Op-Ed

Press freedom in Central Europe is under renewed threat. Yet there are no systematic arrests of journalists as in Belarus or Turkey, less of the blatant acts of censorship common in Russia and few of the gruesome killings of reporters that are common in autocratic countries around the world. Instead, they are now following the Hungary model.

As criticism and corruption allegations pile up against his administration, the biggest cause for concern is Sebastian Kurz’s deliberate attempts to undermine the nation’s checks and balances.

With the dismantling of Official Secrecy Laws in Austria, real transformation will require a change of culture.

Settled behind closed doors a century ago, these devastating treaties were greeted with celebratory gunfire across France, leaving Central Europe in tatters and echoes of disharmony across the continent.

What at first sounds like a compliment, in fact, builds a mental frame separating immigrants from everybody else, when such backgrounds have become a self-evident part of our lives.

What remains of public trust in the state is vanishing rapidly as the coronavirus roars back into the region.

There are lessons we can draw from Biden's election that can help the European Union better deal with far-right populism.

This year we celebrate Ludwig van Beethoven’s 250th birthday. This brand-new video series takes you on a musical pilgrimage through Beethoven’s Vienna.

On the surface, the EU budget summit smoothed over the friction between Brussels and the bloc’s problem children. Deeper down, the rift may be growing.

“Inclusive sizing” and “disabled-friendly” clothing have joined the buzzwords of conscious consumerism. Does this make sense for an industry built on the allure of unattainability? What is beauty anyway?

On the eve of the Vienna mayoral elections, questions of voting rights and double citizenship – of Heritage and 'Heimat' – are again dominating the agenda.

With a life both in the U.S. and Vienna, Gabriel Foguel wants dual citizenship, but the Austrian government won’t allow it.

The crucial role of public health and contact tracing during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The British Ambassador to Austria, Leigh Turner, takes stock of how Vienna has and hasn’t changed since his first posting to the city in the 1980s.

Under COVID-19 lockdown, domestic violence has predictably gone up. Intervention helps.

COVID-induced creative charity or how the boot of a Fiat became a critical food pipeline.

The recent budget-corona negotiations could lead to the creation of a fiscal union and a greater emphasis on sustainability.

Like other “black swan” events in the past, COVID-19 has challenged our democracies and changed the way we live.

While the right-wing Law and Justice Party (PiS) remains in power, opposition candidate Rafał Trzaskowski has forced the president to take notice.

The crisis has revealed us – for better and worse – to ourselves; the question now is what we will do next.

The renewed struggle against discrimination is really two struggles: one about rights, the other about opinion.

A public international lawyer with 25 years at the UN recounts her experience of living through the pandemic in Vienna.

Zilla Boyer a political scientist, campaigner and pod-cast creator who joined WoV in search of adventure when she relocated here almost three years ago.

Having two homes is confusing, and the choice between convenience and (fragile) ideology, even more so.

In this series, METROPOLE partners up with the Women of Vienna network to bridge communities and celebrate diversity, introducing some of their incredible members and bringing you a slice of Herstory.

With Turkish bombs falling on Kurdish cities in Northeast Syria, a young woman from Rojava tells the story of her town and people

METROPOLE and GLOBSEC will be cooperating on a range of activities, initiatives and events in the upcoming months to promote democracy in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE)

Author and activist Heather Wokusch who has partnered with KAICIID takes on the Austrian Parliament’s decision to close the interreligious center in Vienna

Those of us who reside in another member state live more “European” lives than anyone. Yet we feel disenfranchised.

The EU plans to abolish daylight savings time in 2021. A good idea? Time for Change Good riddance, I say! The benefits of Daylight Saving Time (DST) h...

The FPÖ would like nothing better than to hobble the independence of Austria’s public broadcaster, the ORF.  Now Vice Chancellor Heinz-Christian ...

Central Europe has experienced a soaring economy in the last two decades. Yet the disaffection of many shows the limits of what economic growth a...

The world has watched the US midterm elections spellbound. But for Europe, even the Democratic victory in the house of representative might not bring ...

The outcome may indicate how the dialectic between supranationalism and nationalism will play out in much of the rest of the world. The United Kingdo...

Austria still needs to stamp its identity on supporting roles in international film and TV productions. One Brit in town has a mission to help things ...

Breaking its election promises, a Tory government has left expat Britons out in the cold Disenfranchisement is an ugly word. As a UK citizen with...

Austria’s refugee crisis has not only polarized the political landscape,  it has split the country’s ruling party right down the middle As every seas...

Britain, our role model in language, constitutional law, education and business, would gradually feel farther and farther away I want to encourag...

With Central European governments constantly changing the rules, it has become impossible for families or businesses to plan for the future A qua...

How Europe’s economic and demogrphic choices made in 2016 will impact the economies of Europe and the U.S. In 1973, US Secretary of State Henry K...

What impact will China’s slowdown have on the red-hot contemporary art market? For emerging-market investors, art has become a critical tool for faci...

Slaughtering the EU’s sacred cow could renew confidence in the Union Throughout Europe’s refugee crisis, warnings have proliferated about the threat...