Central Europe Explained

Healing the Economy: The European Silk Road - cooperation and recovery in CEE

"We need a new narrative and (...) a big common European mission, like the European Silk Road could be one of those narratives which could bring us together."

In 2018, a study by the Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies (wiiw) proposed the European Silk Road as a response to China’s New Silk Road. 

Aiming to connect Europe’s eastern and western industrial centers the European Silk Road would generate growth and employment. This important booster for the Central, Eastern and South-Eastern European Region could increase GDP on average by 3.5% and bring better and greener transport infrastructure. 

Together with Mario Holzner - Executive Director of the wiiw and Co-author of the study - Sebastian Schäffer is discussing the cooperative perspectives and goals of the European Silk Road. 

Artwork recommended by the guest: The Silk Road Symphony Orchestra (the musical background of The Conference of the Birds on the Silk Road Cultural Belt.)

Read Mario Holzner’s research report here and find more about the European Silk Road here.

CEE - Central Europe Explained is a podcast series produced by the Institute for the Danube Region and Central Europe, powered by Erste Group. 

Guest: Mario Holzner, Executive Director at wiiw (Wiener Institut für Internationale Wirtschaftsvergleiche)

Host: Sebastian Schäffer, Managing Director IDM

Production and editing: Emma Hontebeyrie, Research Associate IDM

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The conflict between the Hungarian government and the Central European University (CEU) is a well-known example of universities’ struggle for autonomy. Daniela Apaydin, a research associate at the IDM, spoke with former CEU rector, the author, historian, and former politician, Prof. Michael Ignatieff, about his personal lessons learned and possible actions to improve the resilience of universities in the region. 

Artwork recommended by the guest: Christmas Carols by the Choir of King’s College, Cambridge

CEE - Central Europe Explained is a podcast series produced by the Institute for the Danube Region and Central Europe, powered by Erste Group.   

Guest: Prof. Michael Ignatieff.

Host: Daniela Apaydin.

Production and editing: Emma Hontebeyrie 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As for the rest of Europe, the Central European and Danube Region have a long way to go before reaching climate-neutral policies. But concrete projects and activities try to make this change.  

Such is the case with the Amazon of Europe Bike Trail that aims to promote new types of green and regional tourism.  

The cycling trail follows the natural meanders of the rivers Mura, Drava and Danube while connecting five countries spanning over 1,250km. 

In this episode, Emma Hontebeyrie, podcast producer at the IDM, is welcoming Urška Dolinar, Founder and Managing Director of Iskriva, the Institute for Development of Local Potential, and the leading partner of the Amazon of Europe Bike Trail project.  

Artwork recommended by the guest: Ivan Generalić, The red bull, 1972 

Sightseeing destinations suggested:  cities of Osijek and Varaždin (Croatia), Wetlands and river meanders in the National parks Kopački Rit (Croatia) and Danube-Drava (Hungary and Croatia) 

Amazon of Europe Bike Trail: https://aoebiketrail.com/ 

CEE - Central Europe Explained is a podcast series produced by the Institute for the Danube Region and Central Europe, powered by Erste Group.  

Guest: Urška Dolinar, Founder and Managing Director for Iskriva  

Host: Emma Hontebeyrie, Podcast Producer at IDM 

Production and editing: Emma Hontebeyrie 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“The time during the pandemic has really been melting and has become relative. However, we should not let the rule of law and our democratic standards suffer the same fate.” 

The Covid-19 pandemic has been a significant weakening not only of the human health, but also of democratic processes and the functioning of state institutions. State of emergencies have been misused in certain countries to make changes, the nature of which is in conflict with the upholding of the rule of law and the functioning of check and balances in a democratic environment. How is it possible to reverse these developments of cumulation of power and the creation of structural non-pluralism? 

Focusing on the example of Hungary the episode describes how the Hungarian government used the pretext of health threat to implement its ideology-based policy of the ruling party Fidesz. 

Daniel Martínek discusses with Zsuzsanna Végh the autocratic side effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and how to cure them. 

Zsuzsanna Végh is Research Fellow at the European University Viadrina in Frankfurt (Oder) and Associate Researcher at the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) focusing on, amongst others, Hungarian EU and foreign policy as well as on democratization and regional cooperation in Central Europe. 

