HEINRICH BÖLL STIFTUNG BELGRADE

Welcome to the website of the Heinrich Böll Foundation's Office in Belgrade. We are responsible for the Foundation’s work in Serbia, Kosovo and Montenegro. HBS is a German political foundation affiliated to the German Green Party. Fostering democracy and upholding human rights, taking action to prevent the destruction of the global ecosystem, advancing equality between women and men, securing peace through con­flict prevention, and defending the freedom of individuals against excessive state and economic power – these are the objectives that drive the ideas and actions of the Heinrich Böll Foundation. As a think tank for green visions and projects and an international political net­work we work in over 60 countries with currently 32 international offices.

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Democracy and Human Rights

Environment and Energy

Political Culture and Dialogue

The European Green Deal is an EU sustainable development strategy for the 21st century. The central problem this strategy tackles are the environment and climate change - how to develop the EU's economy without exacerbating climate change. The EU Commission defines it as "a new growth strategy that aims to transform the EU into a fair and prosperous society, with a modern, resource-efficient and competitive economy where there are no net emissions of greenhouse gases in 2050 and where economic growth is decoupled from resource use." The Commission also promises to “mainstream sustainability” into all policies, by adopting “a green oath: ‘do no harm.'” In October 2020, on the ocassion of the Berlin Process summit in Sofia, the governments of the Western Balkans 6 committed to the "Green Agenda for the Western Balkans" as a concrete plan to expand the European Green Deals to Southeast Europe.

This dossier comprises texts and analyses which develop some of the most important elements of the European Green Deal in the Western Balkans context.

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Western Balkans Strategy Group

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The “Strategy Group for a political, societal and economic European integration of the Western Balkans Six” is a group of legal, historical and political researches from all WB6 countries organized by Heinrich Böll Stiftung’s Belgrade, Sarajevo and Berlin offices. Its aim is to credibly advocate for a more effective European integration of the Balkans in European as well as Balkan capitals.

Publications

battle of kosare

The battle of Košare as a place of memory

Analysis
The uproar raised in the general public by the rare attempts, even in the critical media,to move the events at Košare from the mythical framework into the field of political discussion, indicates that the dominant narrative about this event corresponds to the needs of significant parts of society, as well as that it goes beyond the public’s views of the current regime. In this sense, one can speak of the constitution of a new political myth that relies on the already existing cultural framework and political discourses.
biomass

The Use of Biomass for Energy in the EU

Policy Brief
This brief is the first of four briefs prepared within the framework of the project „Woody biomass: win-win or lose-lose? Energy, climate and air pollution effects of biomass to power projects in the context of selected Western Balkan countries.”
jadar

Political Discourse on the Jadar Project

Report
The aim of this study by the Belgrade Center for  Security Policy is to analyse the political debate surrounding the Jadar Project. It presents the development of the debate around Lithium in Serbia, the key actors, and the dominant discourses that formulated it.
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A Green Agenda with No Agenda

Shadow Report
The Green Agenda is a key process for planning the development of our society for this decade, and it is vital that it contains all the elements that a good plan must have: ambitious goals, feasible steps towards those goals, financial resources for implementation, as well as mandatory evaluation and means for adjustment and correction. This is the only way we can effectively carry out the upcoming reforms for the benefit of all citizens. This, the tenth report by  Coalition 27, provides an overview of these issues from the point of view of civil society organizations.
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Power to the People

Report
Greece, Serbia, Poland, and Bulgaria are at different stages of community energy development and therefore there is a need to provide a platform to dive deeper into the current state of the legal framework on energy communities/prosumers as well as to discuss legislative possibilities and limitations regarding the topic.
All publications

Perspectives Southeast Europe

Our Flagship Publication

the past is now

Perspectives: The Past is Now

Perspectives
After the devastating wars on the territory of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, in recent decades, we have observed that the (re)construction of national historiographies is also driving societies further and further apart. Despite the gloomy picture drawn in this publication, coming to terms with the region’s traumatic history could be an essential contribution to European unification. With this publication, we hope to provide an impulse to that end.
perspectives 2022

Perspectives - Green Transition and Social (In)justice

After decades of warnings, it seems that the green transition – the huge change that should slow down, mitigate, and eventually stop, if not reverse, the threatening deterioration of living conditions on this planet – is finally on everybody’s lips.  This edition of Perspectives explains the concept of a just transition - a way to make the change without leaving anyone behind.
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Perspectives - Kosovo 1999-2019: A Hostage Crisis

Twenty years on from the Kosovo War, the collective memory of both parties in the conflict remains burdened by myths and incontestable truths about what actually took place. The process of reconciliation and building longstanding peace is being undermined, primarily, by political elites in both countries, whose populist policies amplify the prejudices between Kosovar Albanians and Serbs. In this issue of Perspectives we aim to highlight the fact that Kosovo is not just a toponym, but a country burdened by its recent violent history, where common people are struggling to rebuild the broken societies that the conflict has left behind.
Dossiers

Political Climate - Climate Change and Serbia