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NL Migration as a Political Tool: The 2021 EU–Belarus Border Crisis
This article is a contribution from a project by students at Maastricht University. It was written in English and has therefore been published as such on our website. Photo: Lithuania-Belarus border (Wikimedia Commons). The views expressed in this opinion piece are strictly those of the author and do not represent the official position […]
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 […]
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 […]
How the Netherlands is letting the Global South down in the fight for international tax justice
Image: Flags flying outside the United Nations headquarters in New York. “For many Africans, achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals is a matter of life and death. Unfortunately, their ability to meet these targets is hampered by illicit and hidden flows of capital amounting to vast billions each year. […] It is […]
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 […]
Vita Kovalenko: From Maidan to the Dordrecht City Council
Kido Koenig (l) and Vita Kovalenko (r) with her book “Truth Under Fire” In 2007, Vita Kovalenko came to the Netherlands, but it was not until 2014 that her social engagement with Ukraine really took shape. The spark struck during the Maidan protests in Kyiv, which she followed via livestreams from her workplace in the Netherlands. “It [...]
It ain't easy going green, part 3: Ukraine
EU enlargement is back on the agenda. After Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and following growing uncertainty about the United States’ role in Europe, EU leaders have increasingly stressed the need to expand the Union. Closer cooperation with countries in Eastern Europe and the Western Balkans is seen as important for the continent's security and [...]
The sparks of hope from Péter Magyar's revolution
A revolution has occurred in Hungary: after 16 years, Viktor Orbán's illiberal autocracy has been swept away by a resounding electoral victory by Péter Magyar. Magyar is not a shining example for European progressives. He is also certainly not the pro-European, pro-Ukrainian revolutionary that many would like to see in him. In many ways, Péter Magyar is mostly the right [...]
It ain't easy going green, part 2: Albania
This series is written in collaboration with International Foundation GroenLinks (IFG). EU enlargement is back on the agenda. After Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and amid growing uncertainty about the United States’ role in Europe, EU leaders have increasingly stressed the need to expand the Union. Closer cooperation with countries in Eastern Europe [...]