Press release by the chief prosecutor of Frankfurt am Main

• Welt, Razzia bei Unionspolitikern Karin Strenz und Eduard Lintner ("Houses of MPs Karin Strenz und Eduard Lintner raided by investigators") (30 January 2020)
• ESI newsletter: Spring cleaning – the corruption report on the Council of Europe is out (April 2018)
• ESI report: The European Swamp (Caviar Diplomacy Part 2) – Prosecutors, corruption and the Council of Europe (December 2016)
• ESI report: Caviar Diplomacy – How Azerbaijan silenced the Council of Europe (May 2012)

Interview in ARD Morgenmagazin. Photo: MOMA

• NEW – ESI paper: The Aegean Tragedy – Key facts and key steps (24 January 2020)
• ARD, Gerald Knaus, Migrationsforscher, zum Flüchtlingsabkommen mit der Türkei (24 January 2020)
• BR2, Gerald Knaus, Migrationsexperte: "Wir müssen etwas Neues schaffen" (24 January 2020)
• ESI news: ESI keynote speech at the "Migration Days" of the German Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (21 November 2019)

• NEW – ESI paper: Hamster in the Wheel – Credibility and EU Balkan policy (15 January 2020)
• NEW – ESI newsletter: Hamster in the Wheel – Credibility and EU Balkan policy (16 January 2020)

• NEW – ESI paper: How to implement the EU-Turkey Statement: Phase II – Key facts and key steps (24 December 2019)
• GMX, Migrationsforscher: "Dass EU durch Abkommen erpressbar wurde, ist vollkommener Unsinn" (23 December 2019)
• Knack, "Migratie-expert Gerald Knaus: 'De sleutel om het migratievraagstuk op te lossen ligt in Gambia'" ("Migration expert Gerald Knaus: "The key to solving the migration issue lies in The Gambia") - also available in French: "La clé pour résoudre le problème de la migration se trouve en Gambie" (11 December 2019)
• Buitenhof, "Gerald Knaus, architect van de Turkijedeal" ("Gerald Knaus, architect of the Turkey deal") (27 October 2019)

• NEW – ESI newsletter: How the rule of law dies … is this possible inside the EU? (16 December 2019)
• NEW – ESI paper: Poland's deepening crisis – When the rule of law dies in Europe (14 December 2019)

• ESI newsletter: Coup de grâce – Delors and squaring the circle – Norway in the Balkans (25 October 2019)

• ESI newsletter: Gambia Plan – win-win with Africa – the 11th commandment (29 July 2019)

• Der Standard, Kristof Bender, "Der Europarat hat vor Russland kapituliert" ("The Council of Europe capitulated to Russia") (2 July 2019)
• openDemocracy, John Dalhuisen, "What is the Council of Europe for?" (27 June 2019)
• EUobserver, Alexandra Stiglmayer, "The Council of Europe's surrender to Russia" (27 June 2019)
• ESI newsletter: Human rights with teeth (I) – Battle of Europe (8 December 2018)
• ESI background paper: Negotiating with a Pointed Gun – Sanctions, Appeasement and the Role of Russia in the Council of Europe (8 October 2018)

• Update: How are they doing? European Commission assessments of North Macedonia, Serbia and Albania (29 May 2019)
• ESI background: How are they doing? European Commission assessments of North Macedonia, Serbia and Albania (29 April 2019)
• ESI newsletter: The Hypnotist – North Macedonia this summer – In Memoriam Dejan (28 April 2019)
• ESI bulletin: L'hypnotiseur – La Macédoine du Nord, cet été
• ESI report: The Hypnotist – Aleksandar Vucic, John Bolton and the return of the past (25 April 2019)
• Media reactions: Changing borders in the Western Balkans

• NEW – ESI newsletter: Tolstoy, Causes, Poland and the Aegean (15 April 2019)
• NEW – ESI Core facts: The EU-Turkey Statement three years on (15 April 2019)

Polish Minister of Justice, Zbigniew Ziobro. Photo: flickr/Dziennik Internetowy lublin.com.pl

