GDP). Before the Covid pandemic, unemployment was below 7% but it raised to 9%.

SOCIETY

The Netherlands is considered a mid-sized country as it gathers now more than 17,5 million inhabitants. Since Second World War, the population has grown continuously starting from less than 10 million. In the past few decades, The Netherlands has become a receiving country in terms of immigration. Currently, Dutch still constitute 75% of the entire population while 4,5 million of the citizens are considered foreigners mostly originating from Turkey and Morocco with people of these backgrounds comprising in total around 800.000 people, followed by Suriname and Indonesia with both 350.000 individuals. Among foreigners, a large amount of them is also from within the EU, particularly from Germany (350.000), Poland (200.000), and Belgium (120.000). The Netherlands is not a very religious country as more than 50% of the citizens declare to have no religion. The most represented religion is Christianism (almost 40%). When it comes to the EU, The Netherlands are Europhiles as more than 60% tend to trust the EU and 85% support the euro currency. Moreover, only 15% of them assume that their country could face a better future outside of the EU.

ECONOMY

The Netherlands has been strongly impacted by the economic and financial crisis which struck Europe after 2008. If the national economy suffered moderately in 2009 (-3,5%), the economy has experienced a long and difficult time for several years (2009-2013). Nevertheless, its economy recovered after 2014 and experienced a solid growth (around 2%) until 2020. The Covid did not hit severely the Netherlands. The economic rebound in the next two years will be relatively strong at almost 3.5% according to the European Commission’s forecasting. When it comes to public debt, the Netherlands has proved to be able through the years to keep it under control at around 50% even if the pandemic has had some consequences on it as it is now reaching 55%. Regarding unemployment, once again, the rate is low (around 4%)