The EU risks losing Russia’s frozen assets as sanctions near expiration. Legal experts confirm trans­ferring these funds to Ukraine is lawful and would enforce Russia’s repara­tions oblig­ation. Seizing the assets could bolster inter­na­tional law and strengthen Ukraine finan­cially and military. Will the EU act before it’s too late? Yuliya Ziskina asks.

As US President Donald Trump moves to reshape transat­lantic ties, experts warn that the EU must unite to counter global threats. Following Germany’s elections, RFI’s Jan van der Made spoke with Ralf Fücks about how Europe should respond to Washington’s shifting stance.

In our first Transat­lantic Online Dialogue, hosted by Ambas­sador John Herbst together with Ralf Fücks (Center for Liberal Modernity), we had a rich and constructive discussion on the future of the transat­lantic partnership, thanks to Marie Mendras, Ambas­sador Daniel Fried, Michael Gahler, and Robin Wagner.

“What peace? Ukraine and Us” — two questions that could not be more funda­mental were the focus of our inter­na­tional conference, the third since the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022: What does the war in Ukraine mean for the West, and what goals must a future peace order fulfill?

As a result of Russia’s constant attacks on its energy sector, Ukraine suffers an ongoing severe energy shortage. Power outages are a daily occur­rence. This makes life difficult for the population, endangers...

The Ukrainian energy system is at the brink of collapse. Expert Oleksandr Vizir makes concrete proposals and outlines a plan to save the energy infra­structure of the country. Measures include rapid devel­opment of new gener­ation capac­ities as well as controlling state energy companies.

July 9–10: Center for Liberal Modernity in Tbilisi — inter­na­tional conference with our partner organi­za­tions aims at fostering collab­o­ration among civil society organi­za­tions from the eastern partner­ships and the Western Balkans and strenghten them on EU accession issues. Partic­i­pants will share their paths to EU membership, exchange best practices and develop joint initiatives.

In April 2014, Russia began a covert armed invasion of the Ukrainian Donets Basin. However, many politi­cians, journalists and even some academics still follow the Russian propa­ganda narrative of an alleged “civil war” in eastern Ukraine at the time. An analysis by Julia Kazdobina, Jakob Hedenskog and Andreas Umland.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz is putting Germans and all Europeans in danger. His current policy seriously risks defeat in Ukraine, which would embolden Moscow and raise the likelihood of a wider war with Russia in which the missiles could be falling on Cologne rather than Kyiv – An Open Letter to Germany’s Leaders from Inter­na­tional and German Experts.

On February 28th LibMod organised a workshop on the Green energy transition in Ukrainian commu­nities to discuss current legislative frame­works and practical local experi­ences of small distributed gener­ation in munic­i­pal­ities with lawmakers and experts from Ukraine and the EU. Decen­tralized energy can benefit commu­nities through strength­ening their resilience and security, reducing electricity costs, and increasing invest­ments and local ownership. Since the Russian war of aggression, municipal owned enter­prises and local ownership of renewable energy have become highly important. 

What does Russia’s war against Ukraine mean for German-Polish relations? Inter­na­tional experts, academics, journalists and diplomats from Poland and Germany, Ukraine, Belarus and the USA discussed these and other questions at the fifth German-Polish Round Table in Wojnowice.

For many years, Poland and Germany pursued different policies regarding Russia and Ukraine. While Warsaw advocated harsher sanctions against Moscow and more support for Kyiv, Berlin was tradi­tionally more reluctant. Despite Zeiten­wende, differ­ences linger. Can the two countries synchronize their approach?

With its overar­ching theme “How fragile is the Putin system?” the recent meeting of LibMod’s Expert Network Russia at the Eastern Studies Centre in Warsaw sent a clear message: A fragile Russia...

Biomethane is an important element on the path to climate neutrality — thus the demand is great in Germany. This paper describes the potential that lies in the German-Ukrainian biomethane cooper­ation — and how existing hurdles can be overcome.

Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and its attempt to destroy Europe’s post-Cold War security order have triggered a series of crises that constitute the conti­nent’s most severe upheavals in more...

On 11 October 2023, an inter­na­tional conference organised by the Centre for Liberal Modernity shed light on the signif­i­cance of the Russian war of aggression for Europe. What can we do to ensure that a free and united Ukraine emerges from the war? How can war criminals be held accountable? How do we shape the European security order of the future?

What oppor­tu­nities, problems and solutions do Ukrainian energy experts see for the sustainable recon­struction of their country’s energy system? The policy paper “Ukraine’s Path Towards a Sustainable Energy Sector” summarises the results of our survey study and describes policy recommendations.