• NEW – ESI newsletter: Najbardziej niezbezpieczny polityk w Polsce – spuścizna Junkera (4 kwietnia 2019)
• NEW – European Commission press release: European Commission launches infringement procedure to protect judges in Poland from political control (3 April 2019)
• NEW – ESI newsletter: Poland's most dangerous politician – Juncker's legacy (27 March 2019)
• ESI-Batory paper:Under Siege – Why Polish courts matter for Europe (22 March 2019)
• ESI-Batory legal opinion: The disciplinary system for judges in Poland – The case for infringement proceedings (22 March 2019)

• ESI newsletter: Human rights with teeth (I) – Battle of Europe (8 December 2018)

• ESI newsletter: Red Lines, Rotten Apples and human rights in 2019 (19 November 2018)
• The Power of Focus – Proposal for a European Human Rights Entry Ban Commission (14 November 2018)

• ESI background paper: Negotiating with a Pointed Gun – Sanctions, Appeasement and the Role of Russia in the Council of Europe (8 October 2018)

• ESI newsletter: Dark twins – Viktor, Matteo and the Drowning of Europe (16 August 2018)

• Südkurier, Mirjam Moll, "Migrationsexperte: Die Flüchtlingskrise wird von Hysterie geprägt" ("Migration expert: The refugee debate is informed by hysteria") (26 August 2018)
• Die Welt, Ricarda Breyton, "Man darf die Dinge nicht treiben lassen" ("You cannot let things drift") (30 July 2018)
• Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, "Vorschlag für EU-Flüchtlingszentrum in Spanien" ("Proposal for an EU refugee centre in Spain") (30 July 2018)
• Die Zeit, "Migrationsforscher für Asylzentrum in Spanien" ("Migration expert in favour of asylum centre in Spain") (30 July 2018)
• Der Spiegel, Gesine Schwan und Gerald Knaus, "Neue EU-Flüchtlingspolitik - Kontrolle und Empathie" ("New EU Refugee Policy - Control and Empathy") (28 June 2018)
• ARD, Tagesthemen, "Konzepte, die nicht auf Fantasie beruhen" - TV interview with Gerald Knaus - ("Concepts that are not based on fantasies") (15 June 2018)

• ESI paper: "On the brink of victory" – Viktor Orban, rhetorical poison and a vision of hell (June 2018)

• ESI newsletter: Win-Win for Europe: Defending democracy in the Balkans – and in Poland (22 June 2018)
• ESI-Batory paper: European tragedy – the collapse of Poland's Rule of law (29 May 2018)
• ESI newsletter: European tragedy – the collapse of Poland's Rule of law (29 May 2018)
• Joint letter by former Polish presidents, prime ministers, foreign ministers and leaders of the anti-communist opposition: Europe, defend the rule of law in Poland!
• Joint letter by heads of of political groups in the European Parliament: Gabi Zimmer (ChairGUE/NGL), Ska Keller (Co-Chair Greens/EFA), Philippe Lamberts (Co-Chair Greens/EFA), Udo Bullmann (Chair S&D), Guy Verhofstadt (Chair ALDE), Manfred Weber (Chair EPP) to Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and Vice-President Frans Timmermanns
• Statement by Lech Wałęsa concerning the Supreme Court: There is no freedom without the rule of law

• Documentary on the EU-Turkey agreement: De Deal
• Trailer
• ESI paper: "Amsterdam in the Mediterranean" – How a Dutch-style asylum system can help resolve the Mediterranean refugee crisis (26 January 2018) – ​also available in Italian: "Amsterdam nel Mediterraneo"
• ESI core facts: Refugees and asylum in the Aegean – The impact of the EU-Turkey statement (26 January 2018)
• ESI proposals for the refugee crises in the Central Mediterranean and the Aegean: www.esiweb.org/refugees
• Media reactions to ESI refugee proposals

• ESI newsletter: Spring cleaning – the corruption report on the Council of Europe is out (23 April 2018)
• ESI website section: www.esiweb.org/caviardiplomacy
• Caviar Diplomacy in the international media
• ESI presentation in Stockholm on corruption in the Council of Europe (September 2017)

