Europe Calling “A European Spring? – What the protests are about”

Recording

Dear friends!

Belgrade, Bucharest, Tbilisi, Budapest, Athens, Bratislava, Rome, Istanbul. A wave of mass demonstrations has swept across Europe and is now taking hold in more and more countries.

Are we currently witnessing a ‘European Spring’, a revolt against increasingly autocratic governments, Russian influence and for a better life in Europe?

In our next Europe Calling, we will bring together guests from many of the countries to talk about the differences, triggers and similarities of the protest and ask what role citizens and politics can play now in Europe.

Our guests are:

• Jelena Vasiljević is a Senior Research Associate at the Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory, University of Belgrade, She was an expert member of The Balkans in Europe Policy Advisory Group (BiEPAG) and currently sits on the European Alternatives Transnational Board.
• Claudiu Craciun is a Lecturer in European Politics at the Faculty of Political Science, National University of Political Studies and Administration, Bucharest, Romania. His main research interests are democracy, party systems, party organisations, and social movements.
• Teona Macharashvili is a democracy activist in Georgia and co-founder of Caucasus Open Space (COS), an NGO working for democracy, the rule of law and sustainability in the region. Teona is also director of Maisi.News, a platform for investigative journalism.
• Myrto Xanthopoulou is a nonprofit consultant, with extensive field experience in Greece. She is a consortium member of the Democratic Odyssey and works closely with international and local NGOs and grassroots initiatives.
• Christian Beck is a board member of the Europa-Union where he was part of the steering group for the campaign EurHope for the European Election 2024. He has worked for two Members of the European Parliament focussing on European federalism and the fight against corruption. Together with Dániel Fehér, he is writing about the protests here.
• Further guests to be announced

Date: Wednesday, 26 March 2025, 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm CEST (Brussels/Berlin)

With simultaneous interpretation in German and English.

Come yourself and invite others!

With European greetings

Maximilian Fries and everyone at Europe Calling