The European Union faces a series of high-stakes tests in its eastern neighbourhood that, just a few years ago, would have been treated as projects of the coming decade. Ukraine is pressing for accession terms tied to an eventual peace settlement, which raises questions of how far the bloc's enlargement architecture, designed for stable peacetime applicants, can be adapted to a country at war. A €90 billion EU loan package for Ukraine, of which €60 billion is earmarked for defence procurement, has reopened the unresolved argument over how far European money should fund European industry, given that capacity in critical areas remains well short of demand. And in the South Caucasus, Armenia heads to the polls on 7 June under heavy Russian pressure, including economic restrictions and warnings of a "Ukrainian scenario", testing whether small post-Soviet states can credibly diversify away from Moscow at all. To discuss these issues, commonspace.eu welcomes Amanda Paul. Senior Policy Analyst and Deputy Head of the Europe in the World Programme at the Brussels-based European Policy Centre, she leads the EPC's work on Ukraine's European future and Global Türkiye. In this conversation, she sets out what a credible fast-track to Ukrainian EU membership would involve, examines the trade-offs in the "Buy European" defence debate, and discusses Russia's pre-election pressure on Armenia ahead of its parliamentary elections this coming Sunday. “Intimidation is Russia’s calling card, if we can put it that way. It is not new, and it certainly will not be new to Prime Minister Pashinyan or any other Armenian official. This is what the Russians do. We cannot say that Russia’s intimidating narrative and messaging is empty, because it is not. We know that Russia still has leverage over Armenia in certain areas, and we have already seen them try to blackmail Armenia ahead of the elections. I am talking about restrictions on Armenian exports among other things. This is damaging to the Armenian economy, as the Kremlins  warnings about the economic consequences of getting closer to the EU. We have been hearing that for a long time, along with threats about ending discounted oil and gas supplies. Armenia still remains quite reliant on Russia for energy, but this is something that the government is trying to take in hand to the extent that it can, because Armenia’s geography does not do it any favours. There are no pipelines nearby, apart from the ones in Azerbaijan that could help them out in that respect.” (To read the full interview, click on the image above.)

Europe has grown uncomfortably familiar with Russia’s policy towards its “near abroad”: the former Soviet states that Moscow continues to treat as part of its rightful sphere of influence. Sheltered by NATO and still invested in managing relations with Russia, Western capitals responded to the 2008 war in Georgia and the 2014 annexation of Crimea as serious but containable shocks: the first largely through mediation and monitoring, the second through non-recognition and sanctions. That sense of distance has since collapsed. Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 turned the post-Soviet space into a central theatre of European security, while Donald Trump has further unsettled confidence in the NATO umbrella itself. Few observers are better placed to make sense of this moment than Régis Genté. A French journalist based in Tbilisi for more than two decades, he has covered the South Caucasus and the wider post-Soviet world for Le Figaro, Radio France Internationale, and France 24, alongside policy work for think tanks including IFRI. In his book Notre homme à Washington: Trump dans la main des Russes, he argues that the US president's posture toward Moscow is neither erratic nor accidental, but the product of a four-decade Russian cultivation that has tied Trump to the Kremlin more tightly than Washington or Brussels yet admits. In this conversation, he traces those ties, explains how Putin keeps Russia's elites bound to the Kremlin, and reads Georgia's political crisis as a case study in Russian post-imperial influence. (To read the full interview, click on the image above.)

Stephen Gethins was elected as Member of the Scottish Parliament for Dundee City East in the 2026 election, after previously serving as Westminster MP for North East Fife and, later until this month, for Arbroath and Broughty Ferry. He has also worked extensively in international affairs, including on peace-building, arms control and democratisation in the South Caucasus and the Balkans, and was appointed Professor of Practice in International Relations at the University of St Andrews in 2019. Following the Scottish Parliament election on 7 May 2026, commonspace.eu spoke to the newly elected Scottish National Party MSP (Member of the Scottish Parliament) about Scotland’s relationship with Europe, the security implications of Brexit, and the challenges facing democratic societies at a time of war, disinformation, and geopolitical instability. (To read the full interview, click on the image above.)

