FEATURED COMMENTARY & ANALYSIS

Life in Hungary during COVID-19

New Atlanticist Jul 5, 2024

Dispatch from Warsaw: Poland’s military and economic rise is coming just in time, as the West wobbles

By Daniel Fried

Its rise at home and its strategic clarity about Russia have placed Poland in the first rank of European powers for the first time in centuries.
NATO Poland
Life in Hungary during COVID-19

EnergySource Apr 3, 2024

Central and Eastern Europe needs to rethink its approach to energy security

By Pawel Czyzak and Nolan Theisen

The upcoming Three Seas Initiative Summit is an opportune time for Central and Eastern European leaders to pivot toward clean, affordable, and local renewables to build energy security.
Central Asia Central Europe
Life in Hungary during COVID-19

New Atlanticist Mar 6, 2024

NATO enlargement at twenty-five: How we got there and what it achieved

By Jerzy Koźmiński and Daniel Fried

Two and a half decades after Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic joined NATO, their membership continues to protect them from Russian aggression.
Central Europe Hungary

Featured Event

Flagship Event Mon, June 24, 2024 • 9:00 am ET

Warsaw Week 2024: A transatlantic agenda for an era of conflict and confrontation

This series of events hosted by the Europe Center’s Warsaw Office will provide a platform to map out a constructive agenda for the transatlantic partnership.
Europe & Eurasia Poland Politics & Diplomacy

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The Europe Center promotes the transatlantic leadership and strategies required to ensure a strong Europe.

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Content

New Atlanticist

Apr 17, 2020

Life in Hungary during COVID-19

By Bálint Ablonczy

It remains to be seen what effect the coronavirus will yet have on the Hungarian people. So far, it seems, Hungary is far from the worst that was thought possible.

Coronavirus Hungary

Borscht Belt

Apr 17, 2020

Why strongmen love the coronavirus

By Atlantic Council Eurasia Center

As the COVID-19 pandemic sweeps across the globe, autocratic governments are finding the crisis to be a useful pretext for strengthening their rule and tightening their grips.

Coronavirus Corruption

New Atlanticist

Apr 8, 2020

Slovakia looks towards an end to COVID-19’s painful isolation

By Alena Kudzko

Slovakia now needs to find ways to prepare for a post-COVID-19 world. Borders and national solutions can only provide necessary relief during an emergency. Looking ahead, the country will be tasked with finding ways to resolve the tension between attaining a false sense of security through national measures and walls, on the one hand, and the need to restore economic prosperity, on the other, through common European solutions.

Central Europe Coronavirus

New Atlanticist

Apr 7, 2020

Addressing Hungary’s coronavirus emergency legislation

By Denise Forsthuber and Daniel Fried

Many in Europe and the United States who consider themselves friends of Hungary have struggled over what to do with what can be increasingly interpreted as an authoritarian drift in that country. Hungary was one of the early leaders of Central Europe’s democratic transformation after its overthrow of communist rule in 1989; this is the tradition we would prefer to be celebrating today. Instead, we struggle to find a way forward.

Coronavirus European Union

New Atlanticist

Apr 7, 2020

While he stems the spread of the coronavirus, Orban is spreading the virus of illiberalism.

By András Simonyi

Viktor Orban had the opportunity in the last weeks to choose between becoming a statesman or a general. He opted for the latter. One wishes him well in dealing with the crisis. But this last decision is not really about handling the crisis.

Coronavirus European Union

New Atlanticist

Apr 6, 2020

Strict measures—including compulsory face masks—help Czechs get grip on COVID-19

By Ian Willoughby

There is a growing sense that the Czech government has already succeeded in more or less containing the coronavirus pandemic and cabinet members have signaled that some of the strictest measures will be loosened in the coming weeks, unless infection rates take an unexpected turn for the worse. Face masks will no doubt be worn for quite some time to come—but many in the Czech Republic are already cautiously looking forward to the day when they can finally take them off.

Central Europe Coronavirus

In the News

Mar 22, 2020

Haring and Klain in The National Interest: Why Autocrats Love Coronavirus

By Atlantic Council

Authoritarian leaders are constantly searching for scapegoats, working to rile up the fears of their populace, and trying to tighten their grips. To them, the coronavirus pandemic is a bonanza—the liberal democracies that would typically call them out for their violence and repression are distracted with the necessities of stopping the virus in their home […]

Central Asia Coronavirus

New Atlanticist

Mar 4, 2020

The “time is now or never” for Central Europe to grasp Three Seas opportunity, Estonia’s president says

By David A. Wemer

Now that an investment fund to fuel the development of stronger cross-border transportation, energy, and digital infrastructure links in Central and Eastern Europe has been launched, countries in the region “need to quickly decide” whether they want to participate before the opportunity vanishes, according to Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid.

Central Europe Eastern Europe

UkraineAlert

Mar 3, 2020

Germany and Poland compete for Ukrainian migrant workers

By Alexander Khrebet

New German labor laws introduced in March 2020 make it easier for Ukrainians to be employed in the country. This is sparking fears in Ukraine—and Poland—that we may soon see a new wave of Ukrainian economic migration.

Germany Migration

UkraineAlert

Mar 2, 2020

US should revive Lend-Lease to contain Russia

By Stephen Blank

The Western world has repeatedly been caught out by each new phase of Vladimir Putin's hybrid war. Could a new Lend-Lease program for Central and Eastern Europe allow the West to regain the initiative from the Kremlin?

Central Europe Conflict
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Experts

European Leadership Accelerator Participant

Antti Rauhala

Programme Officer, International Energy Agency (IEA)

Millennium Leadership Program

Central Europe Eastern Europe

European Leadership Accelerator Participant

Daniel Di Giusto

Co-founder & Social Impact Strategist, Tech To The Rescue Foundation

Millennium Leadership Program

Central Europe Civil Society

Fellow

Marek Magierowski

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Europe Center

Economy & Business Europe & Eurasia

European Leadership Accelerator Participant

Hélène Sene

Global Engagement Manager, HCLTech

Millennium Leadership Program

Central Europe Technology & Innovation

Fellow

Joanna Siekiera

Nonresident Fellow

Indo-Pacific Security Initiative Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security

Rule of Law Polish

European Leadership Accelerator Participant

Inês Bravo Figueiredo

Co-President, Volt Portugal

Millennium Leadership Program

Central Europe Economy & Business
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Events

Online Event Tue, June 3, 2025 • 9:00 am ET

Warsaw Week 2025: Retooling the transatlantic alliance for an era of uncertainty
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