East & Southeast Europe

In an interview, political scientist Vladimíra Dvořáková of the University of Economics, Prague, enumerates the causes of the current turbulence on the Czech political scene.

A few months after Miloš Zeman first took office as president, we are now seeing the logical outcome of introducing a semi-presidential system. The current clash between the president and the Czech Parliament is a direct result of the political redistribution of power and could significantly influence the future form of the relationships between the government, the parliament, and the president.

On Wednesday, the 7th August, the Czech government loses the confidence vote in parliament. True victor of the battle for power is President Miloš Zeman because he has created a very strong power center and is now dominating the political space.

The political crisis in the Czech Republic, which led to the fall of the government, was triggered by police investigation. The prosecution of three former MPs in the country triggered heated debates and reactions.

2012 was a special year in terms of publicity of LGBTI community and LGBTI movement in all three South Caucasian countries. Several important steps have been made towards raising acute issues about sexual identity, differences/diversity and social constructs in Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia.

Martin Bursik is deputy leader of the Greens and chairperson of the Chamber of Renewable Energy Resources in Prague. Paul Hockenos talked with him about the renewables, the problem that Germany’s electricity flows swamping the Czech grid and the missing public debate about energy-related topics in Czech.

It was the second visit of Hillary Clinton in Bosnia and Herzegovina without any positive outcome. Unfortunately, the situation will surely deteriorate further and chances for helping the country to become a really functioning and democratic state will grow smaller

Hungary was long considered a model for democracy in the former Eastern Bloc countries. It currently hits the headlines because of the controversial media laws and other moves by the national conservative Fidesz party, which endanger essential elements of the constitutional framework.

The release of 65-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner and Burma's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi from detention overjoyed most of the Burmese people inside and outside Burma. She is freed unconditionally, but it still remains unclear about the expectation of the government over her role in Burma politics.

To modernize its national economy, Ukraine must complete the already started vital reforms in its energy sector aimed at modernization and the development of unconventional and renewable sources of energy. To shift priorities of Ukraine’s energy policy towards Green New Deal principles, the European Neighborhood Policy can play a vital role.

Ukraine has problems with explaining its situation to the international public. It is not just about the language barrier but also about the capacity to "translate" the local specifics into the internationally accepted notions of modern democratic political culture.

The EU’s Eastern Partnership initiative opens to Ukraine the possibilities of integrating into Europe and at the same time lays the potential for regional leadership. But there are risks, too.

In May 2010, the Heinrich-Böll-Foundation and the Democratization Policy Council organized a policy roundtable in Berlin: “How to stop Bosnia and Herzegovina from further deteriorating? Time for a new transatlantic initiative”. The expert meeting brought together policy makers and analysts from Europe and America, including representatives from international organizations in Bosnia, with their counterparts from Germany.

In a globalised world, energy independence can not be achieved. Successful energy policies require inter-sectoral co-operation, supervision, and long-term public policies concerning employment, the environment, and investment.

Bosnia and Herzegovina’s progress is stalling, even reversing. High-level diplomatic efforts are under way to pull the country out of its decline. For the U.S. and EU it is time for a co-ordinated and focused policy. The present haphazard pursuit of self-serving goals will lead to nothing but more damage in Bosnia.

NATO did not fail during the Cold War or after: It did safeguard the security to its member states. NATO can be successful in the future, too - provided it focuses on its primary tasks and resists the temptation to "do everything everywhere".

By joining NATO - and, five years later, the European Union - Poland has fulfilled its strategic objectives, directing its internal development towards a state more secure, democratic, and affluent.

Who could have predicted that the subprime crisis, which exploded in mid-2007 in the U.S., would bring a recession to the Western Balkans in 2009? Especially since we knew that the financial sectors in the Balkan economies did not deal at all with toxic assets – those derivatives connected to subprime mortgages.

The EU should readjust its relations with Russia. In this it must bear in mind that Moscow no longer rules out military confrontations as a means of pursuing its interests. Accordingly the EU has to more clearly define its external policies. Should a country like Georgia, which has strategic importance for the West, be left to a Russian sphere of influence?

The uncertainty inherent in the motto for this conference, organised by the Heinrich Böll Foundation, was clearly shared by the participants on 25th April at the Berlin House of Representatives. At this conference on the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP), researchers and EU politicians discussed why there has been so little progress towards its objective of creating a “circle of friendly nations”.