On 12 September 2018, the European Parliament voted to trigger proceedings against Hungary under Article 7 of the Treaty on European Union on account of the systemic threat to the core values of the EU. A year later, the risk of a serious breach of the EU founding values has increased: Hungarian authorities have continued to silence dissent and run intimidation campaigns against individuals and organizations that want to hold the government accountable. This has been achieved through enacting or enforcing laws that curb fundamental freedoms and by further increasing government control over the media and the judiciary.

The European Council should now resolutely address the substantive concerns in the Article 7 framework.

From emerging democracies in transition, illiberal governments have rapidly transformed Hungary and Poland into ill democracies, have attempted to do so in Croatia, and are slowly and carefully entertaining an illiberal platform in Serbia, according to the new case study Resisting Ill Democracies in Europe. The findings, published in English, Croatian, Hungarian, Polish, and Russian by a group of human rights organisations, are based on their study of ill democracy in Croatia, Hungary, Poland, and Serbia.

In 1976, the Netherlands separated the cannabis market from the market in other illicit drugs, and allowed coffee shops to sell small amounts of cannabis to adults in a controlled environment. Our new movie, supplementing the report of the Open Society Foundation, tells the story of the Dutch model and highlights its successes, as well as the challenges ahead of it.  

The Hungarian Civil Liberties Union (HCLU) condemns today’s police raids against Hungarian NGOs as politically motivated actions that elevate the illiberal Orban government’s attack against civil society to a new, unprecedented level.

New Zealand became a world leader in the development of innovative regulation of new Psychoactive Substances laws in July, 2013. On March 20th, 2014 hosted by The Star Trust, the ‘Pathway for Reform’ conference offered a unique opportunity to hear firsthand how this industry began, how it was regulated and why. You can watch all the full speeches now!