As the New Year begins, it is time to look back at what we achieved in 2017. For Nouvelle Europe, 2017 was a year of successful conferences, numerous articles and four, widely read dossiers on diverse topics.
We started off the year by working on a dossier on the topic of "national indifference", organised by our editor-in-chief, Andreas Pacher. The dossier, which was published in April, has been viewed almost 500 times on the publishing platform ISSUU.
May was the month of events: we discussed the future of Europe with Jean Quatremer on 13 May, in co-operation with Eurosorbonne. Mr Quatremer presented his latest book "Les Salauds de l'Europe" and answered the participants' questions on a wide array of issues.
In the second half of May we held our landmark event of the year: the Dnipro Euro Forum, a conference and simulation game organised at the Oles Honchar Dnipro National University in Dnipro, Ukraine, in co-operation with the College of Europe Alumni Association - Regional Group in Ukraine. The two-day event started with a conference on the European Union and the visa liberalisation process, with speakers from institutions such as the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung and the Delegation of the European Union to Ukraine. Among the speakers were Nouvelle Europe members Inga Chelyadina, Philippe Perchoc, Darius Ruda and Balázs Gyimesi. On the second day, the participants, students of the National University, were invited to step into the shoes of the heads of states and governments to become part of the simulation game on decision-making processes in the European Council in Brussels. The event was made possible thanks to the support of the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, the Greens/EFA, the Erasmus Alumni Association in Ukraine, and Statum. The event was also covered in local news, with several members giving interviews on the event, and appearing on live TV.
In August we published a dossier on the topic of "digital diplomacy", organised by our editor-in-chief, Andreas Pacher. The dossier includes articles on topics such as Europe in the Chinese digital environment, the Ukrainian ban on Russian websites, and the Estonian e-diplomacy.
In October and November, we organised two Nouvelle Europe networking soirées in Paris to stay in touch with our members and to recruit new ones. These events were attended by students of Sciences Po and Paris III (Sorbonne).
In November, we published a dossier on "collective memory in Europe", organised by Patricia Gautier. The dossier includes articles on topics such as the memories of the Germans of Transylvania, the diplomatic notes of the Donetsk People's Republic, and the 100th anniversary of the Russian revolutions.
Last but not least, in December we published a dossier on energy in the EU, in co-operation with the COE Energy Group of the College of Europe, including articles on topics such as the concepts of energy security and the state of the European markets for renewable electricity.
I would like to thank all our members for their contribution to make Nouvelle Europe a vibrant and ever-growing space for discussions on European affairs. The dossiers would not have been made possible without their motivated organisers, Patricia Gautier, Francis Masson, and Nouvelle Europe's editor-in-chief, Andreas Pacher. The driving force behind the organisation of the Dnipro Euro Forum were Inga Chelyadina, treasurer of Nouvelle Europe, Philippe Perchoc, the founder of Nouvelle Europe, Balázs Gyimesi, president of Nouvelle Europe, and Darius Ruda, who presented at the Forum. The events and publications would not have been made possible without the support of such active members as Yanitsa Dyakova, Guillaume Gonzalez, Yana Hryshko, Svetlana Kim, Adrien Laurent, Pierre H. N. Martin, Pauline Maufrais, Loris Xhaxhiu, and others. I would also like to thank the previous board members of Nouvelle Europe, Anaïs Delbarre, Tanguy Séné, Philippe Perchoc, and others, for their help.
Let us continue to make Nouvelle Europe a dynamic association of discussions on European affairs in 2018!
Wishing you a happy New Year,
Balázs Gyimesi
President