• ESI newsletter: Making history? Macedonia and Elysium (4 April 2018)
• Presentation of ESI Macedonia name proposal in Brussels (2017)
• ESI report: Vladimir and Estragon in Skopje. A fictional conversation on trust and standards and a plea on how to break a vicious circle (2014)
• ESI Macedonia website section

• Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung, Michael Martens, "Amnesty International: Idealismus ist blind für Kompromisse" ("If you don't compromise you lose") (26 March 2018)
• ESI newsletter: Macron, Italy and the mirage of mass return (18 March 2018)
• ESI core facts: The Italian Magnet – Deaths, arrivals and returns in the Central Mediterranean (13 March 2018) – also available in Italian: La calamita italiana
• Refugees Deeply, John Dalhuisen Gerald Knaus, How Italy Can Combine Migration Control With Human Rights (13 March 2018)
• Internationale Politik, Gerald Knaus, Eine prinzipientreue europäische Asylpolitik ist möglich und mehrheitsfähig (September 2017)
• ESI proposals for the refugee crises in the Central Mediterranean and the Aegean: www.esiweb.org/refugees
• Media reactions to ESI refugee proposals

• ESI newsletter: Balkan crises, imagined and real: Bosnian elections – PISA gap (31 January 2018)
• ESI paper: Don't believe the Hype – Why Bosnian democracy will not end this October (30 January 2018)
• ESI report: Wine, dog food and Bosnian clichés – False ideas and why they matter (5 November 2017)

• ESI paper: "Amsterdam in the Mediterranean" – How a Dutch-style asylum system can help resolve the Mediterranean refugee crisis (26 January 2018)
• ESI core facts: Refugees and asylum in the Aegean – The impact of the EU-Turkey statement (26 January 2018)
• ESI temel bilgiler: Ege'de Mültecilere ve Sığınmaya Dair – AB-Türkiye Bildirisi’nin Etkileri (26 Ocak 2018)
• ESI proposals for the refugee crises in the Central Mediterranean and the Aegean: www.esiweb.org/refugees
• Media reactions to ESI refugee proposals

• ESI newsletter: Houses of Cards – Post-truth politics from Skopje to Strasbourg (27 December 2017)
• ESI in Stockholm: Corruption in the Council of Europe and the end of Caviar Diplomacy (September 2017)
• ESI newsletter: From Russia with Threats (July 2017)
• ESI newsletter: The phoenix and the black knight in Strasbourg – three things to do now (June 2017)
• ESI newsletter: Merchants of Doubt or investigating Corruption (April 2017)
• ESI newsletter: Open letter to PACE members: backing Sawicki – how to investigate corruption in Strasbourg (March 2017)
• ESI newsletter: Three days that shook Strasbourg – human rights and corruption (January 2017)
• ESI newsletter: The FIFA of human rights – beyond lip-service on anti-corruption (January 2017)

• ESI report: Wine, dog food and Bosnian clichés – False ideas and why they matter (5 November 2017)
• ESI newsletter: Wine, dog food and Bosnia clichés – why they matter (5 November 2017)
• The Economist, "Why hasn't Bosnia and Herzegovina collapsed?" (1 November 2017)
• Media reactions
• ESI on Bosnia

• ESI in Stockholm: Presentation on corruption in the Council of Europe and the end of Caviar Diplomacy (27 September 2017)
• Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP): The Azerbaijani Laundromat
• The Guardian, "Azerbaijan revelations spark 'great concern' at Council of Europe" (5 September 2017)
• BBC, "Azerbaijan 'operated secret $3bn secret slush fund'" (5 September 2017)
• Süddeutsche Zeitung, "Von Kaviar und verkauften Seelen" ("Of caviar and souls sold") (4 September 2017)
• Le Monde, "« Diplomatie du caviar » : comment l'Azerbaïdjan s'offre l'amitié de responsables politiques européens" ("'Caviar Diplomacy': how Azerbaijan bought the friendship of European politicians") (4 September 2017)
• ESI briefing note: From Russia with threats - The PACE summer session and a dramatic turn (13 July 2017)
• ESI newsletter: The phoenix and the black knight in Strasbourg – three things to do now (5 June 2017)
• ESI website section: www.esiweb.org/caviardiplomacy
• Caviar Diplomacy in the international media

