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NL EU mission to Bosnia needs not symbolic gestures, but structural change
Photo: Main street in Sarajevo - Srebrenica is still a point of polarisation in the country (created by Renée Spees) In early October, the Bosnian Serb parliament voted in favour of a bill on compulsory registration of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) with foreign backers in a special register managed by the Ministry of Justice. The so-called 'foreign-agent law' provides the Republika Srpska [...]
EU enlargement update: where does everyone stand?
Photo: Wikimedia Commons The European Commission on 8 November released the 2023 Enlargement Package - a report on the state of play and progress made by aspiring EU member states towards accession. It lays out the development of reforms to meet EU standards and where priorities lie for now on a country-by-country basis. Negotiations should [...]
Turkey's 'secular decline'
Photo: Statue of Atatürk looks down on a meeting of Erdogan - Wikimedia Commons Last week marked Turkey's 100th birthday. On 29 October 1923, national hero Mustafa Kemal Atatürk founded the Republic of Turkey, a secular state built on the ruins of the Ottoman Empire. However, the celebrations have been scaled down, leaving many [...]
Does EU enlargement mean a new wave of brain drain?
Photo: Wikimedia Commons With the prospect of several eastern and south-eastern European countries joining the European Union, the question arises as to what this means for internal migration within the EU. The idea is that joining the EU would boost national economies by making them part of the single market. [...]
'Public speaking and negotiations' training in Armenia
A training for young people on 'public speaking' and 'negotiations' took place on Saturday 21 October in Yeghegnazdor, Armenia. This training is part of a series of five trainings in different Armenian provinces, organised by the SD Platform Armenia with the support of FMS. Engaging a new and [...]
Solidarity with Ukraine remains essential
Photo: Destroyed city centre of Kharkiv, Ukraine, March 2022 - Pavel Dorogoj Today, the Max van der Stoel Foundation, in cooperation with Libereco and PvdA International, is organising a political café on the theme 'Solidarity with Ukraine', for which you can register here. During the event, the situation Ukraine will be discussed in two panels. In [...]
New naval base in Abkhazia next step Russian irredentism
Photo: Postage stamp of Abkhazia from 2008 - Wikimedia Commons You would think Russia would have its hands full with its all-out war in Ukraine that has been going on for more than a year and a half now. However, Ukraine is not currently the only victim of Russian expansionism. Recently, the breakaway region of Abkhazia, internationally recognised as part of [...]
Netherlands and Canada start case against Syria at ICJ, implications for Syria on world stage?
Photo: International Court of Justice in The Hague - UN Photo/Andrea Brizzi At the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague on Tuesday 10 October, the trial of the Netherlands and Canada against the Syrian regime began, Syria omitted. The aim of the trial is for the court to rule that Syria has violated the international covenant [...]
'Political campaign development' training in Montenegro
From 22 to 24 September and from 6 to 8 October, FMS, in cooperation with SDP Montenegro, organised two three-day trainings on "political campaign development". The trainings were aimed at members and supporters of the Social Democratic Party. The party is in dire straits and managed to win zero seats in the last parliamentary elections. SDP [...]
Watch back now: Q&A on Polish Elections
Aleksandra Iwanowska was a guest at the FMS for a Q&A on next Sunday's Polish elections. Aleksandra is international secretary of the Polish social democratic youth party Federacji Młodych Socjaldemokratów. Which parties are running in the elections and what are their plans for Poland? Will the elections affect Poland's relationship with [...]
