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.

Democracy and Human Rights

Environment and Energy

Political Culture and Dialogue

The Kosovo Myth in Modern Serbia: Its functions, problems, and critiques

Ivan Čolović reflects on his contribution to Perspectives SEE from five years ago, with context on additional developments in two footnotes. The myth of the Battle of Kosovo Field on June 28th 1389, in which the armies of the Ottoman Sultan Murat I and Serbian Prince Lazar clashed, has, since the early 19th century to this day, served the purpose of legitimizing various political and military projects: From the breakup of communist Yugoslavia and the policies of Slobodan Milosevic, through the “Kosovo is Serbia” motto, as part of the Serbian “European agenda”, to the dialogue –both internal and with Brussels– led by Aleksandar Vučić. The “Kosovo Covenant” in modern Serbian history is used to accommodate various political ideas and actions.

By Ivan Čolović

Mining Lithium, Undermining a Democratic Future: EU Deal Takes Serbia Further from Europe

Analysis

The lithium deal brings a new quality to Serbia’s foreign policy zigzagging. At one stroke, Serbia became a strategic partner and the guarantor for the future of the European Green Deal.

The Moment of Truth for Kosovo Serbs

The electoral system and the guaranteed seats favor brave new non-majority actors with even minimal levels of voter support, regardless of the level of Serb participation, and can turn them into political kingmakers at local and national levels. Boycotts are a self-defeating strategy, and civil resistance is a good short-term strategy to mobilize and draw attention, but not one that guarantees solutions. The electoral year of 2025 is the moment of truth for Kosovo Serbs.

By Agon Maliqi

A Quarter Century since the NATO Bombing Began: Twenty-five Years Devoured by Villains

The current state of affairs best suits the stabilocratic despot Aleksandar Vučić, who, against the backdrop of a gaping vacuum, creates narratives that suit his ongoing need for capital enlargement. In spite of the fact that the current President of the Serbiatrics department is an honored guest and friend of the very people who were leading NATO countries during the bombing (Bill Clinton, Tony Blair, Gerhard Schröder), he doesn’t shy away from presenting himself to his voters and the public at large as a man who will stand up for the fatherland and bare his teeth to the enemy, just like he did before (he didn’t!).

By Nikola Krstić

Lithium Mining in Serbia: “An Open and Productive Debate Is Not Possible”

Interview

Serbia's lithium mining project in Jadar has been on hold because of mass protests against feared environmental damage. Now the EU wants to secure this lithium access for Europe - despite the political and legal conditions in Serbia. Interview with Mirko Popović and Jovan Rajić.

By Tibor Moldvai and Katja Giebel

Through fake profiles, the "Digital Army" aims to silence voices critical of the government

The tactic of intimidating critics through constant and personal attacks is aimed at increasing the cost of public engagement of those who wish to criticize the government and thus discipline the public space.

By Blerta Agushi

Serbia after the Elections: Disappointment, Protests, and the Pursuit of Justice

Disappointment on election night, after the preliminary results based on vote samples, was enormous. The pro-European opposition, gathered around the coalition Srbija protiv nasilja (Serbia Against Violence), promised more than it could deliver in terms of defending the integrity of the vote, every vote, as opposition representatives would say, so that its result, which is fairly good under completely irregular electoral conditions, was negligible to the majority of its voters.

By Snežana Čongradin

Kosovo’s waste (mis)management: From failures to alternatives

Article

The Western Balkans lag behind in the fight against climate change and environmental protection. The signature of the ambitious Sofia Declaration on the Green Agenda in November 2020 was considered a meaningful step forward. Two years later, the situation remains gloomy, and the reduction of the consumption footprint is far from becoming a reality.

By Gentiola Madhi and Francesco Trupia

Resolution on the Genocide in Srebrenica: a new boiling point for chauvinism in Serbia

The resolution on the Srebrenica genocide would have found its way onto the agenda no matter how Serbia behaved. It is also possible that some hypothetical Serbia with more dignity, one that has taken responsibility for victims, the past, and the future, would have agreed with the resolution.

By Srđan Milošević

What is the European Green Deal?

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.

Same-sex Partnerships in the Region

With this series of analytical articles, the Heinrich Böll Foundation wishes to tackle the process of adopting laws on same-sex partnerships in the region and its timeline, as well as the experiences noticed by civil society organizations that shared their observations for this dossier.

Western Balkans Strategy Group

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.

Stefan Nemanja Monument Belgrade

Whom is the Monument to Stefan Nemanja dedicated to?

This dossier was created in cooperation with the project "Kulture sećanja u dijalogu" (Memory culture in dialogue), in order to contribute to a more meaningful public debate on the topic of managing public goods in the context of memorialization and memory culture.

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Publications

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.

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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.”

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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.

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Enlargement Uncertainty: Reframing EU-Western Balkans Relations

2-pager

The core of the EU’s relationship with the WB lies in the promise of full accession with equal rights and responsibilities. As the EU enters a period of reflection and potential reform, it must reintroduce clarity, determination, and honesty into its interaction with WB6.

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Perspectives Southeast Europe

Our Flagship Publication

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.

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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.

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Dossiers

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Talks on Europe