East & Southeast Europe

The 7th European History Forum took place in May 2018 at the Heinrich Böll Foundation in Berlin. Speakers and guests from Germany, Eastern and Southeastern European countries discussed likenesses and differences according their respective historical classification of the events of the year 1968.

The armed conflict between Ukrainian authorities and Russia-backed militias in the Ukrainian Donbass region has already led to some 10,000 killed and 25,000 wounded civilians. Partly landmines are the cause.

The name Visegrad in Western European terminology has become synonymous with a lack of solidarity and nationalist politics. In Hungary, however, it also has implications for the future of democracy in Western Europe. How can the EU recover its appeal?

A quarter of a century has gone by since the crime in Ahmići, a village in central Bosnia. The reconciliation process has lasted for decades and is far from being over.

Montenegro has exited its latest regular election cycle in a state of emergency of sorts, with many questions that will continue to divide its society, deepen the existing political crisis and burden the challenging reforms induced by the process of the state’s democratization and Europeanization.

The gas pipeline Nord Stream II should double the existing natural gas transport capacity from Russia to Germany via the Baltic Sea. Juraj Mesík explains why the Kremlin will be the biggest winner of this project.

A special EU summit of heads of state and government will take place on 23 September. After years of neglect, however, a solidary EU refugee policy cannot be elaborated in summary proceedings and under pressure. A commentary by Eva van de Rakt.

After images of Budapest’s Keleti train station illustrating the need for a fast EU assistance programme for refugees: the governments of Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia reaffirmed their vehement “no” to refugee quotas.

For four days now I have been in Budapest, a witness to a drama that I would have considered impossible in an EU capital not long ago.

Our main focus is to boost civil society in Ukraine and Belarus. To achieve this, we offer training programmes and assistance, host public discussion meetings in Ukraine, and promote civil-society organisations and initiatives in Belarus.

For now, the revocation of the Heinrich Böll Foundation’s registration by the Russian Federation marks the end of 30 years of dedicated work in this country.

The Heinrich Boell Foundation (HBF) in the South Caucasus (SC) contributes to the democratization process of the countries of the SC. We support initiatives, which form and strengthen an inclusive political culture that opens room for public participation on democratic development, socio-ecological transformation and gender democracy.

Our main focus points are the promotion of democratic reform within Turkey, the future of Turkish energy policy, and the development of rural regions.

Established in 2002, the Warsaw office works closely with partner organisations within the thematic priority areas of Democracy & Human Rights, International Politics and Energy & Climate.

The crisis in Ukraine with all its reverberations comes at a moment when the EU and the European project are very weak and while international insecurity is on the rise. As a result the Perspectives for the EU’s Eastern Partnership will have to change.

A conversation with Mykola Rjabtschuk, a writer based in Kiev, regarding some issues that have led to heated discussions within the EU.

Most important now is that the international community responds speedily and clearly to what amounts to a Russian occupation of the Crimea and the additional threat of Russian troops being stationed in Ukraine. Europe is in no way powerless in the face of Russian actions, as Ralf Fücks and Walter Kaufmann illustrate in a ten-point plan.

Philosopher Péter Rauschenberger ist co-founder of the Hungarian green party (LMP), which he left in January 2013. In his article he gives an overview on the different actors of the “democratic opposition” under the Orbán government and explains, why they struggle to build stable alliences.

It ist the worst result of an election winner in Czech history. Almost all established parties recorded losses and voter turnout was one of the lowest since 1989.