After the war in Georgia the activities of Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom in the region have to be now further intensified. A goal of the commitment is to peacefully solve the conflicts in the region and to make a contribution to the creation of conditions for a successful economic development.

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Since November 2006 and first consultative meeting in Ljubljana and subsequent event in February 2007 in Sarajevo, the LIBSEEN (Liberal South East European Network) has grown. Meeting in Skopje in April 2008 resulted in election of Ms. Vesna Pusic, President of Croat Peoples Party – Liberals (HNS) as Chairwomen of LIBSEEN.

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During a chat session organized by the Virtual Academy of the Friedrich Naumann Freedom Foundation on 18.08.2008, the Head of the Foundation’s Moscow office, Dr. Falk Bomsdorf, discussed issues of Russia’s development for the first 100 days of the term of Medvedev and the overall political and social development in Russia, its relations with the EU, NATO and with Georgia up to date. Enclosed herein, you will find the questions and answers.

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Representatives of the liberal Think-Tanks in MSOE and the Bulgarian Minister of European Affairs Gergana Grancharova discussed in Sofia Bulgaria’s transformation experience compared to other EU members. “For sure, the membership in the European Union will increase the prosperity of the citizens, but this will not occur at once and not for everyone”, the Minister says.

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The president of the Foundation for Liebrty, Dr. Wolfgang Gerhardt, a member of the Bundestag, announced in an interview with the German Telegraph Service - News Agency (DDP- Nachrichtenagentur) on 12th of August 2008 in Wiesbaden, that he will go for the Bundestag again. He believes that during his working time as a foundation leader, a mandate in the Bundestag and a membership in the Foreign Committee are important for international relations. Furthermore, he sees his role in international politics, but he is not after a minister post in Berlin.

This summer in Moscow took place the second colloquium with the topic „The presence of the Past - About the Attitudes Towards History and Memory“. The first colloquium was organised in July 2007 again in Moscow. Within the framework of the project Russia the discussions on a topic continued, which was introduced in the beginning of 1993, in the consideration that especially the examination and revision of the past would enable the Russian society to a new start and the Russian state to a real modernisation.

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Recently the European Commission published two critical reports on Bulgaria’s progress in the framework of the co-operation and control procedures and on the management of EU funds.

Radio Deutsche Welle interviewed on the topic Ulrich Niemann, Regional Manager for Central, Southeast and Eastern Europe, Southern Caucasus and Central Asia of the Foundation for Freedom Friedrich Naumann in Sofia.

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At this year meeting of liberal youth organizations´ representatives from the Southern Caucasus with an expert team of the German Young Liberals in the Georgian mountain resort Bakuriani the idea of a liberal youth organizations network in the Caucasus was born. Regardless of the recent conflicts in the region, Azeris, Armenians as well as Georgians and Abkhazians expressed their will to join the network.

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The smouldering conflicts in Nagorny Karabach, Abchasia and South Ossetia are threatening to destabilize the whole region in South Caucasus if solutions on basis of international law are not immediately found. Participants from Armenia, Aserbaidzhan and Georgia agreed about that and put an emphasis upon it at a three-day seminar of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom from 23 to 25 June in Brussels.

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www.e-sem.fnst.org

The fact that political adult education can function also via the Internet with great success have been proving for years The Virtual Academy and The International E-Academy for Leadership. The main idea behind it is the so-called „Blended Learning “, a symbiosis from real meeting and learning over a special learning platform via the Internet.

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More than two years and a half after its foundation and more than a year after merging with the Civic Alliance of Serbia (CAS), which was then a full member of the LI (Liberal International), the youngest and most successful liberal party in Serbia (LDP) became a member with observer status of the LI at its 55. Congress in Belfast.

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When I say that I am a happier and richer person after the seminar held at FNF´s Leadership Academy in Gummersbach, Germany, it is not a phrase. It is no exaggeration. It is just the truth.

I believe that not only me, but all the other participants in the seminar, feel very similar. It is because the seminar gave us a unique blend of knowledge and emotions, of experience and young energy, of respect, admiration and friendship.

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FNF - e.Newsletter MSOE No.2 05/2008

We have published our first e.Newsletter.

You can download a copy HERE.

In Kosovo the daily political routine has changed after the proclamation independence. After the response to the most prominent issue about status, the eyes of the public are directed with growing expectations towards the political actors in the country.
The political forces with liberal orientation or these which make efforts to have such orientation have realized that they should develop pragmatically and they should differentiate from other political parties in order to be able to play an independent role in Kosovo in the future.

