Newsletters

No one can legitimately ask Ukrainians, Moldovans, and Georgians to give up their European perspective just to please the Kremlin

The ultimate goal remains to complete the transformation of the European bloodlands of the 20th century into an integrated democratic continent for the 21st

There is no room for complacency in either Chisinau or in EU capitals. Moldova's "success" remains fragile. It has not yet translated into concrete improvements felt by its citizens.

Is election observation all a matter of personal opinion? Can parliamentarians sniff election fraud, simply because they are parliamentarians? This argument is absurd. 

Non-implementation of the Sejdic-Finci decision does not justify blocking Bosnia and Herzegovina's application for EU membership

The 50th anniversary of the Ankara Agreement is an appropriate occasion for both the EU and Turkey to get serious about the European idea of free movement and to make it a reality for Turkey's young generation

Visa liberalisation has been a crucial element in the EU's relations with Romania, Serbia and Albania. Yet until recently it had not even appeared on the agenda of talks between Brussels and Ankara.

The key message from all international observers, and in particular from the European Union, must be that all Albanian institutions must rigorously respect the laws they themselves have adapted

When will Azerbaijani citizens be able to look back at political arrests and authoritarian rule in Baku with the same sense of amazement that Victor Hugo predicted for the future?

If the countries that have undergone a formal visa liberalisation process are declared safe countries of origin, EU member states can provide for an accelerated examination procedure when dealing with claims from their citizens

Instead of going back on visa liberalization, we propose that all EU members have short procedures for dealing with applicants from European countries that meet a series of human rights conditions and are therefore "safe countries of origin"

To show what is at stake we have produced a political fable. It illustrates Azerbaijan's latest attempt to undermine the credibility of the Council of Europe.

The green light for talks with Montenegro is a badly needed signal that progress is rewarded and that the EU perspective is real

How an authoritarian regime in Baku sidesteped its commitments to the Council of Europe, silenced its critics and turned international election monitoring into political theatre

The lack of employment opportunities today in the Western Balkans is generating quiet despair, especially among the young. Without radical change, without a serious and visible commitment to a new set of policies, the sense of despair now palpable in the region may become burning. 

To get to the Schengen White List ESI recommends the following seven steps to be taken, starting this month

The EU's current visa policy towards Turkey is unsustainable, and the time to revise it is now.

Compared to where it stood in 1999, Croatia is undoubtedly a story of a successful transformation. It is also evidence that the strict EU negotiating framework can bring results.

The less outsiders know about a foreign society the more easily they fall for illusions of an "hour zero" and view post-conflict societies as a tabula rasa only waiting for smart social engineers to work their magic

Our aim is to raise the profile of this young state on the Caspian Sea; and to support the vision that Azerbaijan will also one day (soon) also join the club of genuine European democracies