One year after Ukraine was granted EU candidate status, we invited high-ranking repre­sen­ta­tives of the EU and Germany as well as experts from leading European think tanks to take stock of devel­op­ments so far. The discussion in Berlin on 18/​19 September also looked at the prospects for 2024 and tried to identify necessary reforms.

In an Op-Ed for spiegel.de, Ralf Fücks and Marieluise Beck present 10 propo­si­tions about what is at stake in Russia’s war against Ukraine and what needs to be done.

On the 24th of August Ukraine celebrates its Indepen­dence Day. An indepen­dence for which the country pays a high price. In his commentary, Vitaly Sych, editor-in-chief of the Ukrainian media house NV, explains why it will still be a day of hope.

Ukraine must rely on its partners for funding to win the war and rebuild the country. This year’s Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC) was an oppor­tunity for Ukraine to build trust and trans­parency regarding its plans and goals for the funding. Now Ukraine should address its long-term challenges and its commitment to build a stable business environment, while preparing for the URC 2024. Despite or even because of the ongoing war Ukraine should make reforms its priority next to fighting Russia and liber­ating its territories.

After the EU granted Ukraine candidate status in June 2022, the country is making progress in the areas of anti-corruption and deoli­garchization despite the war. In her policy brief, Tetiana Sevchuk analyzes the current state of reforms in Ukraine and what concrete steps are still needed in imple­menting these EU prior­ities so that accession negoti­a­tions can begin.

Karolina Wigura at the LAMPA Conver­sation Festival in Cēsis, Latvia on “Democracy and its enemies: How Not to Lose the Battle”. Putin’s war of aggression in Ukraine has created new geopo­litical and security realities that no longer leave Europe in peace. We are facing a decade of turbu­lence — how can we weather this storm? What are the threats to our democracies?

On June 15th, LibMod organized a Round Table on the prospects of a German-Ukrainian biomethane cooper­ation where the repre­sen­ta­tives from politics and business as well as experts from both countries discussed the potential of biomethane production in Ukraine, its role in facil­i­tating a green transition, and economic and legislative challenges for the trade development.

Center for Liberal Modernity together with our Ukrainian partners from Clean Energy Lab would like to invite you to an online discussion on “Small distributed gener­ation and reforming the energy system of Ukraine” June 28th 14–15:30 CET.

In response to the Russian invasion and the attacks on the energy infra­structure, Ukraine’s government has priori­tised energy decen­tral­i­sation as one of the direc­tions for improving energy security and resilience. The author of the brief, Oleksii Romanov, covers the current state of the industry and the stimu­lation system, analyses the plans for reforming this system, drafts the principles to guide future policy and the potential areas of German-Ukrainian cooper­ation for the decen­tral­i­sation of Ukraine’s energy system.

Blowing up of the Kachowka Dam repre­sents a crime against humanity. The people in the flooded areas are literally faced with nothing — and yet want to keep fighting. Marieluise Beck was in Kherson with Ukrainian aid organizations.

Der russische Kernen­ergiemo­nop­olist Rosatom scheint von Sanktionen verschont zu bleiben – trotz seiner Rolle bei der Besetzung des Kernkraftwerks Sapor­ischschja und der faktischen Erpressung Europas. Wie die Lage in Sapor­ischschja und anderen AKWs in der Ukraine ist, welche Sanktionen gegen Rosatom verhängt werden sollten und wie sich der Westen von der russischen Atomin­dustrie unabhängig machen kann – darüber disku­tierten bei LibMod am 27. April Anton Hofreiter, Victoria Voitsitska und Rebecca Harms. 

This policy brief gives an overview of the current state of the Ukrainian energy system and the challenges that emerged because of the war, but also the chances for the sustainable recon­struction of the energy sector. In order to modernise the economy on a sustainable basis Ukraine needs signif­icant private invest­ments. At the same time, the large-scale recon­struction of the energy sector offers oppor­tu­nities for German and EU companies to partic­ipate in the “green” devel­opment of the Ukrainian economy.

In this policy paper, Alisa Muzergues and Pavel Havlíček analyse the multi­lateral formats and cooper­a­tions in Central and Eastern Europe in which Ukraine partic­i­pates — or aspires to participate.

What are the EU’s options regarding Ukraine’s integration into the European Defence Union? What measures are relevant for security on the ground? Iulian Romanyshyn explores these questions in the new LibMod policy paper.

The EU wants to promote the rule of law in Ukraine, but what external measures are needed to achieve this and what are the Ukrainian realities? This is analyzed by Maryna Rabinovych in the LibMod policy paper.

