European Stability Initiative

The European Stability Initiative eV ( ESI) is a think tank with offices in Berlin, Brussels, Vienna and Istanbul.

History

The ESI was founded after the Kosovo war in Sarajevo in 1999. Its first members were young employees of international organizations such as the OSCE and the World Bank. The activity focus, the countries of South-Eastern Europe in terms of European integration. The aim of this work is to increase the understanding of this region particularly in the West. The Chairman is the Austrian sociologist Gerald Knaus. The financing of the ESI ensure, among other things, the Robert Bosch Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, the Erste Foundation, the Government of Sweden and the German Marshall Fund. According to the company, the initiative has a total of a budget of 45,000 € per month.

Influential Publications

• Islamic Calvinists, an essay on the social upheaval in Anatolia.
• On Mount Olympus, an essay on the dubious dealings with the UN on human rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
• Balkan Express, a documentary series in collaboration with ORF and 3sat.
• The Schengen White List Project, a successful initiative to facilitate the granting of Schengen visas for residents of the Balkans, chaired by former Italian Prime Minister Giuliano Amato.