Publications

No less than a week after presenting its ‘Communication on the Arctic Region’, the European Commission’s attempts at forging a coherent Arctic policy have already taken a knock back. On 25 November 2008, Greenland has voted in favour of further self-rule away from Denmark with 75% voting ‘yes’ in a vote that had a 72% turnout.

Russia and the European Union are increasingly bound together – if not by common values, then by virtue of their interdependence. Beyond strong economic ties, both actors have a mutual interest in maintaining international stability and a secure neighbourhood.

In the face of the lack of public debate on the role of women in the time of transformation, the publication of the Heinrich Böll Foundation Regional Office in Warsaw attempts to present a multidimensional dialogue about the transformation experiences, giving voice to women. The Authors of the publication judge the past twenty years of reforms from the point of view of women from the former countries of the Eastern Bloc: the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, Ukraine and former East Germany.

Assuming that it is important not only to implement the “hard core” EU legislation concerning the equality policy, but to implement it in the areas within competences of EU member countries as well, in 2008 the Warsaw Office of the Heinrich Böll Foundation, in cooperation with partner organisations from the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia and Ukraine, implemented a project analysing the system of education in individual countries in the context of gender equality.

Climate change is real, it is happening already, and its impacts on people are not gender-neutral.  It is affecting men and women all over the world differently, especially in the world’s poorest countries and amongst the most vulnerable people and communities.

It is a great pleasure to present to you the newest publication of the Heinrich Böll Foundation Regional Office in Warsaw, devoted to the issues of gender equality. With this publication, we launch a new series aiming to develop in depth analyses of selected gender issues.

In the face of the current multiple crisis (financial, economic, social, environmental), the need for sustainable policies is self-evident. The Green New Deal is the integrated policy approach that Greens in Europe are putting forward as a solution to the crisis. The current report by the Wuppertal Institute analyzes in depth the climate, environment and energy aspects of this proposal.

There is a centrist idea of a Green New Deal that is being discussed worldwide as a response to the dual economic and environmental crises. As different as these two concepts may be, they share a common core: both first require a great leap toward a sustainable economy.

The report examines ways in which the current economic downturn is an opportunity to fight climate change while creating quality jobs.

The global energy system is undergoing a structural crisis. At its heart lies the need to restrain climatic change while at the same time dealing with energy security in an era of rapidly growing demand. The widening gap between rising demand for energy and limited resources of oil and gas has, together with speculation, increased fuel prices to record levels. This in turn has raised the spectre of a recession. These combined challenges pose a significant threat to international economic and political stability. The current make-up of the European Union, with its flagging institutional reform owing to the Irish No vote, is ill-equipped to deal with these challenges. An outdated Nice treaty that does not reflect the new realities of an EU with 27 members is impeding effective decision-making, thereby undermining the EU’s role in a rapidly changing international system that is increasingly being shaped by rising powers such as China, India and Russia. The urgency for institutional reform is quite clear to everyone. Nevertheless, in times like these the EU cannot limit itself to institutional reform alone.