The West must consis­tently punish sanction viola­tions, lower the price ceiling for Russian oil and make itself independent of the Russian nuclear industry — Sergiy Petukhov on the effect and future of sanctions against Russia.

PUBLIC CALL Demon­stration and rally on the anniversary of the Russian invasion

The EU must become an autonomous foreign policy actor and use its enlargement policy to address the challenges posed by Russia’s aggression. A Policy Paper by Laure Delcour and Kataryna Wolczuk.

Lukaschenka präsen­tiert sich seinem Volk als Garant des Friedens, sein Regime scheint gefestigt – solange Russland den Krieg in der Ukraine nicht verliert. 

Appeal by more than 70 writers, histo­rians, security experts and scholars on Eastern Europe

Do Russian war crimes constitute genocide? What oblig­a­tions does this impose on the inter­na­tional community? Experts from politics, academia and civil society discussed these questions at the inter­na­tional conference “Inter­na­tional Law against Genocide”.

Half a year after the start of the large-scale Russian invasion, the West should continue to support Ukraine with further arms deliveries.

Marieluise Beck is asked if she changed her mind about German foreign policy after recent arms deliv­eries. She also speaks about mistakes made by previous govern­ments and former Chancellor Schröders...

What happened in Srebrenica 27 years ago is now occurring in Bucha, Mariupol and other areas of Ukraine conquered by Russia. An essay by Marieluise Beck

Oil and gas revenues continue to fill the Russian war chest. In order to damage the Russian economy severely, a drop in the supply of products for the IT sector would...

Open letter to the German Government and the Bundestag: Russian warfare fulfils the central charac­ter­istics of genocide. Germany must fulfil its “Respon­si­bility to Protect”.

The granting of candidate status does not mean accession: it is above all a recog­nition of the progress Ukraine has made in reforms and a great symbolic gesture to a people who are...

EU research has shown that a credible membership perspective is an effective means of anchoring liberal democracy from the outside. That is why Ukraine must now be granted candidate status.

As part of our project “Eastern Partnership Plus” we publish a series of input papers on the topic: Perspec­tives and Pathways to EU Candidate Status for Ukraine, Georgia and the Republic...

The Ukrainian TV channel “1plus1” broad­casted live on May 8th from Berlin. During the interview with Marieluise Beck one of the topics was the role of NATO in the war...

After the Bundestag’s decision to supply heavy weapons to Ukraine, a contro­versial debate has flared up about Germany’s attitude towards the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine.  The signa­tories call on Chancellor Olaf Scholz and the German government to ...

Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine is a turning point for Europe and the whole world. What are its policy impli­ca­tions? Are the sanctions imposed so far suffi­cient to contain the...

So far, the people of Ukraine have borne the burden of the war all alone. For the German precept of “never again”, this is a reality shock, comments Marieluise Beck.

More than 80 scholars, politi­cians, business­people and civil society repre­sen­ta­tives have signed an appeal to the German government to stop oil and gas imports from Russia. Remarkably, the coalition of...

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is reaching a perilous stage. The West needs to step up efforts to make Putin’s war unwinnable. Conces­sions will only prolong his regime and increase Moscow’s appetite...

Moldova, a country in the heart of Europe, its current leadership and first and foremost its people, opened not only its borders but also their homes for the suffering neigh­bours. The...

On 22 March, at 2 pm, the Center for Liberal Modernity in cooper­ation with Naftogaz Ukraine and the Ukrainian Feder­ation of Employers of the Oil and Gas Industry invites you to...

Based on six criteria of the United Nations Convention against Genocide, Russia is committing genocide in Mariupol, says Inter­na­tional law expert Otto Luchterhandt.

By waging a war against Ukraine, Putin has badly miscal­cu­lated. The Russian leader has become victim of his own propa­gan­distic visions and failed to antic­ipate the Western respo­nse, writes Vladislav Inozemtsev.

How should we deal with a repressive and confronta­tional Russia? Join our annual discussion “Russia and the West” on 24 March, which will be held jointly with the Munich Security Conference...

We must stop funding Putin’s war with our energy imports

Political scientist Oleksandra Keudel warns of European and global conse­quences in the case of Russian attacks on Ukrainian nuclear power plants.

Statement on the Russian invasion of Ukraine

Ukraine has a high potential for the production of “green” hydrogen. DiXi Group’s infographic explains what condi­tions must be met for hydrogen export.

Two prominent members of the Ukrainian parliament appeal to their colleagues in the German Bundestag to stand by Ukraine in the face of Russian threats of war.

