To evaluate the role of donor assistance in security sector reform in Serbia, the Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP) has commissioned a report that has been drafted by a group of experts, under the guidance of Dr. Amadeo Watkins. Recognising the need to strengthen public dialogue in Serbia [More..]

The Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP) organized its Annual Lecture delivered by Professor George Dertilis, École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales, Paris, and Professor Emeritus, University of Athens on

History does not repeat itself and does not teach: Economic Crises and State in Greece. [More..]

One year after the election of Barack Obama as President of the USA, it appears to be a different era in relations between the two sides of the Atlantic. The question, however, remains, how tangible is the change that the new administration has brought in transatlantic relations and how is this perceived in Europe. On this occasion, the Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP) organized, on Thursday 28 January 2010, a roundtable discussion with Francois Lafond, Director of the German Marshall of the United States (GMFUS) [More..]

The Hellenic Foundation for European & Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP) on Tuesday 19 January 2010, organised a roundtable discussion with Dr. Jozsef Czukor, State Secretary for EU Member States & Policy Planning at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Hungary. Dr. Czukor elaborated on the prospects for cooperation between Central & South-east Europe.

In preparation of Hungary’s forthcoming EU Presidency during the first half of 2011 [More..]

The Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP) on Saturday, 19 December 2009 organised a public discussion on

Fiscal Deficits & Europe:  Why Mr. Almunia is making a fuss about it?

The ascertainment of the Greek problem:

•    Low level of competitiveness that is reflected in a negative current account balance. Today Greece has the largest current account deficit, as a percentage of GDP, in the world. [More..]

The Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP) on Wednesday, 16 December 2009, at 13.00 hrs, at the “Y. Kranidiotis” Amphitheater  of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs organized a roundtable discussion on

10 years from Helsinki: Prospects for Greek-Turkish relations

The Helsinki Accord was a benchmark in the history of Greek-Turkish relations. Taking advantage from Turkey’s will for accession to the EU and EU’s will for broadening to the east, Greece has managed to advance the accession of the Republic of Cyprus to the EU, without having resolved previously the Cyprus dispute, and connect the Greek-Turkish disputes with Turkey’s European course. [More..]

The Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP) organized, on Wednesday 2 December 2009, the presentation of the second report of the Independent Commission on Turkey entitled

Turkey in Europe: breaking the vicious circle

Turkish membership to the European Union has been, and it is safe to assume that it will continue to be, a hotly debated issue by experts and policymakers. [More..]

The Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP) and the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Athens organized on Thursday, 26 November 2009, at 17:00 hours, at the Y. Kranidiotis Amphitheatre at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a lecture by Mr. Jan Krzysztof Bielecki former Prime Minister of Poland; President & CEO, Bank Pekao SA, Warsaw.

Mr. Bielecki’s lecture focused on The success of the Polish economy in light of the global economic crisis [More..]

Policy Network, in partnership with Friends of Europe, hosted a major international conference in Brussels on 4 November 2009 to launch and discuss the policy and political recommendations of the research programme, “An EU “fit for purpose” in the global age“. The event marked the launch of the substantial report “An EU ‘fit for purpose’ in the global age – Can we rise to the challenge?” authored by Loukas Tsoukalis, Olaf Cramme and Roger Liddle [More..]

On 9-10 October 2009, a two-day workshop entitled “Rights, legal mobilization and political participation in Europe” was organized and convened by ELIAMEP in Athens. It was funded by the European Science Foundation as part of the ESF exploratory workshop series. Twenty two participants were involved in the workshop. Sixteen participants came from 10 different countries [More..]

The Halki International Seminars (HIS) are the pride and joy of ELIAMEP, forming the core of its training activities for young leaders. The Seminars have been held annually since 1990 on the small island of Halki, in the Aegean Sea just off the island of Rhodes.

The primary purpose of the Halki International Seminars is to promote the exchange of ideas and experiences in order to achieve greater understanding and forge links among young political and economic decisionmakers, researchers, academics, journalists and other professionals interested in international affairs. This purpose is pursued through offering training packages on the processes of European integration and enlargement; civil society-building, conflict resolution and regional cooperation. [More..]

Since January 2007, ELIAMEP has started a series of Research Seminars organized by its team of researchers with a view to discussing their current and recent work, providing critical input and also learning from each other. The Seminars are genuinely interdisciplinary bringing together postgraduate, postdoctoral and senior researchers from sociology, politics, social anthropology, or economics specialized in issues of European integration, migration, international relations, human rights, labour market and the media. Each session involves discussing and commenting on a research paper, which is circulated in advance. The research papers are usually work in progress and are part of one of ELIAMEP’s research projects. The seminars are open to researchers and graduate students that are external to ELIAMEP.

The seminars are held on a monthly basis (from September till July each year) always at lunch time, that is between 13.00 and 14.30. For organizational reasons, those wishing to attend and who are not regular attendees should contact Director General Thanos Dokos who is Convenor of the ELIAMEP Research Seminars.