• ESI newsletter: Deadly failure – Rome Plan – From Russia with Threats (21 July 2017)
• Die Zeit, Mariam Lau, "Moralische Panik" ("Moral panic") (13 July 2017)
• News Deeply, Gerald Knaus, "Realism Over Migrant Returns Can Break Deadly Cycle in Mediterranean" (11 July 2017)
• Süddeutsche Zeitung, Thomas Kirchner, "Libyen zum Bollwerk gegen Flüchtlinge zu machen, ist moralisch falsch" ("Making Libya a bulwark against refugees is morally wrong") (9 July 2017)
• Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Ralph Bollmann, "Die große Angst vor Afrika" ("The great fear of Africa") (4 July 2017)
• ESI proposal: A Rome Plan for the Mediterranean migration crisis (19 June 2017)
• Video interview: EenVandaag, "Bedenker Turkije-deal: Maak afspraken met Nigeria" ("Architect of the Turkey deal: make arrangements with Nigeria") (14 June 2017)
• ESI proposals for the refugee crises in the Central Mediterranean and the Aegean: www.esiweb.org/refugees
• Media reactions to ESI refugee proposals

• ESI paper: Europe, Turkey and the future of the death penalty (16 May 2017)

• ESI newsletter: Death penalty in Turkey – Illusions in Europe (16 May 2017)
• ESI report: The Chapter Illusion – For honesty and clarity in EU-Turkey relations (15 May 2017)

• ESI newsletter: The most dangerous Wizard in the EU (7 October 2016)
• The Economist, "The wizard of Budapest" (8 October 2016)

• ESI report: Escaping the first circle of hell or the secret behind Bosnian reforms (10 March 2016)
• The Balkans in Europe Policy Blog, Adnan Ćerimagić, "The untold story behind Bosnia's EU membership application" (17 March 2016)
• ESI Bosnia website section

• ESI essay: Montenegro: Germany's Balkan stipends – Asylum and the Rozaje exodus (19 January 2016). Also available in German: Deutschlands Balkanstipendien – Asyl und der Rozaje-Exodus
• ESI paper: Saving visa-free travel – Visa, asylum and the EU roadmap policy (2013)
• EUobserver: Balkan asylum seekers and the spectre of European hypocrisy (2011)
• ESI film: Montenegro - Wild Beauty (2008)
• More Return to Europe Revisited essays

• ESI at conference at the European Parliament with Federica Mogherini, Johannes Hahn, and Elmar Brok: European future of Bosnia and Herzegovina – 20 years after Dayton-Paris Peace Agreement (9 December 2015)
• ESI open letter: Bosnia as Wunderkind of Doing Business. Outline of 14 steps to take – A Proposal to the presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina (March 2015)
• ESI report: Protests and Illusions – How Bosnia and Herzegovina lost a decade (2014)
• ESI report: Houdini in Bosnia. How to unlock the EU accession process (2013)
• ESI report: Lost in the Bosnian labyrinth. Why the Sejdic-Finci case should not block an EU application (2013)

• ESI newsletter: Accession revolution in Brussels – a new flagship – Usain Bolt and the quality of statistics (9 November 2015)
• A reporting revolution in 2015? Towards a new generation of reports
• Paris paper: Enlargement and Impact: Twelve ideas (January 2015)
• Statistics Scorecard – how to compare 7 countries (May 2015)
• An effort of persuasion – Chronology of ESI activities (November 2015)
• Rankings that fail – Doing Business, Bosnia and Macedonia in 2015 (9 November 2015)

• ESI report: Teaching War – How Croatian schoolbooks changed and why it matters (16 September 2015)
• Also available in Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian: Podučavanje o ratu. Kako su se promijenili hrvatski školski udžbenici i zašto je to važno