After failing to agree on exclusive spheres of influence in Europe with the Trump admin­is­tration, the Kremlin is challenging Washing­ton’s ability to keep unity among Euro-Atlantic allies and protect European...

How should the West counter Russian threats of war? We document Ralf Fücks’ OP ED at DIE WELT, 21.12.2021.

This Wednesday, the Eastern Partnership Summit will take place for the first time in four years. On this occasion, Iryna Solonenko, Senior Fellow at the Center for Liberal Modernity, sheds...

As 2021 draws to a close, we look back on this year’s important events. Among them is the Crimea Platform, which was launched in August at Ukraine’s initiative to shore up...

On 22 October, the foundation stone for a new memorial to the 1941 massacre was laid in Odesa. The future memorial is the result of an initiative of the Centre for...

The consid­erable break­throughs in the EU-Ukraine economic agenda have been harmed by sluggish political devel­opment, partic­u­larly concerning the rule of law. The judicial reform, anti-corruption efforts, independent and efficient law-enforcement...

  On October 5, 2021, the Center Liberal Modernity held the public discussion on prior­ities for cooper­ation with Ukraine, Georgia, and Moldova under the Eastern Partnership Plus project. The discussion...

Europe is suffering from high gas prices. At some gas hubs, they increased more than 250% since January, and already have impact on the retail prices for house­holds in many...

When Angela Merkel took office as German Chancellor in 2005, she was better prepared for the challenges on the EU’s eastern border than any other West European head of government....

In the LibMod-Policy-Paper: Towards a European Climate Diplomacy, Dr. Georg Zachmann analyses the extension of the European Green Deal to the three associated states of the EU (Ukraine, Georgia and the...

The reactions in Ukraine to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy recent visit to the United States vary widely and are often politi­cized. They range from state­ments that the visit lifted relations to...

The impact of the Biden-Merkel-Agreement on Nord Stream 2 in Ukraine is simply disas­trous. Especially among western oriented, reform-minded people trust in Germany and the US fell at a record low. China...

In this analyses Dmytro Shulga argues for the EU and specif­i­cally Germany to consider it’s own strategic gains in offering Ukraine a way to full EU membership over an extended amount...

As part of our project “Eastern Part­ner­ship Plus”, we are pub­lish­ing a second series of input papers on the topic of Perspec­tives and Prior­ities European Green Deal (EGD) in Ukraine, Georgia...

In late March 2021 Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky revoked a decree made by runaway president Viktor Yanukovych appointing Oleksandr Tupytsky and Oleksandr Kasminin to the Consti­tu­tional Court. This raised eyebrows in...

Since January 2021 there has been growing military escalation in conflict-affected areas of Donbas. Russia has built up military equipment deployment along the Russian-Ukrainian border, reposi­tioned its army and strengthened...

The analytical paper “Investment plans of the EU: oppor­tu­nities for Ukraine in the area of the European Green Deal imple­men­tation” identifies the most important spheres of involvement for the Ukrainian...

Only temporarily, says Michael Zürn, Director at the Berlin Social Science Center. 

Online-Panel Discussion on October 6, 2020, with Gunther Krichbaum, Johannes Schraps, Renata Alt, Manuel Sarrazin und others.

As part of our project “Eastern Part­ner­ship 2.0” we publish a series of arti­cles about the three EU asso­ci­a­ted states. The authors from the region (Mikheil Benidze, Volodymyr Yermolenko, Victor Gotisan)...

In the LibMod policy paper: “The Eastern Partner­ship’s Missing Security Dimension” Gustav C. Gressel analyses the precarious security situation in the three EU associate countries and sheds light on EU...

As part of our project “Eastern Partnership 2.0” we publish a series of articles about the three EU associ­ation states (Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova). Three authors from the region (Veronika Movchan, Irina...

An interview with Dr. Ulana Suprun, former acting minister of Health of Ukraine (2016–2019) on the government’s response to COVID-19, including an erratic commu­ni­cation strategy, a lack of trans­parency and corruption...

Many EU capitals regard Belarus as an extension of Russia and take little interest in it. EU leaders are also uncom­fortable dealing with its long-time autocratic leader, Alexander Lukashenka. Such...

A Russian agent who switched sides is attacked with a military-grade nerve agent in a provincial English town. Prime Minister May holds Moscow respon­sible for the attack. Are we back in the...

Recapit­u­lation of a faltering peace process: the second Minsk Agreement of February 2015, intended to put an end to the war in eastern Ukraine and to set a political process in motion,...