In Between Europe

In the last episode of 2019, we look at the state of play in the judiciary in Hungary and what the most recent amendments mean for rule of law and the independence of the court system. To make sense of it all, we are joined by Dávid Vig, the director of Amnesty International Hungary and Ágnes Kovács, a lecturer at ELTE’s Department of Human Rights and Politics. History minute: The history of courts in Hungary Resources: A Constitutional Crisis in the Hungarian Judiciary [https://www.amnesty.hu/news/2610/a-constitutional-crisis-in-the-hungarian-judiciary], Joint report by Amnesty International Hungary & Hungarian Helsinki Committee, 10 July 2019 Nothing ever disappears, it only changes: The Hungarian Government switches to higher gear to curb judicial independence [http://The%20Hungarian%20Government%20switches%20to%20higher%20gear%20to%20curb%20judicial%20independence], Amnesty International Hungary, 19 November 2019 Orban’s New Judicial Overhaul Prompts Rule-of-Law Concerns Again [https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-11-16/orban-s-new-judicial-overhaul-prompts-rule-of-law-concerns-again], Zoltan Simon, Bloomberg, 16 November 2019 The fragility of an independent judiciary: Lessons from Hungary and Poland — And the European Union [https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0967067X18300473#!], Kriszta Kovács & Kim Lane Scheppele, Communist and Post-Communist Studies, Vol. 51, Issue 3, September 2018 Subscribe via RSS feed [http://inbetweeneurope.libsyn.com/rss]. Subscribe via iTunes [https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/in-between-europe/id1236576672].

This episode is a forward-looking one, which builds on our previous discussion about the economic legacy of the transition. We discuss a new report from Visegrad Insight titled “European Futures,” the current state of EU budget negotiations when it comes to Central Europe, and the impact of regional politics on the economy. Guests: Daniel Gros, director of CEPS; Wojciech Przybylski, editor-in-chief of Visegrad Insight; and Tomasz Kaszprowicz, economic editor of Res Publica Resources: #European Futures: Scenarios for cohesive growth [https://visegradinsight.eu/scenarios-for-cohesive-growth/], CEPS and Visegrad Insight, October 2019 EU Expenditure and Revenue 2014–2020 [https://ec.europa.eu/budget/graphs/revenue_expediture.html], European Union Money Talks: EU Budget Negotiations Widen East and West Divide [https://balkaninsight.com/2019/11/13/money-talks-eu-budget-negotiations-widen-east-west-divide/], Balkan Insight, 13 November 2019 The EU’s budget tribes explained [https://www.politico.eu/article/the-eus-budget-tribes-explained/], Politico Europe, 4 November 2019 Subscribe via RSS feed [http://inbetweeneurope.libsyn.com/rss]. Subscribe via iTunes [https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/in-between-europe/id1236576672].

In this episode we talk to Dóra Győrffy, a professor at the Pázmány Péter Catholic University in Hungary, about the economic legacy of the transition. We take stock of the frontrunners and those who did things by the book implementing neoliberal reforms, but we also touch on the failures, and the apparent decoupling of political and economic success. Resources: Trust and Crisis Management in the European Union [https://www.palgrave.com/gp/book/9783319692111], Dóra Győrffy, Palgrave Macmillan, 2018 From Democratic Dissatisfaction to Financial Crisis [http://real.mtak.hu/26453/1/Routledge.pdf], Dóra Győrffy, In: Jensen, J; Miszlivetz, F (eds.) Reframing Europe’s future : challenges and failures of the European construction, Routledge, 2015, pp. 93–114 Huge wage rises signal new phase in Central Europe’s economic transformation [https://www.ft.com/content/2c3c46ac-ef6f-11e9-ad1e-4367d8281195], Ben Hall, The Financial Times, 16 October 2019 Subscribe via RSS feed [http://inbetweeneurope.libsyn.com/rss]. Subscribe via iTunes [https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/in-between-europe/id1236576672].

This episode is the first segment of a two-part series with Talk Eastern Europe (TEE) on the results of the European Parliament elections in Central Europe. We talk to Edit Zgut, a visiting lecturer at the Center for Europe in the University of Warsaw and discuss the V4 and what is next for the opposition in Hungary and Poland. Stay tuned for part two on Bulgaria, Romania, and more Poland with TEE! History minute: The Left That’s Not There — Social Democratic Parties in Central Europe Resources: 2019 Election Results [https://www.election-results.eu/], European Parliament Why Brussels Overlooks Central Europeans for Top EU Jobs [https://www.politico.eu/article/brussels-overlooks-central-europeans-top-eu-jobs-spitzenkandidat/], Edit Zgut, Politico Europe, 21 May 2019 End of the Third Way [https://visegradinsight.eu/end-of-the-third-way/], Marcin Zaborowski & Wojciech Przybylski, Visegrad Insight, 27 May 2019 Talk Eastern Europe [http://neweasterneurope.eu/2019/02/11/talk-eastern-europe-podcast/], New Eastern Europe, 2019 Subscribe via RSS feed [http://inbetweeneurope.libsyn.com/rss]. Subscribe via iTunes [https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/in-between-europe/id1236576672].

Progressive newcomer Zuzana Caputova secured a surprise victory in Slovakia’s presidential elections this past weekend. We talk about what led to her success and what it means for the future of the country with Oľga Gyárfášova, the director of the Institute of European Studies and International Relations at Comenius University in Bratislava. History minute: Presidents and their Powers Resources: The Winter of Our Discontent [https://visegradinsight.eu/the-winter-of-our-discontent/], Olga Gyarfasova, Visegrad Insight, 27 April 2018 Can Zuzana Caputova Save Slovakia [https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/03/28/can-zuzana-caputova-save-slovakia-smer-kocner-kuciak-sefcovic/], Dariusz Kalan, Foreign Policy, 28 March 2019 Hailed by Liberals, Slovakia’s First Female President is Under a Lot of Pressure to Turn the of Populism [https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2019/04/01/hailed-by-liberals-slovakias-new-female-president-is-under-lot-pressure-turn-tide-populism/?utm_term=.597caa756f61], Emily Tamkin, Washington Post, 1 April 2019 The Fourth Generation: From Anti-Establishment to Anti-System Parties in Slovakia [http://perspectives.iir.cz/download/the-fourth-generation-from-anti-establishment-to-anti-system-parties-in-slovakia/], Olga Gyarfasova, New Perspectives, Volume 26, Nr. 1/2018 Subscribe via RSS feed [http://inbetweeneurope.libsyn.com/rss]. Subscribe via iTunes [https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/in-between-europe/id1236576672].