• Media reactions
• ESI newsletter: Bosnia as Wunderkind – Corruption from Kosovo to Germany (19 March 2015)
• ESI letter: Bosnia as Wunderkind of Doing Business. Outline of 14 steps to take – A Proposal to the presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina (19 March 2015)
• ESI newsletter: Pumpkins, outliers and the Doing Business illusion (4 November 2014)
• Rumeli Observer: Path out of Kleptocracy – a response to ESI on Doing Business by Hans Gutbrod (2 December 2014)
• World Bank: Doing Business 2015 report
• ESI report: Vladimir and Estragon in Skopje – A fictional conversation on trust and standards and a plea on how to break a vicious circle (17 July 2014)
• Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Michael Martens, "Die verkehrte Welt der Weltbank" ("The upside down world of the World Bank") (26 January 2013)
• ESI: Reinventing Georgia: The story of a Libertarian Revolution (April 2010)

• ESI report: Why Kosovo needs migration – From research to policy (23 April 2015)
• Rumeli Observer: NERP or Six numbers to understand Kosovo (29 April 2015)
• Rumeli Observer: On Writing – Gibberish and Economics (29 April 2015)
• Rumeli Observer: On Writing – The fourteen-year-old test (29 April 2015)
• ESI news: Pristina – ESI at public debate on Kosovo's European Perspective (23 April 2015)

Bekim Çollaku – Ulrike Lunacek – Samuel Žbogar – Venera Hajrullahu

• ESI news: Pristina – ESI at public debate on Kosovo's European Perspective (23 April 2015)
• Background: New facts and figures on Western Balkan Asylum Seekers (6 April 2015)
• Open Letter on Visa Liberalization from Kosovo Civil Society (31 March 2015)
• Kosovo Foundation for Open Society
• ESI newsletter: VISA AND ASYLUM – Red Alert on Turkey – Unfair in Kosovo – Germany's problem (10 March 2015)
• European Commission, October 2014 report assessing Turkey visa process
• European Commission, July 2014 report assessing Kosovo visa progress  
• ESI: About Kosovo and Visa
• ESI news: Kosovar migrants, EU borders, poverty and visa-free travel (7 March 2015)

How do you measure corruption?

• ESI discussion paper: Measuring corruption – The case for deep analysis and a simple proposal (19 March 2015)
• EU Anti-Corruption Report (2014)
• Special Eurobarometer 397 – Corruption (2014)
• Flash Eurobarometer 374 – Business' attitudes towards corruption in the EU (2014)

• ESI newsletter: VISA AND ASYLUM – Red Alert on Turkey – Unfair in Kosovo – Germany's problem (10 March 2015)
• ESI news: Istanbul – ESI briefing: The end of visas for Turkish citizens - Where are we today? (17 December 2015)
• ESI news: Events in Ankara and Istanbul: Beyond Chapters – The Future of Turkey in Europe (18 November 2014)
• European Commission, October 2014 report assessing Turkey visa process
• Turkey's visa liberalisation roadmap: the scorecard (December 2014)
• Visa-free Turkey: Priorities for action (17 December 2014)
• ESI news: Istanbul – ESI at conference on "Visa-free travel for Turkish nationals: readmission and beyond" (28 May 2014)
• A story of policy impact: Visa advocacy and the Turkey White List Project
• Discussion paper: Trust and travel. Easing the visa burden for Turks in five steps (24 February 2014)
• ESI report: Cutting the Visa Knot – How Turks can travel freely to Europe (21 May 2013). Also available in Turkish: Vize Kördüğümünü Çözmek – Türkler Avrupa'ya Nasıl Serbestçe Seyahat Edebilir?
• Turkey visa website (also available in Turkish)

Yannis Boutaris – Mayor of Thessaloniki

• ESI newsletter: On the brink in Greece – the vote today (5 July 2015)
• ESI essay: The good news from Greece – Can Thessaloniki point the way? (February 2015)
• Rumeli Observer: Cosmopolitan visionary – Boutaris and Thessaloniki (12 October 2014)
• "One Step Ahead" (documentary on the 2010 Thessaloniki elections)
• ESI documentary: Alexander's shadow (2008)
• Other ESI essays: Romania, Kosovo, Turkey, Bulgaria, Greece

