Institute of Central Europe/IES Commentaries

IES Commentaries

Baltic Team

Fot. Ambasada Chin w Wilnie
IEŚ Commentaries 440
Marlena Gołębiowska - Baltic Team

Exit of the dragon. Lithuania – China diplomatic dispute

September 14 marks 30 years since the establishment of relations between Lithuania and China. On the eve of the upcoming anniversary, the relationship between the two countries has been enflamed. Chinese authorities warn that “there is only one China in the world,” and they recalled China’s ambassador in Vilnius, which they have never done before in relation to a European...

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Baltic Team

Fot. Sala Sejmu Łotwy
Komentarz 438
Aleksandra Kuczyńska-Zonik - Baltic Team

Latvia is preparing for the parliamentary elections in 2022

The municipal elections in Latvia, held in June 2021, have opened the informal election campaign season. Political activity of the candidates who intend to run in the parliamentary elections, scheduled to be held on October 1 next year, has increased. Their initiatives are undoubtedly influenced by the migration crisis and the uncertainty of political and social situations caused...

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Baltic Team, Visegrad Team

Fot. Szczyt TSI
Komentarze IEŚ 436
Łukasz Lewkowicz - Baltic Team, Visegrad Team

The Three Seas Initiative ahead of the Riga Summit: politically inspired, commercially driven

Next year’s Seventh Summit of the Three Seas Initiative (TSI) will be held in Riga. In light of the main challenge facing TSI, which is finding financing for priority projects in the region, President Egils Levits announced that Latvia plans to focus on raising private capital to improve transportation, energy, and digital infrastructure in this part of Europe. A kind of...

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Baltic Team

KIES-434_Rurociąg
Komentarze IEŚ 434
Michał Paszkowski - Baltic Team

Winter is coming. Central European countries and their preparations for the increased natural gas demand

In Central European countries (as in other parts of the continent), the level of natural gas stored in underground gas storage (UGS) facilities before the coming autumn-winter period is low. This situation is a consequence of the limited availability of this commodity. Market conditions are not very favourable, and if such a situation continues in coming months, problems with the...

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Balkan Team

Fot. Politycy
IEŚ Commentaries 417
Agata Domachowska - Balkan Team

Serbia and Montenegro: deteriorating relations between states

With the formation of the new government in Montenegro, it was assumed that Belgrade-Podgorica relations could improve significantly. However, both the Democratic Party of Socialists of Montenegro (DPS), which had been ruling for almost thirty years, and the unquestioned leader and president of Montenegro, Milo Đukanović, warned about the dangerous “approach” of Montenegro...

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Balkan Team, Visegrad Team

IEŚ Commentaries 413
Marlena Gołębiowska - Balkan Team, Visegrad Team

Before the summit in Sofia: challenges facing the Three Seas Initiative

On July 8-9, 2021, Bulgaria will hold the sixth summit of The Three Seas Initiative (TSI). The meeting in Sofia will be an opportunity to summarize the achievements so far, but also to discuss the challenges facing the Initiative, which include, inter alia, real and potential conflicts, the slow pace of implementation of priority projects, the return of the countries of this...

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Balkan Team

Fot. Patriarcha Porfirije
IEŚ Commentaries 402
Agata Domachowska - Balkan Team

Montenegro: another dispute over the Serbian Orthodox Church

The current government of Montenegro has been facing various internal tensions since its formation. Significant tensions have developed not only between the government and President Milo Đukanovic or the largest opposition grouping – the Democratic Party of Socialists of Montenegro, but also within the government coalition. The source of the conflict is an agreement to be...

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Baltic Team

IEŚ Commentaries 390
Marlena Gołębiowska - Baltic Team

The New European Bauhaus: the challenges of Central Europe in terms of energy-efficient construction

The path to the ambitious European Union goal of climate neutrality leads largely through energy-efficient construction. Its creation is to be fostered by the New European Bauhaus – an initiative aimed at bringing together the knowledge and experience of representatives of various fields in order to redirect construction to low-carbon tracks. The countries of Central Europe face...

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Baltic Team

IEŚ Commentaries 389
Aleksandra Kuczyńska-Zonik - Baltic Team

Pandemics of social inequalities: status of national and ethnic minorities in Latvia and Estonia

In Latvia and Estonia the pandemic highlighted and deepened socio-economic inequalities due to nationality and ethnicity. The higher rates of COVID-19 among minorities may have resulted from limited access to high-quality health services and information in minority languages. In addition, the lower socio-economic status of the minorities compared to the titular communities,...

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