Central and Eastern Europe

How can German-Ukrainian relations be sustainably expanded in times of war and in which areas is support most urgently needed? At the 2nd German-Ukrainian Breakfast Debate, key challenges in the areas of security and EU rapprochement were discussed.

How can German aid to Ukraine become more sustainable? How is it perceived in both countries? What role does communication play? We discussed these and other questions at the first German-Ukrainian Breakfast Debate in Berlin.

At a digital event in early December, the ConnectBY team presented the scientific study on the Belarusian diaspora in Germany and Ukraine and discussed it with representatives of the Belarusian diaspora, academia and politics.

Since mid-November, ConnectBY has been supporting eight projects by members of the Belarusian diaspora in Germany and Ukraine. In two workshops, participants learned more about writing project proposals and about digital security.

The workshop phase of the project supports Belarusian activists and researchers to further develop their initiatives and ideas. At the same time, participants contribute to the final publication of the project. Deadline is on Wednesday, 02 November 2022.

In October 2022, the first events of the ConnectBY project took place. In two informative and interactive networking labs, members of the Belarusian diaspora community received information on funding opportunities and had time for informal exchange.

The war against Ukraine demands the solidarity of European states. However, different perspectives on the war are emerging in Germany and its neighbouring countries. Those were the topic of the discussion concluding the rEUnify project in Dresden.

Applying rule of law instruments earlier and more consistently – Dr Anna Lührmann, Minister of State for Europe and Climate at the Federal Foreign Office, discussed the influence of illiberal parties in Central and Eastern Europe with Dr Funda Tekin at a digital Lunch Debate.

Three research teams for the fellowship have been chosen and are introduced.

Poland and Hungary are vetoing a rule of law mechanism in the EU budget. Marek Prawda, EU Commission in Poland, discussed how to solve the blockade, strengthen democracies and defend areas for civil society engagement.

Application writing should not be outsourced completely, the administrative work not underestimated. Eurasia-researchers got new impulses.

To mark the 30th anniversary of the democratic revolutions in Central Europe as well as the 15th anniversary of joining the European Union, the project invited students from Central Europe to participate in the EUritage essay competition "Central Europe, the EU and myself".

The current living together in the border area Saxony, Poland, Czech Republic was discussed by Anna Cavazzini, MEP, and Marek Prawda, European Commission. The necessity of bilateral relations and the current situation in Poland were central topics.

Leonid Litra, Senior Research Fellow at the New Europe Center (Ukraine) takes stock of the first year of Volodymyr Zelensky's presidency. Special focus is given to his political concessions and Germany's role in the conflict settlement with Russia in Eastern Ukraine.