• Rumeli Observer: Enlargement 2.0 – The ESI Roadmap Proposal (Belgrade presentation) (27 November 2014)
• Rumeli Observer: Enlargement reloaded – ESI proposal for a new generation of progress reports (31 January 2014)
• Video presentation: Enlargement and the benefits of competition

• ESI report: Vladimir and Estragon in Skopje – A fictional conversation on trust and standards and a plea on how to break a vicious circle (17 July 2014)
• References and sources
• Video presentation: Vladimir and Estragon in Skopje. How the EU lost Macedonia (6 June 2014)
• Video presentation: Enlargement and the benefit of competiton
• ESI Macedonia country website section
• ESI proposal on Macedonia's name dispute with Greece

• ESI newsletter: Why they look West – Ukraine, poverty and the EU (21 March 2014)
• Rumeli Observer: Why they look West – Ukraine, poverty and the EU (20 March 2014)
• ESI newsletter: After Maidan – a new generation of progress reports – new visa paper (27 February 2014)
• Rumeli Observer: Kiev and the cost of EU enlargement on hold (21 February 2014)
• ESI news: ESI presentation in Kiev at public round table discussion on visa-free Europe (28 January 2013)

• Open letter to LIBE committee concerning Balkan asylum issues (21 February 2013)
• Statistical update: asylum seekers from the Western Balkans (15 February 2013)
• ESI report: Saving visa-free travel – Visa, Asylum and the EU roadmap policy (1 January 2013)
• EUobserver, Gerald Knaus and Alexandra Stiglmayer, "Populism in Brussels? How to solve the Balkan asylum crisis" (24 October 2012)
• Moving the goalposts? An analysis of the Kosovo visa roadmap (6 July 2012)
• News: Kosovo receives visa liberalisation roadmap (14 June 2012)
• Kosovo – the Balkan Ghetto
• Western Balkans – the opening
• Turkey – the European promise
• Visa-free travel and asylum
• The EU's Eastern Partners – the vision
• Europe's borders – global lessons?
• Understanding Europe's Borders (A-Z)

• Bosnia and Herzegovina and the EU
• International power and its limits
• Successful EU conditionality: visa free travel to the Schengen area
• How to change Bosnia's constitution?
• ESI film: Bosnia: A miracle which does not shine

• Leading experts on Turkey today (videos)
• Germany, Turks and Turkey
• Chronologies of Turkey debates in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, and the Netherlands
• European debates on future EU enlargement and Turkey
• Picture story: A very special relationship. Why Turkey's EU Accession Process Will Continue (March 2011)

• Debates in EU member states
• Concepts & ideas
• Controversies
• Member state builders

• BOOK – Rory Stewart and Gerald Knaus: Can intervention work? (2011)
• Media reactions: Financial Times, The New Republic, The Washington Post, Slate, and others
• Gerald Knaus: On intervention and statebuilding (video)
• Rory Stewart: From Afghanistan to Southern Iraq – observations on state building and intervention (video)
• Minna Jarvenpaa: Sarajevo, Mitrovica, Kabul – what have we learned? (video)
• Minna Jarvenpaa: Making Peace in Afghanistan - The Missing Political Strategy (video)
• ESI on the European Raj in Bosnia (2003) – ESI Picture Story on liberal imperialism (2003)

• Montenegro: Wild Beauty
• Kosovo: Cutting the lifeline
• Albania: Albanian Renaissance
• Macedonia: Macedonian Wedding
• Bosnia: A miracle which does not shine
• Serbia: Exit Europe
• Romania: timisoara.com
• Bulgaria: The long revolution
• Greece: Alexander's shadow
• Turkey: Istanbul – Truth, fear and hope
• Twilight of Heroes: Croatia, Europe and the International Tribunal
• Moldova: Lost in Transition

Complete films can be seen on ESI's Youtube page