The Hungarian Europe Society started a series of events focusing on the Central European region in order to give floor to alternative concepts and ideas challenging illiberal, populist narratives about the role of Visegrad countries inside the European Union. HES wants to create a network of like-minded think tanks, NGO-s and individuals in the region and beyond.
This project reviews and analyses the response of the V4 countries to the refugee crisis. These countries' behaviour vis-a- vis the crisis has markedly differed from the reactions of the other EU countries. Even taking into consideration individual differences between them, the Visegrad countries stood out for their xenophobia with regards to the migrants and their reluctance towards the emerging EU quota system. This position shocked other EU countries, which called it non-European, and it has caused the emergence of an East/West rift within the Union. The project aims to identify the causes for this behaviour, describe its evolution, compare the similarities and difference across the V4 countries and make related policy recommendations.
The European Union is facing up to the mistrust of European citizens. The Maison de l’Europe de Paris and its partners are convinced that, by stimulating the knowledge of the history and the current role of the European Union, the distrust which prevails these days might disappear. Therefore, the Maison de l’Europe de Paris developed the EUbyCITIZENS project, which aims to reach many citizens from various groups through partners established in 10 countries. The project takes place in Member States (France, Bulgaria, Spain, Hungary, Poland, Slovenia, Romania) and candidate countries (Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia), from East to West in Europe. This political and geographical diversity represents the wealth of European culture. It
allows having a contrasting outlook of the EU and its issues and guarantees the relevance of the project. The goal is to give the keys for a better understanding of European history and current European policies in order to better involve the citizens in the democratic process.
A vast gap exists between the rights guaranteed by the EU and the exercise of these rights. Unclear laws, disempowerment or fear of reprisal can prevent people from knowing and enjoying their rights. In the Citizen Rights project the European Alternatives wants to look at how, when and where people in the EU can individually and collectively protect and advance rights. It also wants to see where they are limited from exercising their rights and how transnational collaboration can imagine and build a future where rights are actively protected. The European Alternatives is implementing the project in partnership with eleven organisations across Europe, including the Hungarian Europe Society.
Where Does the PERC-index Stand? or from EU Destructivists to Federalists: the Relationship of Hungarian Parliamentary Parties towards the European Union& is the title of the project by the research team of the Hungarian Europe Society.
The collection of signatures ended one year after the European Citizens' Initiative (ECI) on Media Pluralism and Press Freedom had been approved by the European Commission on 19 August 2013. The Hungarian campaign was led by the coalition of the Hungarian Europe Society, Milla (One Million for the Freedom of the Press in Hungary), the Standards Media Monitor, the South East European Network for Professionalization of Media (SEENPM), the Hungarian branch of the Association of European Journalists and the National Association of Hungarian Journalistson the initiative of HES.
The HES is a member of the Visa-free Europe Coalition which aim is to promote visa-free status for the citizens of Eastern Partnership countries and Russia. Declaration of Coalition
'Public Administration Reform in Visegrad Countries: Lessons Learned for Belarus and Ukraine'- HES is the Hungarian partner of the Czech AMO(Association for International Affairs) in the international coorporation that aims to contribute to building a modern and efficient public administration system based on democratic values in two countries of the Eastern Partnership. The project was running from October 2012 to March 2014 and supported by the International Visegrad Fund. The HES organized a short study trip for Belarusian experts in Budapest, April 2013.
