To remain relevant in the region, the European Union needs a coherent and consistent strategy to promote its interests and values together with the political will to follow this through. ECFR’s Wider Europe programme was launched in 2007 with the aim of fostering this process.
Read moreAs European and US ambivalence towards the Western Balkans persists, the region will be in increasing danger of falling into an endless spiral of competition between various foreign actors
It will be difficult to sustain progress for Bosnia or the region without a credible and clear EU accession process
Covid-19 has damaged Russia’s economy and President Vladimir Putin’s political agenda
The European Union should be in no hurry either to engage with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s regime or to force a diplomatic crisis. Rather than vacillating between resets and crackdowns, the EU should pursue a strategy of “principled indifference”
If he had thoughts of leaving the Kremlin prior to the Navalny assassination attempt, Vladimir Putin likely now sees no exit for himself
The results of this week’s election could be transformative for Kosovo – but the challenges facing its new leaders are daunting
What lessons can be drawn from Josep Borrell’s controversial visit to Moscow?
In an environment in which European and American interests are not always the same, it is short-sighted and dangerous for Bulgarian leaders to question their country’s geopolitical alignment
Berlin has no will to rethink its long-held assumption that it can somehow improve Europe-Russia relations by engaging with Moscow from a position of weakness and betting on the benefits of long-term economic ties
By appointing a special representative for Crimea, the EU would show its commitment to standing by its partners and rejecting Russia’s violations of international law
Offering ‘resets’ to Russia does not work. On the contrary, a more muscular approach to the country will yield results
The events Navalny set in motion both indicate the urgent need for change and make such change less likely to happen
As European and US ambivalence towards the Western Balkans persists, the region will be in increasing danger of falling into an endless spiral of competition between various foreign actors
As European and US ambivalence towards the Western Balkans persists, the region will be in increasing danger of falling into an endless spiral of competition between various foreign actors
It will be difficult to sustain progress for Bosnia or the region without a credible and clear EU accession process
Covid-19 has damaged Russia’s economy and President Vladimir Putin’s political agenda
The covid-19 crisis has accentuated Western Balkans countries’ pre-existing vulnerabilities – but has not brought about a new political era in the region
The EU’s tendency to shy away from security issues has helped make covert operations and military threats Russia’s tools of choice in the region
Restoring independence to the judiciary and strengthening the rule of law are key to the country’s future stability and success
If the EU is to be more geopolitically influential in its own neighbourhood, it needs to start developing strategic security partnerships with key neighbours to the east and the south
The EU should make use of its significant leverage in Georgia and Moldova to counter their ruling parties’ extensive repertoire of electoral dirty tricks
EU member states can find ways to cooperate with Turkey to support stabilisation in parts of the safe zone, without violating their interests and core principle
Failure to strengthen Eastern Partnership states could strengthen Russia and allow authoritarianism to diffuse westward into the EU
The European Union should be in no hurry either to engage with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s regime or to force a diplomatic crisis. Rather than vacillating between resets and crackdowns, the EU should pursue a strategy of “principled indifference”
If he had thoughts of leaving the Kremlin prior to the Navalny assassination attempt, Vladimir Putin likely now sees no exit for himself
The results of this week’s election could be transformative for Kosovo – but the challenges facing its new leaders are daunting
In an environment in which European and American interests are not always the same, it is short-sighted and dangerous for Bulgarian leaders to question their country’s geopolitical alignment
Berlin has no will to rethink its long-held assumption that it can somehow improve Europe-Russia relations by engaging with Moscow from a position of weakness and betting on the benefits of long-term economic ties
By appointing a special representative for Crimea, the EU would show its commitment to standing by its partners and rejecting Russia’s violations of international law
Offering ‘resets’ to Russia does not work. On the contrary, a more muscular approach to the country will yield results
The events Navalny set in motion both indicate the urgent need for change and make such change less likely to happen
Grand bargains are tough to achieve but, eventually, Turkey and the EU will have to strike up a working partnership whereby they cooperate on some issues and compete on others
Many of the EU’s neighbours are hoping it will help them secure vaccines – leaving offers from China and Russia to flood in
What role does Russia play in the breakaway regions of Eastern Europe?
Locked in a shadowy life between war and peace, "grey zones" now litter the map of Eastern Europe
Following high level ministerial meetings on Ukraine, ECFR's Wider Europe team report on the implementation the Minsk agreement
This week we will have with us Catherine Belton, a renowned business journalist, who has just published a book "Putin's People: How the KGB took back Russia and then took on the West". In the lecture, Catherine will share her findings of KGB networks behind Putin and their interactions with the West.
This week we will have with us Andrey Zagorsky, professor at MGIMO (Moscow State Institute of International Relations) and IMEMO (the Institute of World Economy and International Relations). Andrey will speak about “Russia and the OSCE-based European order".
This week have with us Lauri Mälksoo, Professor of International Law at the Tartu University and Author of “Russian Approaches to International Law” speaking about Russia’s concept of sovereignty and its implications
Dmitry Suslov, Deputy Director, Center for Comprehensive European and International Studies, National Research University Higher School of Economics provides a view from Moscow on the impact of covid-19 on the US elections in autumn and US-Russia relations
Sergey Guriev, Professor at Sciences Po and former chief economist at EBRD, focused in this lecture on the Russian economy and gave a short, mid and long-term outlook
Andrey Kortunov, Director General of the Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC), analyses the impact of covid-19 on the international system, with a special focus on Russia
Julian Borger, world affairs editor for The Guardian, and Philippe Sands QC, professor of law at UCL, discuss the ICTY and its efficacy
Kadri Liik gives her analysis on Russia's intervention in the Middle East
Dmitry Suslov, Programme Director at Valdai International Discussion Club, gives his analysis
Aslı Aydıntaşbaş, journalist and visiting fellow at ECFR, explains whether the recent migration deal with the EU is workable
What lessons can be drawn from Josep Borrell’s controversial visit to Moscow?
Mark Leonard and Jeremy Shapiro predict ten bright and bold policy projections for the year to come
The contested Nagorno-Karabakh region is at the heart of a decades-long armed standoff between neighbours Armenia and Azerbaijan. The…
In this week’s episode, Jeremy Shapiro stepped in as host and welcomes senior policy fellows Kadri Liik and Andrew Wilson as well as political scientist…
Kadri Liik presented her latest policy brief “The last of the offended: Russia’s first post-Putin diplomats” in a webinar organised by the Rome Office on…
ECFR Conversation with Ibrahim Kalin, Spokesman and Senior Advisor to the President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Chaired by Julien Barnes-Dacey, Director of ECFR’s…
How is Russia dealing with covid-19? What impact does the pandemic have on the other underlying political issues in Russia – such as the change…
Last week’s episode saw our experts dissecting the coronavirus’ implications for Europe. In today's episode, we’re breaking down how the crisis is unfolding in the…
The European Union faces a multi-crisis situation at the moment. As the conflict in Idlib and the circumstances at the Greek-Turkish border has erupted, Europe…
It came as a surprise when Russia’s government resigned just hours after Putin’s announced his plans for a possible referendum of constitutional changes. Host Mark…
Engjellushe Morina thinks that feeling left behind could have serious implications for the Western Balkan’s security.
Kadri Liik speaks about the visit of Finland’s foreign minister to Russia after the Borrell meeting.
Asli Aydintasbas thinks the new US administration will have to realise the complexities of the relationship with Turkey sooner rather than later