Artwork recommended by the guest: The Persistence of Memory, Salvador Dalí, 1931.  

CEE – Central Europe Explained is a podcast series produced by the Institute for the Danube Region and Central Europe, powered by Erste Group. 

Host: Daniel Martínek, Research Associate at the IDM

Production and editing: Emma Hontebeyrie 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In February 2021, Serbia was leading the “vaccination race”, with the highest vaccinations rates within Europe. The news outlets were reporting that the government had been successful in its vaccination strategy, which prioritized healthcare over politics by looking at the purchase and distribution of vaccines as a healthcare issue.    

But half a year later the number of given jabs has stagnated - a result of many complex factors, such as historical and socio-political connotations, as well as problems in public discourse, disinformation and controversial narratives.  

Emma Hontebeyrie - IDM's Podcast Producer - is welcoming Vuk Velebit - a political analyst focusing on relations between Serbia, Russia and the West based in Belgrade - to discuss how the Serbian vaccination process overlaps the current complex political, geopolitical and informative discourse. 

Artwork recommended by the guest: Suspicious Minds: Why We Believe Conspiracy Theories, Rob Brotherton, 2017

CEE – Central Europe Explained is a podcast series produced by the Institute for the Danube Region and Central Europe, powered by Erste Group.  

With: Vuk Velebit

Production and editing: Emma Hontebeyrie

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Vor 40 Jahren am 13. Dezember 1981 wurde in Polen das Kriegsrecht verhängt, Die Anhänger der Demokratiebewegung Solidarność wurden inhaftiert, die Armee nahm Einfluss auf die öffentlichen Medien, Bürgerrechte aufgehoben, hunderttausende Polen verließen das Land und suchten Asyl im Ausland.

Wie ist es dazu gekommen? In dieser Folge von “IDM Exptertise” blicken wir auf auf die Zeit während des Kriegsrechts aus der Perspektive eines damals in Polen lebenden Journalisten. Malwina Talik (IDM) spricht mit Otmar Lahodynsky über den damaligen Alltag in der Volksrepublik Polen, über die Wahrnehmung der Ereignisse in Österreich und über die Rolle von Musik für die Opposition. Zum Schluss sprechen die beiden auch über das heutige Polen.

Mehr über die Lieder von Solidarność können Sie auch aus der Sendung "Spielräume Spezial" auf Ö1 am 26. Oktober um 17:10 Uhr erfahren: https://oe1.orf.at/programm/20211026/655970/Lieder-der-Freiheit-Polen-1981 

Die Sendung kann man 7 Tage nachhören.

Otmar Lahodynsky war langjähriger Redakteur beim Nahrichtenmagazin "profil" sowie EU-Korrespondent und stellvertretender Chefredakteur der Tageszeitung „Die Presse“. Von 2014 bis 2021 war er auch Präsident der Vereinigung Europäischer Journalisten. Für seine Verdienste in der Berichterstattung über Polen und die Solidarnosc-Zeit erhielt er den polnischen „Kavaliersorden“ von Präsident Bronislaw Komorowski.

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“Europe has to be seen from its many differences, but in the end the common law is the hope for compromise and further cooperation.”

Institutional challenges in the European Union have been exacerbated by the pandemic at the same time that EU enlargement has been put aside. Agreed in July 2020, the recovery fund Next Generation EU, brought hope of further integration and collaboration.  

But will we observe institutional changes and a shift in power relations towards Central and South-Eastern Europe? How could Brexit lead to EU institutional recovery and reform? 

To answer these question, Sebastian Schäffer is welcoming the Austrian Historian and University Professor Dr Michael Gehler.  

Formerly head of the Institute for Modern and Contemporary History Research in Vienna, the European Commission awarded him the position of "Jean Monnet Chair" for European history. Professor for contemporary German and European history, Dr Gehler is the head of the Institute for History at the University of Hildesheim in Germany. 

Artwork recommended by the guest: The Towel of Babel, Pieter Bruegel the Elder, 1953.  

CEE – Central Europe Explained is a podcast series produced by the Institute for the Danube Region and Central Europe, powered by Erste Group.  

