Central Europe Explained

Audio-Version des Buches Balkan nach Europa - sofort! 

Erhard Busek und Sebastian Schäffer fordern die sofortige Aufnahme aller Westbalkanstaaten in die EU. Ihr Plädoyer verbinden sie mit „G’schichtln“ über Grenzen, Glauben und Grausamkeiten, über Fabeln, Frieden und Fußball. So bilden die persönlichen Erlebnisse und Erinnerungen der Autoren auch ein Zeugnis ihrer Zeit.

Dr. Erhard Busek ist Vizekanzler a.D. und Vorsitzender des Instituts für den Donauraum und Mitteleuropa (IDM) in Wien.

Sebastian Schäffer ist Geschäftsführer des IDM.

Balkan nach Europa - sofort! Erhard Busek & Sebastian Schäffer. Wien: Story.one Publishing. 80 S. Gebunden, HC gerader Rücken kaschiert. ISBN 978-3-99087-941-2. 

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Albanien, Bosnien Herzegowina, Kosovo, Montenegro, Nordmazedonien, Serbien: Balkan nach Europa - sofort!

Eine Kurzgeschichtensammlung über den Westbalkan und ein Plädoyer für dessen sofortige Aufnahme in die EU, geschrieben von Erhard Busek und Sebastian Schäffer.

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“The European Commission is the only Think Tank with executive power.”  

In July 2020, the European Council agreed to a historical recovery fund: Next Generation EU, in order to support member states affected by the pandemic. Now that it has been ratified by the European Parliament, each of 27 EU Member States must do so for the decision to enter into force. 

Which are the future perspectives in the region regarding EU Budget and the Recovery Fund? 

To answer this question, Sebastian Schäffer - Managing Director at IDM - talks with Dr. Johannes Hahn, European Commissioner for Budget and Administration. 

Let us not forget that we must continue debating and contributing to the future of Europe. And as Commissioner Hahn mentioned, “IDM has been contributing a lot in the past and is not only contributing but also facilitating”. 

This is the final episode of CEE - Central Europe Explained - an IDM podcast series powered by Erste Group. 

With Dr. Johannes Hahn and Sebastian Schäffer.

Production: Emma Hontebeyrie 

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"It would be well worth taking a united approach rather than a bilateral one (in relations to the United Kingdom)."

January 1, 2021, marked the end of the transition period during the EU law continued to apply in the United Kingdom, and with that Brexit finally entered into force. What does Brexit mean for the Central and Southeast European region? Can Brexit have a possible domino effect within the EU? What future steps should the European Union as well as the non-EU Member States take as a response to Brexit?

Daniel Martínek, a research associate at IDM, discusses the implications of Brexit with Danielle Piatkiewicz, a research fellow at the Brussels office of the Prague-based Institute for European Policy EUROPEUM. 

Learn more about Brexit in this episode of CEE - Central Europe Explained, an IDM podcast series powered by Erste Group. 

With Danielle Piatkiewicz and Daniel Martínek.

Danielle Piatkiewicz is a research fellow at the Brussels office of the Prague-based Institute for European Policy EUROPEUM where she is focusing on issues around Transatlantic and Central and Eastern European security, NATO, and Eastern Partnership. In addition, Danielle is also an independent consultant for the Alliance of Democracies Foundation. 

Production: Emma Hontebeyrie

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“[Mini Schengen] is actually a request to go quicker and to go deeper into integration.” 

Looking at the map of Europe, the Western Balkan countries appear as a non-EU enclave surrounded by EU-member states; between Greece and the rest of the EU but outside of the Schengen area. 

This episode focuses on the challenges at the borders of the EU by putting light on the cooperation in the Western Balkans.

For this, Emma Hontebeyrie (Podcast Producer for IDM) talks with Goran Svilanović, among others a member of the International Council of IDM, former Secretary-General of the Regional Cooperation Council, and former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Serbia and Montenegro.

CEE - Central Europe Explained, an IDM podcast series powered by Erste Group.

With Goran Svilanović and Emma Hontebeyrie.

Goran Svilanović is currently Country Manager for Serbia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, and Montenegro at Abkons but also a member of the International Council of IDM, former Secretary-General of the Regional Cooperation Council, and former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Serbia and Montenegro.

Production: Emma Hontebeyrie

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“Central Europe became a sort of the center of a sandwich between Germany and Russia”. 

Following up on Ivana Karaskova's and Malwina Talik’s talk about China and Central Europe, this episode focuses on the relations between the United States and the region.

For this, Emma Hontebeyrie (Podcast Producer for IDM) is welcoming Dardis McNamee, Editor in Chief of the city regional magazine and affiliated platform Metropole, based in Vienna.

What are the consequences of Trump’s presidency for the region? What should we expect from Biden regarding Central and Southeastern Europe?

