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GMF Blog
On Defense, France Bites the Bullet, But Avoids Strategic Insolvency May 7, 2013
Iceland’s Recovery Saga Presents Opportunities for Brussels, Washington—and Beijing May 6, 2013
Which Way Forward for Europe’s Hybrid Regimes? May 2, 2013
The Arab Revolts and the Liberal Order May 2, 2013
Events
Andrew Light Speaker Tour in Europe May 14, 2013 / Berlin, Germany; Brussels, BelgiumGMF Senior Fellow Andrew Light participated in a speaking tour in Europe to discuss opportunities for transatlantic cooperation on climate and energy policy in the second Obama administration.
In this podcast, GMF Vice President of Programs Ivan Vejvoda discusses last month's historic agreement to normalize relations between Kosovo and Serbia.
Anchor Elaine Reyes speaks with Andrew Small, Transatlantic Fellow of the Asia Program for the German Marshall Fund, about Beijing's potential role in brokering peace between Israel and Palestine
Events
Freedom in the World 2013 Report: A Closer Look at Wider Europe February 21, 2013 / Brussels, Belgium
On Thursday, February 21, the Brussels office of the German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF) and the Freedom House hosted the presentation of the Freedom in the World 2013 Report: A Closer Look at Wider Europe. The event focused on the comparative assessment of global political rights and civil liberties and an overall state of freedom in the Wider Europe region (Armenia, Azerbaijdzan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine and Russia).
The president of Freedom House, David J. Kramer, along with the vice president for research, Arch Puddington, presented the main findings on the regional freedom status, which was followed by analysis from Ambassador Luis Felipe Fernández de la Peña, managing director for Europe and Central Asia at the European External Action Service. Sir Michael Leigh, senior advisor at GMF, moderated the discussion.
The event tried to find answers as to where the region of Europe`s Eastern neighborhood is heading, taking into account that some of the countries experienced improvements with democratic elections in Armenia and Georgia, but Azerbaijdzan and Belarus still remain one of the most repressive regimes in Europe.
The audience, encompassing a diverse crowd of policymakers, researchers, government officials and private sector representatives, was also interested in the role of the EU in the region and whether the EU norm- rather than economy-driven partnership contributes to greater civilian freedoms in the region. It was highlighted that the European Union has been continuously trying to bring this fragile but strategically important region closer to the EU by using a policy of engagement and by trying to shape the institutional frameworks of the countries. The complete Freedom in the World data and reports are available on the Freedom House website.