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The Research Department Director of Cato Institutes in Washington, William A. Niskanen, warned against the increasing tendency for overregulation. In a lecture with the title The Effects of Government Regulation - a Lesson from American Experience the respected economist and former head of the economic adviser team of president Ronald Reagan presented in Prague his more than 35 years long scientific work and also his practical experience in the regulation.

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The Southern Caucasus has a long history of cultural, ethnic and religious tolerance. Unfortunately, since several years it has to overcome heavy conflicts.

For Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom (FNF) and the American Jewish Committee (AJC), which since 1992 have been working together on a program for democracy establishment and tolerance promotion with young leaders from politics and civil society in Eastern Europe and its neighbour regions, was a special challenge, to guide together the group of participants this year for the first meeting in Tbilissi, the capital of Georgia.

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In connection with a meeting of the European Liberals (ELDR) in Tallinn with support of the regional office of the Foundation for Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe, Southern Caucasus and Central Asia (MSOE) a seminar about the successful strategies for a stronger participation of the citizens in the elections for the EU Parliament in the year 2009 was hold.

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Ukraine is on the way to freedom - Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Liberty supports the country on its way. The Foundation Chairman, the Member of the German Parliament Wolfgang Gerhardt confirmed with the official opening of the foundation office in Kiew and during discussions with Ukrainian Ministers and MP´s.

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How can the democratic consolidation of the new Eastern EU member be supported effectively? Should the European Union and NATO accept soon new members in order to stabilize the new neighbour regions? These and other important strategic questions for the Foundation activity in Central, Southeastern, Eastern Europe and Southern Caucasus (MOSOE) discussed co-workers of the FNF with liberal MP´s from the German Parliament and experts of the Federal Government.

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With the participation of the Liberal International, the ELDR, the Dutch Liberal Party VVD and the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Liberty a meeting of liberal partners took place in Skopje, whose primary aim was to intensify the regional co-operation between the liberals of the West Balkans and from Southeastern Europe. In this closed part of the meeting discussions with partners from the region were held, especially with Gjerj Dedaj, Vice-Minister for Labour and Social Policy in the new government of independent Kosovo.

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Macedonia’s multicultural city of Struga hosted a political seminar under the topic “Supporting interethnic tolerance and the role of politics on February 8th and 9th which targeted the country’s youth. The city with its rich heritage is located at Lake Ohrid, close to the Albanian border. The municipality of Struga (including also 50 villages around the city) has a population of 65.809 with 58.8% ethnic Albanians, 34.6 % native Macedonians, 5.5 % Turks and 1.1% Roma.

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Mr. Jules MAATEN, ALDE spokesman for the dossier on SAA negotiations between EU and BiH visited Bosnia and Herzegovina 4-6 February 2008.Purpose of the visit of Mr. Maaten was to get acquainted with overall political and security situation in the country.

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Following a preliminary seminar in Sofia earlier in July and for the first time an integrated online-phase, the group of eleven went off to the US, together with the Coordinator for Regional dialog programs of the foundation’s regional office in Sofia, Dirk Steffes-tun.

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With a Prime Minister with the least possible majority (226 of 450 votes), a president, who doesn’t trust her, a coalition partner whose unanimous support is not guaranteed, an opposition that will stop at nothing, including buying votes and using physical violence as an act against the decisions of the government – how long can one stand these conditions? This is the question occupying the minds of the Ukrainian people even more than the approaching government policy.

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FNF - e.Newsletter MSOE No.1 12/2007

We have published our first e.Newsletter.

You can download a copy HERE.

From left to right: Nenad Prokic (MP), Ivan Andric (MP), Cedomir Jovanovic (President of the party)

Following an invitation by FNF a high-ranking delegation of the Serbian Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) visited the German capital and took part at the Congress of the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party (ELDR) in October. Members of the delegation, led by Cedomir Jovanovic, Chairman of LDP and former vice premier, were Nenad Prokic and Ivan Andric, MPs, Zoran Ostojic, member of the LDP Executive Committee, and Vukosava Crnjanski-Sabovic, LDP secretary in foreign affairs.

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Dr. Otto Count Lambsdorff with his wife, liberal leaders in Moldova, Ambassador Nikolaus Graf Lambsdorff, Dr. Rolf Steltemeier

At his latest visit to Moldova in October, Otto Count Lambsdorff, previous chairman of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Liberty, met with representatives of the liberal various parties in the country. He emphasized that Moldova would need only a strong and united liberal opposition.

