East & Southeast Europe

Over the past decade, the Russian state nuclear enterprise Rosatom has become the most active exporter of nuclear technology in the world. Beyond building reactors, Rosatom establishes an integrated model of political and societal influence.

Chernobyl/Chornobyl is once again becoming a risk – this time as a matter of policy. Russia is deliberately using nuclear power plants and electricity grids as leverage in its war against Ukraine. International rules fall short while the risk for Europe as a whole grows.

As the only country in the socialist bloc, Bulgaria took no protective measures after the Chernobyl disaster and paid a heavy price. At the same time, the fallout exposed the regime’s cynicism and shaped the country’s ecological and democratic awakening.

Chornobyl set a civic movement in motion — and laid the foundation for environmental engagement in Ukraine that continues to this day. The memory makes clear: the consequences of potential damage to nuclear facilities in wartime are real, not abstract.

The severe trauma of the 1986 Chernobyl disaster continues to shape Belarus to this day. Almost a quarter of the country was contaminated. Nevertheless, long-time President Alexander Lukashenko is leading the country into strong nuclear dependence on Russia.

Local elections taking place in ten Serbian municipalities were meant to be routine. Instead, for the first time in years, the seemingly untouchable SNS faces a credible challenger. All eyes are now on them as a dress rehearsal for the upcoming general elections.

Russia’s war against Ukraine has forced Europe to rethink what defense means. At Café Kyiv, experts discussed how hybrid attacks target societies far beyond the battlefield - and why resilient democracies require comprehensive defense.

Montenegro stands at a crossroads: will it normalise exceptional, deal-driven investment practices, or set regional standards for transparent and rule-based development? The EU has a critical opportunity to guide this process.

He documented war crimes and advised the Ukrainian Prosecutor General's Office: Senior Public Prosecutor Klaus Hoffmann on sexual violence in armed conflicts, digital evidence, and the current challenges facing international criminal jurisprudence.

A new wave of Azerbaijani migration is taking shape in Berlin - politically engaged, largely left-leaning, and critical of both the regime and the opposition back home.