CEE - Central Europe Explained, an IDM podcast series powered by Erste Group. With Dardis McNamee and Emma Hontebeyrie.

Dardis McNamee is the Editor in Chief of Metropole. She has written for The New York Times, Conde Nast Traveler (NYC), the Wall Street Journal Europe, and Die Zeit in Vienna, as well as having been a speechwriter to two U.S. ambassadors to Austria. She was awarded the 2007 Kemper Award for Excellence in Teaching (Media & Communications).

Production: Emma Hontebeyrie

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Why is it important to talk about women's rights?

"Emancipation means the lack of discrimination (…) but emancipation is also a state of mind." 

says Judit Acsády in our interview. 

Women’s situation in Europe has steadily improved over the past decades but can we, therefore, be complacent about the condition of women’s rights? Inequalities and biases remain a fact in various spheres of women’s lives and the pandemic has already reversed many recent achievements. 

On the occasion of International Women’s Day, we prepared a podcast that shows the condition of women's rights in Central Europe seen from an expert and personal perspective. Listen to the interview about the historical development of women’s rights with a gender expert Judit Acsády as well as a personal discussion among ladies working at the IDM: Daniela Neubacher, Malwina Talik, Emma Hontebeyrie, and Federica Mangiameli. 

“Please, not another podcast about women” - some may say, feeling overwhelmed with the number of events on women taking place these days. At the same time, the current challenges women keep facing show us how important is to keep the discussion open to reach women's equality. 

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“When it comes to Chinese influence in the economy, there are many more words than deeds.”

This episode is about a new old player on the Central and Eastern European playground, namely People’s Republic of China. An old player because before the fall of Communism in Europe, many countries of the region had close ties with China, even if sometimes on an on-and-off basis. A new player because with the growing global role of China, the relations between this part of Europe and the Middle Kingdom entered a new chapter. 

Therefore, Malwina Talik (research associate at IDM) is welcoming Ivana Karaskova, China Research Fellow and a Project Coordinator at the Association for International Affairs (AMO). Together, they will discuss Chinese interests in the Central Eastern European Region.

What role do they play in China’s “Going Global Strategy”? Can good China-CEE relations pose a potential threat to the EU? 

Listen to this episode and find your answers!

CEE - Central Europe Explained, an IDM podcast series powered by Erste Group.With Ivana Karaskova and Malwina Talik.

Ivana Karaskova is a China Research Fellow and a Project Coordinator at the Association for International Affairs (AMO) in Prague. She is also a European China Policy Fellow at MERICS in Berlin and a Czech member of China expert pool at the European Center of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats, based in Helsinki. Moreover, Ivana founded and leads two international China-focused projects, MapInfluenCE and China Observers in Central and Eastern Europe (CHOICE).

Production: Emma Hontebeyrie

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"Let's be more active, this should be our motor in the region. Let's propose constructive ideas, let's lead some European initiatives. [...] And with that, we can start talking of erasing some of these division lines which exist between West and East."

Lack of political representation in Central and Southeast European countries; EU institutions' leading positions held by "old" Western EU members; location of this EU institution in the Western part of the continent: Does an East-West dichotomy still exist?

To answer this question, Sebastian Schäffer - Managing Director at IDM - is welcoming Vladislava Gubalova, Research Fellow at the Future of Europe Programme at Globsec. Together they will focus the remaining disparities exiting among the different EU member states and discuss solutions to completely end this East/West divide and move forward together as a truly United Europe.

CEE - Central Europe Explained, an IDM podcast series powered by Erste Group.

With Vladislava Gubalova and Sebastian Schäffer.

Production: Emma Hontebeyrie

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"This is the future for Central Europe: [to] start to take itself more seriously; grow more mature in public discussion about directions, about the strategy and also about consequences of lack of such a strategy."

In the following episode, Malwina Talik - research associate at IDM - is welcoming Wojciech Przybylski - President of Res Publica and Editor in Chief at Visegrad Insight - to discuss the aftermath of the "Eastern" enlargement(s) of the EU.

Together, they will look to the changes, challenges, and opportunities 2004 EU enlargement brought. Moreover, we will focus on the case of Poland and its economic success story. 

CEE - Central Europe Explained, an IDM podcast series powered by Erste Group.

With Wojciech Przybylski and Malwina Talik.

Wojciech Przybylski is the editor-in-chief of Visegrad Insight and president of the board at the Res Publica Foundation. His expertise includes European politics and political culture. Previously, he has been the editor-in-chief of Eurozine — a Vienna-based magazine with a European network of cultural journals, and the Polish quarterly Res Publica Nowa. He also co-authored the book “Understanding Central Europe”, Routledge 2017.

Twitter: @wprzybylski

Production: Emma Hontebeyrie

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