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Lively discussion

Historical dimensions in the relations between Russia, Germany and Poland was the main topic of the Polish-Russian-German trialog that took place in Emmaus – a town located in the Russian region of Tver from 6th to 9th of September. The event was organized by the project office of the Friedrich-Naumann-Foundation for Liberty in Moscow, and its partners: the Historical Institute at Warsaw University, the Organization for Research on Russian Society (AIRO-XXI) in Moscow and the German Institute for Poland in Darmstadt. Sociologists, historians and journalists from these three countries participated in the event.

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The 10th Conference of the Balkan Political Club was held in the Bulgarian capital Sofia from 4th till 7th October. The event was supported by the Friedrich-Naumann-Foundation for Liberty and aimed to serve as a platform for bi-regional cooperation between the Balkans and the South Caucasus. A delegation of high-ranking liberal partners of the FNF, from Georgia, Armenia und Aserbeidschan, attended the meeting as guests.

Jorgo Chatzimarkakis

Among the present members and guests of the BPC and its president Dr. Željo Želev were the former Turkish prime minister Suleyman Demirel, long-time partner of the liberal foundation and of Želev, the Bulgarian president Georgi Parvanov, the former Bulgarian prime minister Simeon Sakskoburggotski, the former president of Romania Emil Constantinescu, the president of the Macedonian parliament Ljubisa Georgievski and Jorgo Chatzimarkakis, a German Member of the European Parliament.

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From left to right: Manfred Wichmann, Elena Dimitrova, Andrus Ansip, Ulrich Niemann

In many fields such as economic growth and reform will the Baltic states are the forerunners in East and Central Europe. But there are others, such as emigration and difficult minority integration, where great transformation problems must be solved. The regional director Ulrich Niemann could form his own impression about the political situation and the actual stand of the organized liberalism in the region during his first visit in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. He was attended by the former project director Manfred Wichmann, now responsible for Poland and Ukraine, and Elena Dimitrova, project assistant in the regional office, who supports him by his responsibilities as a new project director for the Baltic states.

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Third session in this year series of MandatNet seminars took place in Sanski Most in Northwest Bosnia and Herzegovina, “city on nine rivers” and home to two of MandatNet, Dijana Talic and Fadil Jakupovic from Liberal Democratic Party. A total of 21 participants participated in the event which dealt with very interesting topics of access to European Union funds for local communities.

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Lithuanian liberal youth ended the summer by gathering young liberals from all over Lithuania to deepen their understanding of liberalism as well as to upgrade their personal leadership skills.
The essential purpose of the “Summer school” is to bring together the most active, gifted, liberal-minded young people from Lithuanian liberal youth as well as to provide the impetus for long-term cooperation and relationships among them.

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Young liberals from the whole South Caucasus want a closer cooperation with their West European partners and plan a future network of youth organizations in the region to support the democratic and economic reforms in Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia. At the three summer workshops in these countries with prominent representatives of LYMEC, IFLRY and the Young Liberals (Germany), the young people in the region got the necessary political “arsenal”.

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From July 27 to 29 a group of young political leaders from all over MSOE region met in Sofia to discuss under the topic „Interethnic Tolerance and the Role of Politics” contemporary developments in minority- and human rights politics. The seminar was jointly organized by the Friedrich-Naumann-Foundation for Liberty and the American Jewish Committee (AJC). It aims to prepare the participants for a 10-day study trip to the USA which will take place in November.

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Discussions with political parties

The Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung für die Freiheit in cooperation with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Mission in Kosovo organized a two day roundtable from 05 to 06 of July in Prishtina on the “European Political Perspectives: Discussion on Liberal- Democracy”.

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On the 5th of July 2007 Dr. Asparuch Panov, co-worker of the Friedrich-Naumann-Foundation for Liberty for many years, presented publicly his new book „Between the emotions and the reality of the transformation”.

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Sascha Tamm of Naumann Foundation

Kosovo´s political landscape is exceptionally broad with currently 42 different parties registered. In many cases however their political programs tend to be not very specific and it is difficult for voters to understand their aims. That for a further development of their objectives is a crucial factor to build up a stable and sustainable democracy.

By invitation of OSCE, representatives of political parties informed themselves about the most important political currents in contemporary Europe.

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