Bouncing back again: How past crises can help Eastern Europe fight covid-19 (Commentary)

Vessela Tcherneva - 08 April 2020

Common standards of health security, tech and information sharing in research and development, and better integration within healthcare supply chains could help Europe take a big step forward.

Finally, some good news: Albania and North Macedonia on the road to EU membership (Commentary)

Tania Lessenska - 06 April 2020

It is in the EU’s interest to continuously emphasise its commitment to Albania and North Macedonia – especially given the growing influence of countries such as China, Russia, and Turkey in the Western Balkans.

The Turkish Sonderweg: The New Turkey’s role in the global order (Commentary)

Asli Aydıntaşbaş - 02 April 2020

The overarching features of Turkey’s neo-nationalism are the cult of state worship, an evergreen suspicion of foreign enemies, and an emphasis on the central role of a strong leader.

The coronavirus in Eastern Europe: Avoiding another Chernobyl (Commentary)

Thornike Gordadze, Joanna Hosa, Dumitru Minzarari, Tatiana Stanovaya, Andrew Wilson - 01 April 2020

Serbia’s coronavirus diplomacy unmasked (Commentary)

Majda Ruge & Janka Oertel - 26 March 2020

The Serbian president has exploited the EU’s internal divisions to insult the bloc and legitimise his policies, as well as his courtship of authoritarian partners.

 

Another migration crisis: How the EU is losing its partners in Bosnia (Commentary)

Alida Vračić - 24 March 2020

If it has any energy and commitment left to devote to Bosnia, the EU should work to restore its reputation in the country and pursue an ambitious plan for reform.

 

A turn to the past: Ukraine’s troubling government reshuffle (Commentary)

Mattia Nelles - 12 March 2020

Last week’s government reshuffle and the dismissal of a highly regarded prosecutor general raise serious concerns about Ukraine’s pro-Western course.

 

Berlin - 04 Mar 20

Experts present a report on the effectiveness and downfalls of the sanctions that were imposed on Russia by the European Union and the United States in the aftermath of the illegal annexation of Crimea. 

Paris - 24 Jan 20

Nous avons le plaisir de vous inviter à un Black Coffee Morning en présence d'Andrew Wilson, Gustav Gressel, Kadri Liik et Nicu Popescu.

Berlin - 11 Dec 19

Today we invite you for a black coffee morning session with Samuel Greene, co-author of "Putin v. The People - The Perilous Politics of a Divided Russia" and Russia-expert. The session will be chaired by ECFRs own Russia-expert Kadri Liik.

Berlin - 05 Nov 19

Experts present a new comprehensive proposal for a revision on the regional order addressing the issues which currently hurt the relationship between Russia and the West.

Rome - 04 Nov 19

How can the EU demonstrate resolve and respond to the interests of Russia, Turkey, Iran and Saudi-Arabia?

Paris - 17 Oct 19

Nous avons le plaisir de vous inviter à un Black Coffee Morning en présence de Kadri Liik, Sergey Utkin et Joanna Hosa.

Berlin - 09 Oct 19

Rountable discussion on european energy strategy and the role this plays in transatlantic relations. This event is in cooperation with the Atlantic Council and the Aspen Institute Germany.

As covid-19 arrives, Putin disappears – Russia in the age of corona.

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 of the constitution and Putin’s decision to essentially stay in power until 2036? Our ECFR experts also point out the strange absence of the Russian leader from the fight against corona – has covid-19 as well as the oil price crisis caused more turbulence and chaos in the country as he wants to admit? Host Mark Leonard, Gustav Gressel, Kadri Liik and Nicu Popescu come forward with analyses and predictions: if the EU doesn’t handle the crisis well, could Russia have been right in its Hobbsian view of the world?

This podcast was recorded on 8 April 2020.

Check out our “Dive Deep into Russia” lecture series by the ECFR Wider Europe Programme!

Bookshelf:

• "The Idiot" by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
• "The Rise and Fall of 'Neutral' Sweden's Secret Reserve Option of Wartime Help from the West" by Robert Dalsjö
• "Чужая и наша война - Сборник стихотворений и песен о военной операции Вооружённых Сил Российской Федерации против международных террористов в Сирийской Арабской Республике” by Сост. В.А. Силкин
• "Why Russians don't get coronavirus” by Albatros
• "Summertime" by JM Coetzee
• "Discovering Judith Shklar sceptical liberalism of fear” by Samantha Ashenden & Andreas Hess

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Geopolitics in the coronavirus era – who will be crowned winner?

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 rest of the world. From the Middle East to Russia and Asia, and all over across the Atlantic – what long-term effects could it have on these regions? And what does it mean for geopolitics, the global system and its institutions?
Our Host Mark Leonard is joined by the ECFR heads of programme Julien Barnes-Dacey, Susi Dennison, Janka Oertel & Nicu Popescu to discuss how the virus is manifesting in these regions, and the implications it carries with it – and it doesn’t look too good. For all the gloominess this podcast will create, our experts recommend turning to poetry for some soul-healing. Recommendations below!

This podcast was recorded on 25 March 2020.

