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A delegation from the “Young Generations for the New Balkans” initiative visited Albania in February 2020 to meet representatives of the government, civil society, and the media and share their “Vision 2030: Towards Alternative Horizons” policy proposal. The delegation spoke about EU integration and the recently announced accession methodology, the state of the media, regional cooperation across the six Western Balkan states, and youth engagement in decision-making.
The IIP hosted a book presentation on the recently published “Iran in the International System: Between Great Powers and Great Ideas,” featuring multiple authors on the current situation in Iran. The authors examined nuclear proliferation and the nuclear deal with Iran, Iran’s economic outlook, and Iran’s relations with China, India, and Russia.
Brexit and the Irish border question have brought new attention to the former conflict in Northern Ireland. Across the country, the continued existence of the peace walls hinder development and peacebuilding in interface communities. To understand the current situation and debate, Bert Preiss discusses his new book on the history of the conflict, the current situation of the interface communities, and the impact of Brexit, with comments by co-panelist Melanie Sully.
The paper offers a list of effective, clear-cut, policy-oriented recommendations which blaze the trail for the European engagement with the young generation of the Western Balkans. It paves the way for a reinvigorated and substantial commitment that ensures a more prosperous, EU-oriented vision of the region in the coming decade.
EU’s Parliament’s and Commission’s steadfast commitment to the European integration of the Western Balkans is clear, despite the recent setback in this process when in October 2019 the decision to open the long awaited accession negotiations with North Macedonia and Albania was blocked. The upcoming year 2020 offers a number of opportunities to reinvigorate the integration process. Those opportunities come not without their own challenges and therefore need to be carefully considered.
Four panelists from Israel and Palestine presented and discussed their visions for peace in the region. By elaborating the current situation in Israel and Palestine, they concluded that a two-state solution is the only possibility in order to fully guarantee security, equal rights and freedom for everybody.
The European Parliament (EP) is often criticized for being unaccountable to its citizens and highly technocratic. The main decisions are made in the committees and there is hardly any debate in the plenary. This apolitical nature of the EP will likely be changed in this new legislative period, shaping a more politicized European assembly. What does it mean for European foreign policy, in particular in the Eastern Neighborhood? While traditionally the European Parliament is considered to have limited competences in foreign policy, this article shows that at least with regard to the European Neighborhood Policy, it enjoys considerable powers and informal influence. Taking a case of Euronest Parliamentary Assembly I also look into how it has utilized its opportunities to conduct interparliamentary diplomacy and what its purpose was for MEPs.
[VIDEO AVAILABLE] During this public talk Artyom Shraibman does not only reflect on the Belarusian domestic politics, but also on Belarus´relationship with the West on the one hand and Russia on the other hand. During the Question & Answer session several topics, as for example the role of China, interesting dymanics in the opposition or the concept of neutrality for Belarus were discussed.
