Mei Li Vos: "What an incredibly brave woman Maia Sandu is"

Photo: PVDA On Monday 4 September, Moldovan President Maia Sandu visited the Dutch parliament as part of her state visit to the Netherlands. The visit marks a further rapprochement between the Netherlands and Moldova, after the Netherlands opened an embassy in Chisinau, Moldova's capital, on 19 April. In addition, the visit can be seen [...]
Exciting days in northern Macedonia: will EU accession talks resume?

Photo: Parliament of Northern Macedonia, Wikimedia Commons On 18 August, the parliament of Northern Macedonia began a 10-day debate on a constitutional amendment that would pave the way for EU accession. The required two-thirds majority of MPs has not yet been achieved. Instead, the main opposition party has called for new elections [...]
The alarming humanitarian situation in Nagorno-Karabakh

Photo: Wikimedia Commons The Nagorno-Karabakh region, which is close to both Armenia and Azerbaijan, has been under severe pressure since the end of the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War in 2020. The region became relevant again in December 2022, when Azerbaijan imposed a blockade on the road from Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia. Recently, this blockade led to [...]
'Progressive Leadership & Just Recovery' training with SD Platform Ukraine

Last weekend, from 7 to 9 July, FMS, together with the SD Platform in Ukraine, organised a three-day training on "Progressive Leadership & Just Recovery" in Kyiv. The SD Platform in Ukraine has been working for years from the bottom up to promote fair, social politics for all - including in times of war. These trainings are [...]
New European publication on the way forward in Ukraine

Russia's aggression against Ukraine in February 2022 shocked the world and brought great devastation and trauma. The war continues in 2023, characterised by an unruly Ukraine, fighting courageously and energetically for its sovereignty, rule of law and self-determination. Western forces, with the European Union at the forefront, play an important role in [...]
Last weekend: a 'Training of Trainers' in Armenia

From 19 to 21 May, a "Training of Trainers" took place in Armenia with our partner SD Platform Armenia. Sixteen participants were trained for three days on various skills, so that they can provide training themselves in the future. "Training of Trainers" A training of trainers (ToT) is an important module in the whole FMS methodology to [...]
Last weekend: training SD Platform Ukraine in Odessa

Last weekend, a three-day training took place in Odessa, Ukraine, organised by the SD Platform Ukraine in cooperation with the FMS. Some 30 young participants took part in several workshops in which skills, theories and knowledge around social democratic politics were shared. Recently, the SD Platform opened a new branch in Odessa, and for [...]
World Press Freedom Day: we reflect on journalists from Belarus

Image created by Libereco - Partnership for Human Rights Today is World Press Freedom Day. Today we stand in solidarity with all journalists, bloggers and bringers of free speech in Belarusian prisons. See some of their faces here, to remind us who we have to fight for every day. Image created by Libereco - Partnership [...]
Struggling despite repression: Belarusian social democrats portrayed in exhibition

Some 1,300 people are detained on political grounds in Belarus, in appalling conditions. Following the fraudulent elections and subsequent mass protests in 2020, repression against the country's democratic opposition has only intensified. The Lukashenka regime is directly following the lead of its eastern neighbour in the Kremlin, complicit in the brutal Russian invasion [...]
Research by FEPS: 'The case of Ukraine's candidacy to the EU'

In cooperation with the FMS, Amicus Europae, FJJ, Karl-Renner-Institut, FES Ukraine, and the Kalevi Sorsa Foundation, the European social democratic think tank Foundation of European Progressive Studies (FEPS) conducted a policy study on Ukraine's EU candidate membership. It concludes that social, progressive policies are crucial for Ukraine's development towards possible EU membership. The EU [...]