Host: Sebastian Schäffer, IDM Managing Director

Production and editing: Emma Hontebeyrie 

Proofreading: Jack Gill

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Central Europe Explained is back for its second season!

CEE 2.0 is focusing on Post-Covid Recovery that the regions of Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe is going through.

If many wonder “When will a return to normalcy finally happen?”, then drastic changes in an out-of-date idea of normality appear necessary.

National individualism, democratic emergency, empires of disinformation, tourism and ecology, human rights, the youth, gender inequalities… To overcome these hurdles, we must focus on deeper concerns and see what has changed irreversibly and which measures must be taken in the post-pandemic recovery.

If you are interested in the future of Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe: tune into CEE and subscribe to the IDM podcast series on Apple podcast, Spotify, Acast, or elsewhere to get your podcasts.

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Central Europe Explained is a podcast series produced by the Institute for the Danube Region and Central Europe (IDM).

Production: Emma Hontebeyrie

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On July 2, 2021, 16 national conservative political parties signed the so-called Joint Declaration on the Future of the European Union. In the document, they outlined their perception on the future of the EU: a re-deepening of sovereignty of Member States accompanied by the strengthening of the nation-state system in opposition to other more integrated visions of the EU.

What are the parties behind the document which was announced as a response to the Conference on the Future of Europe? How is it perceived in different European countries? And, finally, what role can the national conservative forces play in the Europe of tomorrow?

In the episode, Daniel Martinek is hosting Emilie Laborel, Dominik Koc and Misha Nychyporuk, current trainees at IDM, who are analysing both the Declaration and its signatory parties as well as their relations to the EU.

Production Emma Hontebeyrie

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Interview mit Aliaksei Paluyan, Regisseur des Dokumentarfilms „Courage“ 

Kunst trifft auf Diktator: Im Sommer 2020 machte sich der Filmemacher Aliaksei Paluyan auf die Suche nach mutigen KünstlerInnen, die trotz harten Repressionen des belarussischen Regimes ihre Kunst ausüben – im Untergrund oder auch im Exil. Inspiration für seinen Film fand Paluyan im 2005 gegründeten Free Theatre Belarus und dessen Ensemble-Mitglieder. Das Ergebnis ist der jüngst bei der Berlinale präsentierte Dokumentarfilm „Courage“. Christian Aichmayr hat mit dem Regisseur beim Filmfestival Crossing Europe gesprochen. IDM präsentiert Ausschnitte aus dem Interview und erklärt die Hintergründe der Protestbewegung.

Welche Menschen stellen sich dem Regime entgegen und welche Rolle spielten insbesondere Frauen? Was bedeuten Flucht und Exil für die Betroffenen? Welche Chance hat die Opposition? Und wo steht die Europäische Union in diesem Spannungsverhältnis? Paluyan widmet sich mit einem klaren Appell an die ZuhörerInnen: „Denkt über uns, sprecht über uns! (…) Die Belarussen zeigen, was wahre Demokratie ist: friedlich mit bloßer Hand gegen einen Tyrannen gehen und ihm ins Gesicht sagen: wir wollen das nicht.“   

In der zweiten Episode des Podcasts „IDM Expertise“ widmen sich Daniela Neubacher und Lisa Behrens der Rolle von Protest und Kultur im Exil. 

Weiterführende Informationen 

VOR ORT-Beitrag „‘Courage‘ – Der Widerstand der Bevölkerung in Belarus“ von Christian Aichmayr: 

https://cba.fro.at/503795 

Offizieller Trailer „Courage“: 

https://vimeo.com/555110898​​​​​​​ 

IDM-Publikation (2019) „Kultur und Protest im Donauraum“: 

https://joom.ag/sapC​​​​​​​

IDM-Publikation (2020) „Kultur im Exil“: 

https://joom.ag/ZFdI 

Lisa Behrens: Demokratische Lösung für Belarus? Ein langer Weg in die Freiheit, online unter 

http://www.idm.at/idm-news/item/demokratische-lösung-für-belarus-bericht-von-einem-arbeitstreffen-mit-svetlana-tichanowskaja 

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