This week, commonspace.eu spoke to Nigel Ellway about his work on landmines, explosive weapons and victim assistance, and his mission to make conflict-affected communities safer and more humane places to live.  Nigel Ellway is a former international journalist and Whitehall media adviser who has dedicated more than a decade to raise political awareness of landmines, explosive weapons and victim assistance. In 2011, he created an All-Party Parliamentary Group on Landmines, and in 2018 founded the REVIVE Campaign, a humanitarian NGO focused on research and advocacy. We spoke to Mr. Ellway about the long-term impact of landmines and explosive weapons, why victim assistance is too often politically neglected, and why mine action should be measured not only by land cleared or devices removed, but by lives rebuilt, livelihoods restored and communities made safe again. “When I founded REVIVE, we adopted the phrase: “Reduce explosive violence, increase victim empowerment.” That is actually where the organisation’s name comes from. But over time, I became increasingly realistic about what NGOs can and cannot achieve. Conflict will always exist, and human beings are endlessly inventive in the ways they wage war. Historically, landmines were seen as effective weapons of deterrence because they were cheap to deploy but expensive to remove. Today, however, warfare is evolving rapidly. Drone warfare is transforming the battlefield.” (To read the full interview, click on the image above.)

This week, commonspace.eu speaks with Mehman Aliyev, a co-founder of the Turan İnformasiya Agentliyi (Turan Information Agency), Azerbaijan’s first independent news agency, established in 1990 after the Soviet crackdown in Baku known as Black January. Turan has long been one of Azerbaijan’s few independent media voices, reporting on political, economic and social developments in the country. Aliyev himself was detained in 2017 on charges that international watchdogs linked to pressure on Turan’s work; his detention prompted concern from the EU, Council of Europe, Human Rights Watch and press freedom organisations. He is also member of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Expert Strategic Platform, a LINKS Europe initiative to support dialogue in the South Caucasus. Aliyev reflects on the origins of Turan, the difference between independent and opposition media, and the pressures created by Azerbaijan’s media law. He also discusses the importance of Western pressure in protecting journalists, and looks at the prospects for a durable Armenia-Azerbaijan peace following the initialling of the Washington peace agreement in August 2025. (Read the full interview by clicking on the image above.)

The Armenian parliamentary elections on 7 June are crucial in more ways than one. A fragile peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan is still at stake. While progress has been made since President Trump’s August 2025 meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, where a peace agreement was initialled, much remains uncertain. Key elements of the settlement are yet to be finalised, and the political will required to sustain momentum will depend heavily on the outcome of the vote. The peace agenda is heavily politicised, adding further sensitivity to the process, as conduits for Kremlin policy continue to disseminate fear and uncertainty within Armenian society regarding the ongoing peace process with Azerbaijan. In this week’s Thursday Interview, former Polish diplomat Dr. Andrzej Klimczyk draws on decades of experience across the post-Soviet space to reflect on Armenia’s upcoming parliamentary elections and the wider dynamics in the South Caucasus. He argues that while the European Union has the potential to play a stronger geopolitical role in the region, its approach remains too bureaucratic and insufficiently attuned to local realities. Klimczyk also outlines his proposal for a “South Caucasus Euroregion” as a long-term framework for cooperation between Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia, aimed at unlocking the region’s economic and geopolitical potential. On Armenia’s June 2026 elections, he highlights a highly polarised political environment, with competition focused more on personalities than programmes and a fragmented opposition. He also warns of growing risks of disinformation and hybrid interference, cautioning that the main challenge may be the erosion of trust in the information environment rather than the integrity of the vote itself. (Click the image to read the full interview.) This interview marks the start of a special “Armenia Season” on commonspace.eu. The summit of the European Political Community will be held in Yerevan on 4 May. This will be immediately followed by an EU-Armenia summit. On 7 June Armenia will hold parliamentary elections. Our twice-weekly newsletter Armenia Election Monitor, will be published between 1 May and 15 June, and will track and analyse key developments ahead of the parliamentary elections on 7 June, with concise, fact-based and non-partisan insights, and will after analyse the results. LINKS Europe Foundation will host a webinar titled: Armenia between a historic summit and a crucial election. Join us on 6 May at 15:00 (Amsterdam) / 17:00 (Yerevan) for a panel discussion on the European Political Community Summit in Yerevan and Armenia’s upcoming parliamentary elections.

