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NL Make noise for freedom: creating art together in solidarity with political prisoners in Belarus
Imagine this: you’re standing amongst hundreds of other people, wearing a mask. You’re banging a wooden spoon against a pan with all your might, and you’re not the only one: the people around you are doing the same. Gradually, rhythms emerge, sound waves, perhaps even spontaneous moments of silence. You’re not alone; you’re here together. And you’re also here […]
Don’t leave democratic voices in Serbia to fend for themselves
The pressure on democratic forces in Serbia is constantly mounting. Critical journalists, activists and political opponents are being intimidated and publicly pilloried. Now their families are also being targeted, and we cannot accept this. Recently, the car belonging to David Gruhonjić, the son of journalist and professor Dinko Gruhonjić, was vandalised. According to the European […]
Activities in Armenia and Ukraine
In July, the FMS organised various activities, including in Armenia and Ukraine. This article features a selection of highlights from our activities with SD Platform Ukraine and SD Platform Armenia. Among other things, we look back on the training course for future veteran trainers and their families, which the FMS organised in collaboration with SD Platform Ukraine. During this training course […]
New publications: EU enlargement calls for political debate
EU enlargement is once again high on the European agenda. Due to the changing geopolitical situation, the accession process for candidate countries has gathered pace. This makes it all the more important that attention is paid within the European Union to the political choices that enlargement entails. During the 9th FoWB Network Meeting & Willy Brandt Programme […]
FMS in Warsaw: working together to build a strong, progressive network in Eastern Europe
Last weekend, the Max van der Stoel Foundation was in Warsaw for a varied programme entirely dedicated to international cooperation, democracy and political development. As co-organisers of the Friends of Eastern Partnership (FoEP) programme, we brought together young progressive activists from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. During training sessions, workshops and the […]
CODE RED – For democracy too?
Photo taken at the Liechtenstein Art Museum. Today’s Dutch Democracy Coalition event has been cancelled due to a ‘code red’ alert. We were due to start right now. It’s a great pity, because the democratic climate is also facing a ‘code red’ situation. And yes, that applies to the Netherlands too. Not because things have got as bad here as they have in the US or Hungary, […]
Is Montenegro on its way to joining the EU? Read our statement
Last week, the Max van der Stoel Foundation attended the ninth meeting of Friends of the Western Balkans (FoWB) in Podgorica, Montenegro. The meeting took place in the run-up to the EU-Western Balkans Summit in Tivat and brought together politicians, parliamentarians and experts from across Europe. During the conference, the future of EU enlargement […]
Democratic renewal in Moldova: building a shared European future
What does Moldova's European course mean for democracy in the country? That question was the focus of the Building Progressive Unity: Pathways to Democratic Renewal in Moldova conference in Chișinău. The conference was organised by the Foundation for Democracy and Progress, in cooperation with the Olof Palme International Center and Foundation Max van der [...]
Press freedom and resilience: how do we keep democracy strong in the digital age?
This article is a collaboration between Foundation Max van der Stoel (Martha Elias) and International Foundation Groenlinks (Yesmin Ayadhi). According to the latest RSF index, global press freedom is at a low point in the past 25 years. Even in countries that score relatively high, such as the Netherlands which ranks second, the question is how much [...]
Europe can no longer afford a moderate tone on Serbia
This piece was also published as an opinion piece together with Holandija Dijaspora in De Volkskrant on 29 May 2026. Last Saturday, on 24 May, one of the biggest demonstrations in Serbia's modern history took place. The demonstration was led by the student movement, which, since the Novi train station disaster [...]