Ukraine

Ukraine is going through a crucial period in its history, continuing its path toward joining the European Union despite a full-scale invasion. It is not a surprise that so much attention is drawn to this process both within Ukraine and beyond its borders. That is why Bendukidze Free Market Center and the Institute of Economic Research and Political Consultations launched the project \"Monitoring Ukraine\'s Accession Into the EU\".

The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has repeatedly expressed her support for Ukraine and its path to the European Union. However, at the same time, she pointed out how long and difficult this path will be.

What does the political situation in Germany look like before the European elections? What is Germany\'s attitude to the Russian war in Ukraine? And how are the green and liberal parties faring?

The full-scale invasion has become the most exhausting challenge for Ukraine’s economy. Nevertheless, the Ukrainian business sector with strong medium-sized private enterprises has demonstrated outstanding resilience despite economic downfall, missile and drone attacks, and electricity outages. The IER research asserts that in the last two decades, Ukraine has grown a new private sector that secures Ukraine’s resistance.

Recently, relations between Ukraine and Poland can hardly be called good and neighborly. However, many things unite these countries, not divide. For example, cooperation in the energy sector. We discussed this at our first Ukrainian-Polish discussion within the framework of the \"Ukrainian Path to European Union. Polish Accession Experience\" project.

Amid full-scale Russian military aggression, Ukrainian businesses have showcased remarkable resilience, buoyed by enduring optimism even as uncertainty clouds the horizon. This sentiment emerges from the monthly surveys conducted by the Institute of Economic Research and Political Consultations (IER), providing valuable insights into the ever-changing landscape of business activity in times of war.

Why are French farmers protesting? What is the current socio-political situation in France? And what can we make of the forthcoming EU elections and the presidential race in the United States?

What is going on in Russia on the eve of the presidential election? Was Alexei Navalny assassinated? And what impact does the Russian war in Ukraine has on Russia itself?

The team from Liberte, the Institute for Economic Research and Policy Consulting and Bendukidze Free Market Center, with the support of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom, continue to monitor Ukraine\'s progress or regression on its path to the EU on a monthly basis.

Europe woke up in a different reality on February 24, 2022. Shocked, angered, frightened, stressed, outraged – we can probably find many words to describe the primal and visceral feelings of people. But there was one very clear-cut line: whether or not one supported Ukraine which fell victim to the barbaric and criminal Russian invasion. This was a turning point for many things, including shifting identities for many Latvian Russian-speakers.