Bulgaria’s April 2026 election saw a sweeping win for ex-President Rumen Radev’s Progressive Bulgaria party. While much international coverage focused on Radev’s perceived stance toward Russia, the more consequential story lies at home: his victory was shaped by youth-driven discontent that intensified after the collapse of the government led by Zhelyazkov in December 2025. Young Bulgarians, particularly those in Generation Z, turned out in significant numbers, alongside previously disengaged voters. Their mobilisation appears to have been driven less by ideology than by frustration with entrenched corruption, weak economic prospects, and a broader sense that Bulgaria has struggled to offer a viable future for its younger generation. This week, Thursday Interview returns with Dimitar Borumov, a 23-year-old Bulgarian political economist, teacher of Bulgarian history, geography, and economy, and columnist at The European Times. We discuss the surge in youth participation, the frustrations and divides behind it, and how social media is shaping political news consumption among young Bulgarians. “Young people were already taking to the streets in December 2025. That was a clear indicator that they wanted change. They wanted to change what I would call, cynically, the ‘rotten system’, the status quo they were tired of. What Radev proposed was not a specific policy, apart from judicial reform. It was not directed against a specific party or person. It was a broader alternative, framed around a stronger Bulgaria.” (Read the full interview by clicking on the image above.)

After more than 25 years working in Ukraine, Brian Mefford has witnessed the country through revolution, reform, and war. He began working in Ukraine in 1999 with the International Republican Institute, supporting democratic development and political reform, and later served as an adviser during the presidency of Viktor Yushchenko. He is the founder of Wooden Horse Strategies LLC, a boutique government and public affairs firm, and has also been heavily involved in humanitarian assistance efforts throughout Russia’s aggression in Ukraine, delivering over $6 million in humanitarian and medical aid to date. In this interview, he outlines how the war has accelerated long-standing reform challenges. He argues that corruption and national security are deeply intertwined, and that Ukraine’s changing public attitudes and strengthening institutions offer cautious optimism, provided international partners maintain both support and pressure in the years ahead. “Now, in the middle of war, is the time for the kind of structural changes Ukraine needs to make to prepare for eventual EU accession. We don’t know exactly when accession will happen. Perhaps it will be part of negotiations or a future peace settlement, but Ukraine needs to be ready. It shouldn’t wait until after the war to pass this legislation. Now is the time to do it, and it will likely be easier to do it now than later.” To read the full conversation, click on the image above.

Tensions are rising in Iran and across the Middle East, uncertainty hangs over Donald Trump’s commitment to the Euro-Atlantic security umbrella, and war continues along Europe’s eastern border. Against this backdrop, commonspace.eu spoke this week with Dr. Jamie Shea, the former Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Emerging Security Challenges at NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization), about what lies ahead. He held several senior positions during a 38-year career at NATO, and represented the Alliance on the international stage as its spokesperson during the 1999 Kosovo War, when he briefed the international press throughout NATO’s air campaign against Yugoslavia. Since retiring from NATO in 2018, he has continued his work as a professor, lecturer, speaker and adviser on European and transatlantic security affairs. Dr. Shea discusses the strategic consequences of Russia’s war against Ukraine for NATO’s future, the need for the Alliance to adapt to a rapidly changing battlefield shaped by drones and technological innovation, and the importance of cooperation between NATO and the European Union in strengthening Europe’s defence capabilities.  He argues that instability in the Middle East could reshape the strategic balance for Europe: “The one who smiles is Vladimir Putin, because an oil price of over $100 a barrel for a long period of time is going to refill the Russian war chest, as Putin funds a lot of his Ukraine war effort from his energy resources. You can see that the Americans have already lifted sanctions on Russia to allow Russia to export oil to India to keep international markets flowing. This is what we call ‘robbing Peter to pay Paul’. Yes, it helps the situation in the Gulf temporarily. It removes pressure on the oil market. But the impacts of the war will also mean more inflation, higher energy prices, and higher gas prices in Europe. You are then going to get a lot of European countries saying, ‘well, sorry, but I can’t spend 5 percent of GDP on my defence any longer.’” To read the full interview, click on the image above.

Ahead of International Women’s Day on 8 March, commonspace.eu spoke with Fidan Namazova, an Azerbaijani peace-building practitioner and researcher, about women’s inclusion in regional dialogue, environmental cooperation as a pathway to confidence-building, and her work on gender-sensitive urban development in the South Caucasus. She was joined in conversation by Alexandra Dumitrescu, Program Manager and International Coordinator at LINKS Europe. Ms. Namazova has been closely involved in LINKS Europe’s Thematic Groups for a New Armenian–Azerbaijani Dialogue, serving as Chair of the Thematic Group on Environment. In this capacity, she contributed to shaping the Report of the Thematic Group on Environment, advancing the idea that environmental cooperation can provide practical entry points for rebuilding trust and fostering sustainable peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Read the full interview by clicking on the image above.