9.02.10

This study inquires into why states implement differently the European Court of Human Rights (hereby ECtHR or ‘Court’) judgments that pertain to core civil liberties (Articles 8-11/14 ECHR), as well as rights claims raised by marginalized individuals and minorities. By drawing upon the resolutions issued by the Committee of Ministers (CoM), the body responsible for monitoring execution of ECtHR judgments, this study seeks a) to identify patterns of variation across nine countries in the degree to which national authorities promptly and expediently implement these, and b) to explain the factors that account for such variation.

On the basis of a statistical analysis of case law data across nine countries, the findings show that patterns of variation run across national lines rather than across different areas of rights and policy. They show a strong correlation between effectiveness of government institutions and how expeditiously states implement ECtHR judgments. In line with the management approach in the study of compliance with international law, institutional factors such as effectiveness of public service, its independence from political pressure, and rule of law as reflected in independent and efficient justice systems, emerge as decisive in the implementation of ECHR decisions. On the contrary, factors such as economic development do not tell us anything significantly about a country capacity to enforce ECHR decisions.

See the whole PPT presentation.

25.01.10

Giannis Grigoriadis examines the rise of anti-American nationalism in Turkey. While Turkish public opinion has developed strong views against a set of foreign policies furthered by the United States, recent findings allude to the development of an emerging anti-US bias in large segments of Turkish society. The deterioration of the US image in Turkey could be considered a result of the recent US involvement in the Middle East, as well as socio-political shifts inherent to Turkey’s democratization process.

Britain and the US have played a central role in shaping the institutions and outlook of the modern Greek state, from its inception in the early 1800s to the establishment of its modern police force and intelligence service between the 1940s and 1960s-70s.

From what had been its predominant position in the domestic security regime of Greece, British involvement dropped significantly after World War Two, while US engagement peaked during the period of the Greek junta (1967-74). Thereafter, when democratisation brought the first socialist Greek government into office, relations between Greece and the US in particular were considerably cooled. The Greek government of the 1980s courted the popular vote by wielding a Tiers Mondialiste discourse and a confrontational public stance against the traditional security influence exerted by the US in Greece. Regardless of the apparent difficulties of the US-Greek relationship, however, it was in this period that the seeds were sown of more extensive and scarcely less controversial anti-terrorist co-operation between the two states.

Abstract from the presentation by Dr. Sappho Xenakis to the ELIAMEP Research Seminar on 28 September 2009.

As the global crisis deepens, the economic outlook for the region of southeast Europe darkens. How are countries in the Balkans affected by and reacting to the global financial riptide? The crisis resistance of countries in the region has not been tested before on such a scale. Their institutional arrangements remain distinctly fragile. Confronting the crises will require bold and coordinated policy initiatives, sustained international support and the recognition of its social implications.

The global financial and economic crises mean tough times ahead in all hemispheres. The crises will not detour the Balkans. The downturn is proving a major test for political and economic institutions that have little to no experience with such a magnitude of challenges. Much is at stake for the region’s short to medium-term outlook. The economies in the Balkans are facing a serious stress test against the unfavourable backdrop of plummeting economic activity, increasing fiscal problems and worries about the health of their banking sectors. [More..]

Hellenic Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in the context of Greece’s presidency of the Human Security Network for 2007/2008, undertook the tracing of vital threatens and social vulnerabilities in poor regions. The MFA appointed ELIAMEP as scientific expert to coordinate the undertaking of four individual policy papers in the above thematic areas. Emphasis is given on the demonstration of representative case studies from countries which could be aided through the Hellenic Aid program of MFA.

Seems that the Climate Change and Human Security project offers a significant contribution to scientific community and policy makers.

Read the whole presentation (pdf).

This paper introduces the notion of ‘counter-diasporic migration’ as the process whereby the second
generation relocates to the ancestral homeland – the birthplace of their parents. We review and critically analyse the three key literatures that frame this process – on the second generation, on diasporas and on return migration – and find that all of them say very little about the transnational links and return movements of this migrant generation. In the final part of the paper we examine issues of home, identity, place and belonging as constitutive elements of the cultural geography of second-generation return.
Although the paper is essentially a review and (re)conceptualisation, throughout the account we weave an empirical thread relating to recent research carried out by the authors on the return of second-generation Greek-Americans and Greek-Germans to their ancestral home in Greece.

Read the presentation (PPT) and the whole paper (pdf).

The transformation of the character of the European Union and the diffusion of European norms facilitated a drastic improvement of minority rights in Greece in the 1990s. Nonetheless, significant problems have persisted, which have undermined the credibility of the role model that Greece wishes to comprise for neighbouring EU candidate states. The situation was different in the 1990s when Turkey’s EU candidacy gained impetus. The promulgation of the Copenhagen Criteria in 1993 meant that respect for minority rights became a condition for EU membership. It is argued in this study that minority rights protection in Greece and Turkey remains one of the fields where Europeanization has triggered considerable progress, but not fulfilled its full potential. The asymmetry between current and past EU membership criteria led Greece and Turkey to diverse experiences of Europeanization in the field of minority rights.

