Protests of hauliers and farmers in Jan 2024: Societal resilience vs elite ineffectiveness

 February 2024

Context

On January 10th, 2024, Romanian farmers and hauliers engaged in a nationwide protest against the government’s transport and agricultural policies, briefly blocking traffic at border crossings and several cities, including the frontier with Ukraine and the capital’s ring road.

Assessing StratCom Structures and Capabilities in Romania in the context of the war in Ukraine

Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has opened a new front for disinformation and propaganda, to which Romania, both an EU and NATO member, has not been immune. The spread of anti-EU and anti-West narratives, typically in line with the Kremlin’s agenda, or even openly pro-Kremlin, has been a part of the Romanian public discourse and media landscape for years.

Is there hope for Kosovo’s rule of law system? Three immediate actions needed

Policy Recommendations

  1. Strengthening the administration of judiciary should be given more attention and be considered as a crucial part of rule of law reforms, as justice needs to be delivered fairly and on time.
  2. Reforming the disciplinary system for judges and prosecutors will derive as a mean for sustainability of the system.
  3. Vetting is a very sensitive process that will need a strong commitment from the government to push it forward.

Countering the Rule of Law Backsliding in the Western Balkans

Policy Recommendations

  1. Rule of law and enlargement should be placed high on the agenda of the Conference on the Future of Europe.
  2. The EU and its member states need to increase efforts to promote rule of law in the Western Balkans.
  3. There is a need to pursue the renewal of transatlantic cooperation for countering the rule of law backsliding in the Western Balkans.