East & Southeast Europe

Concerns about Serbia’s Jadar project grow due to irregularities by authorities and Rio Tinto. Issues like sustainability failures, activist repression, unlawful assessments, corruption, and political influence, erode trust. This briefing covers the developments, concerns, and implications.

This study  by the Belgrade Center for  Security Policy examines the political debate around Serbia's Jadar Project, exploring its global significance, key actors, and evolving narratives. It details the debate's stages, its impact on Serbian politics, and the potential future of environmental discourse.

This revived hopes in the Western Balkans that the more than decade-long stalled process would finally start to move faster. 

At the request of the Serbian Ministry of Environment, the Renewables and Environmental Regulations Institute (RERI) comments on the environmental impact study prepared by Rio Tinto for underground lithium and boron exploitation in the Jadar region.

Russia's all-out war against Ukraine has been ravaging the country for more than two years now. It creates a multitude of new challenges that need to be adequately taken into account when planning and implementing Ukraine's reconstruction strategy. A fair and sustainable reconstruction requires gender-sensitive decision-making and implementation of measures.  

In his book, author Vedran Horvat takes a personal journey through the last two decades of politics in the Western Balkans and sheds light on the potential of green politics under extremely difficult conditions.

This policy study focuses on the bilateral relations between Germany and Ukraine from the outset of Volodymyr Zelenskyy's presidency to the outbreak of full-scale Russian aggression against Ukraine all the way to the present moment, seven months later.

Recommendations and expectations for German and European policy. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has direct and significant implications for the Western Balkans. The lack of a consistent and convincing EU perspective and U.S. engagement in the region opened up space for other actors and scenarios aimed at recomposing the Western Balkans as well as promoted regressive tendencies throughout the region.

Many Russian stakeholders no longer fiercely reject the EU’s plans to tax carbon intensive imports, but look at the global decarbonisation efforts more foresightedly. Windows of opportunities for international cooperation appear. However, instead of joining the global shift to renewables, Russia develops its own approach with a strong role for traditional energy sources.