European Union

The Open Society Foundations work to increase democratic participation in the European Union, and to ensure that human rights are at the heart of what the EU does, both inside and outside its borders.

EU Green Deal

The EU Must Think Globally on Carbon Import Tax

Docked ships carrying shipping containers

A proposed EU carbon import tax risks hurting poorer countries by stunting trade and slowing their green transition.

October 21, 2021 | Emily Stewart

Quality over Quantity

The Real Question about EU Sanctions

A group of people standing outside and looking at their cellphones

It’s true that sanctions disrupt the plans of wealthy autocrats. But to implement them in a moral and ethical way, policymakers must establish clear rules and oversight.

March 22, 2021 | Tinatin Tsertsvadze

Confronting the Crisis

Now Is the Time for Climate Action

People wearing green face paint and costume antennae holding signs

As a new survey of public opinion in the United States and multiple European countries shows, the public, despite being overwhelmed with misinformation, nevertheless supports governmental action to address the looming climate crisis.

December 1, 2020 | Karim Harris

A Victory for Civil Society

European Union Court Rejects Hungarian NGO Funding Law

A ruling from the Court of Justice of the European Union has affirmed the vital role of civil society in democratic governance.

June 18, 2020 | Natacha Kazatchkine & Kersty McCourt

The Legacy of 1989

George Soros on Europe after the Berlin Wall

Soldiers standing behind a fallen section of the Berlin Wall

Thirty years after the end of the Cold War, Open Society Foundations Founder and Chair George Soros looks back at his support for Central and Eastern European democracy, which began when few imagined the fall of the Iron Curtain.

October 31, 2019

Europe’s Future

Confronting the EU’s Three Biggest Challenges

During this moment of change and instability, the EU has an opportunity to make reforms that will ensure it can tackle the problems of the 21st century. A new report offers a guide for turning this potential into reality.

October 3, 2019 | Heather Grabbe

Right to Housing

The Fight to Reclaim Housing Rights as European Human Rights

A woman holds a cardboard house with pink smoke behind her

What use is a booming economy if you cannot find a place to live? A little-known EU charter can help re-establish housing as a human right.

September 6, 2019 | Padraic Kenna

Information Is Power

Q&A: Fighting for Workers’ Right to Data

Using the EU’s landmark General Data Protection Regulations, James Farrar, founder of Worker Info Exchange, is fighting to ensure that Uber drivers have the data they need to ensure they’re being treated fairly.

May 23, 2019

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