GMF’s Senior Vice President of Programs, Ivan Vejvoda, testified in front of the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s Subcommittee on Europe, Eurasia and Emerging Threats on the danger of corruption to democracy in Europe and Eurasia. Vejvoda outlined the threat of corruption throughout Eastern, South Eastern, and the Black Sea regions of Europe, specifically highlighting GMF’s work with The Balkan Trust for Democracy (BTD), which supports two prominent media outlets working on investigative journalism and a number of independent media in the Balkans. He maintained that fighting corruption is one of the key aspects of the defense and strengthening of democracy and democratic institutions, and that the U.S. administration’s as well as USAID’s continued engagement remains crucial to the overall success of the democratic reform process. His testimony emphasized that working together in close cooperation with the European Union and individual European member states remains essential.

For a transcript of the full testimony, please click here.