Read the whole article published in Mediterranean Politics, Vol. 13, No. 1, March 2008, pp. 23-41.

The author seeks to track the pink card not just through the bureaucratic machinery of asylum and advocacy practices, but how it emerges in the disparate movements and talk of asylum seekers themselves. Instead of a tool or instrument of governmental power, the pink card emerges rather as a kind of thread through which persons become attached to the category of asylum seeker and its accompanying (but widely varying) set of bureaucratic practices. The pink card is an artifact of bureaucratic and legal processes, and a thread through which persons are tied to legal categories.

However, this document also acquires its power through the divergent meanings that asylum seekers grant it, colored with fears and anxieties of limbo and immobility, desires for status and legitimation, and dreams of prosperity. These many significances emerge not just through the often quotidian bureaucratic practices through which the card takes shape and moves, but just as crucially, through the talk, narratives, and active interpretative work of asylum

Preventing non-state actors from gaining access Whereas military preparations as an option of last resort may be necessary, theThe proliferation of WMD and ballistic missiles in the Middle East and the Mediterranean is generally considered by Western officials and analysts as a destabilising development. There are a number of measures and initiatives that NATO, the EU and the West in general could undertake in order to improve the prospects for security and stability in the Mediterranean and the Middle East: a) The U.S. and Europe need to develop effective crisis management capabilities to cope with crises in the region b) The EU is the actor which is best placed to deal with the socio-economic problems of the Mediterranean and ensure that they do not escalate into major crises requiring military action c) Whereas military preparations as an option of last resort may be necessary, the emphasis should be on traditional nonproliferation methods d) to WMD should constitute a high priority for Western countries and, indeed, the whole international community.

Read the conclusion chapter from the book “Countering the proliferation of weapons mass destruction“.

ELIAMEP’s European Seminars were launched in 2003. Initially organised in the context of the Halki International Seminars, the success of our European Seminars Series quickly led to their establishment as a separate annual event. These annual high-level meetings have concentrated on Europe’s political and social challenges, the EU’s  global role and its neighbourhood. They and have brought together experts, senior academics and policy makers from across Europe. Since 2006 they  have been organised with the support of the Jean Monnet Lifelong Learning Programme of DG Education & Culture (European Commission).

Delphi, 25-28 June 2009

In the framework of its European Seminars, ELIAMEP organized an international high-level conference entitled: “The Delphic Oracle on Europe: Politics and Policies“. In the course of the conference a group of around 40 leading academics, practitioners, think tankers and journalists analysed and evaluated the outcome of the 2009 European elections and debated the redefinition of economic governance in the EU in light of the current global crisis, Europe’s global role in a rapidly changing international environment, the perspectives for a “Green Europe”, and the future of the Lisbon Treaty. The conference took place between 25-28 June 2009, in Delphi, Greece.

The list of participants included among others: Josep Borrell Fontelles, Member of the European Parliament, PSE, Brussels; Dieter Helm, Professor of Energy Policy, University of Oxford; Zaki Laïdi, Professor at Sciences Po, Paris; Roger Liddle, Vice-Chair, Policy Network, London; Yves Mény, European University Institute (EUI), Florence; Pier Carlo Padoan, Deputy Secretary-General, OECD, Paris; André Sapir, European Centre for Advanced Research in Economics and Statistics, Université Libre de Bruxelles; Richard Sinnott, Professor of Political Science, University College Dublin; Jolyon Howorth, Jean Monnet Professor of European Politics at the University of Bath; Michael Stürmer, Chief Correspondent, Die Welt, Berlin; Paal Frisvold, Chairman of the Board, Bellona Europa, Brussels; Loukas Tsoukalis, President of ELIAMEP, Athens. [More..]

Sounio, 3-6 July 2008

The Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP) and the Bertelsmann Foundation jointly organized a conference on “The EU and its Neighbours: In Search of New Forms of Partnership“. At a critical juncture, 45 leading thinkers, policy-makers and journalists brainstormed on the future relationship between the EU and its eastern and southern neighbours. The participants from numerous European and non-European countries (1) discussed the expectations of both the EU and its neighbours, (2) analysed the current state of the EU’s neighbourhood policy, (3) explored the potentials of the new Union for the Mediterranean, (4) looked into the cooperation potentials in the fields of agriculture, education, energy, and migration, and (5) finally, sketched possible alternatives between full membership and non-membership. [More..]

Nafplio, 28 June – 1st July 2007

At this critical juncture, ELIAMEP brought together a group of around 40 leading thinkers and policy-makers from different European countries to brainstorm on three core dimensions of European integration – the global, the social and the political – and discuss alternative ways forward. [More..]