Bookshelf:

• "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" by T.S.Elliot
• "Happy Everyday" by Benjamin Zephaniah
   
• "MBS: The Rise to Power of Mohammed Bin Salman" by Ben Hubbard
• "Sandworm" by Andy Greenberg
• "The Pursuit of Power" by William H. McNeill
• "Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy" by Cathy O'Neil
• "The Psychology of Pandemics. Preparing for the Next Global Outbreak of Infectious Disease" by Steven Taylor
• "The Coronavirus pandemic and the new world it is creating" by Josep Borrell

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Many elephants in the room: the EU and the Turkey, Syria, coronavirus and refugee crises

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 seems to have troubles to respond to latest developments in the Syrian war and threats from Turkey.
Host Mark Leonard is joined by ECFR co-chair and former Prime Minister of Sweden, Carl Bildt as well as by the ECFR experts Asli Aydintasbas and Julien Barnes-Dacey to discuss the reasoning behind Ankara’s recent moves and the EU’s reactions. How to avoid a 2015-like situation but without tossing its own values and human rights out off the window? And how to deal with the other seats of fire within the Union itself?

This podcast was recorded on 12 March 2020.

Further reading:
- Syrian voices: Where next for European policy?

Bookshelf:
• The Anarchy by William Dalrymple
• Pax Sinica: implications for the India dawn by Samir Saran and Akhil Deo
• Black Lamb and Grey Falcon by Rebecca West
• Blame Europe, not just Turkey, for migration deal collapse by Kati Piri
• Beyond blackmail at the Greek-Turkish border by Nathalie Tocci
• Clash of Empires: Currencies and Power in a Multipolar World by Charles Gave & Louis-Vincent Gave

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Reshuffling Russia's leadership - old wines in new bottles?

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 Leonard is joined by Kadri Liik and Gustav Gressel to elaborate on the recent political changes that have happened in the world’ largest country over the course of just the past weeks. What role will Putin play in the future in Russia and on the global stage? Is there a change to recent the relationship between the EU and Moscow? And was does this all mean to Belarus, Ukraine and the NordStream 2 project?

Further read:

• "Will he stay or will he go? Putin’s role will change" by Kadri Liik
• "The last of the offended: Russia’s first post-Putin diplomats" by Kadri Liik

This podcast was recorded on 27 January 2020.

Bookshelf:

• "Brennender Enzian: Die Operationsplanung der NATO für Österreich und Norditalien 1951 bis 1960" by Dieter Krüger
• "Admissions" by Henry Marsh
• "When Breath Becomes Air" by Paul Kalanithi
• "Traditions and Trends in Global Environmental Politics; International Relations and the Earth" ed. by Olaf Corry & Hayley Stevenson

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How to deal with our Western Balkan neighbours?

North Macedonia and Albania wanted to start negotiations with the EU after having been candidate countries since 2005 and 2014. But the enlargement plans seemed to have stalled especially after opposition from France.
Host Mark Leonard is joined by Susi Dennison, José Ignacio Torreblanca and Vessela Tcherneva to get to the bottom of things and the divisions particularly between France and Germany on this issue.

The podcast as recorded on 17 October 2019.

Bookshelf:

• The Age of Surveillance Capitalism" by Shoshana Zuboff
• "Spring" by Ali Smith
• "The light that failed" by Ivan Krastev & Stephen Holmes
• "State of the Union" Miniseries on BBC Two

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Reaching out to Russia – joining hands or getting the mitten?

In this week’s podcast, Mark Leonard, Gustav Gressel and Kadri Liik analyse Macron’s plans and ideas for recreating the European security order, an initiative which he launched with a speech at the Ambassador’s conference this year. Moreover, according to French officials, France will instead of starting with a top-down plan, try to build European security from the bottom-up and see if there is a desire in Moscow to make progress on specific issues, one brick at a time. They have laid out a roadmap with five different areas: Disarmament, security dialogue, crisis management, values, and common projects.
Further read: “Emmanuel Macron’s very big idea on Russia” by Gustav Gressel, Kadri Liik, Jeremy Shapiro & Tara Varma

The podcast was recorded on 30 September 2019.

Bookshelf:

• “We Need to Talk About Putin. Why the West gets him wrong, and how to get him right” by Mark Galeotti
• “Psychopolitics. Neoliberalism and New Technologies of Power” by Byung-Chul Han

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Europe's Eastern Neighbourhood: Ukraine and Moldova

Standing in for regular host Mark Leonard, Anthony Dworkin, senior policy fellow at ECFR, looks at Europe's Eastern neighbourhood and interaction with Russia. He is joined by Kurt Volker, executive director of the McCain Institute and US special representative for the Ukraine negotiations, and Nicu Popescu, Minister of Foreign Affairs for Moldova and former head of the Wider Europe program at ECFR. They look at the conflicts in Ukraine and Moldova, what the Ukrainians might learn from the Moldovans, and what role there is for Europe in the region.

The podcast was recorded on Tuesday, 25 June, 2019, at the side-lines of ECFR’s Annual Council Meeting in Lisbon.

Bookshelf 
• The Perfect Kill: 21 Laws for Assassins by Robert Baer
• A Little War That Shook the World by Ronald Asmus
• 1984 by George Orwell

Picture
US Special Representative for Ukraine Kurt Volker at President Zelensky's inauguration, on May 20th 2019. Photo by the Presidential Administration of Ukraine. Retrieved from www.president.gov.ua/photos/urochis…dentom-uk-2905. [CCA 4.0 international]

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