PRESS RELEASE
Hannes Swoboda becomes member of IFIMES Advisory board
LJUBLJANA, September 30, 2014 - The International Institute for Middle-East and Balkan Studies (IFIMES) is pleased to announce that Dr Hannes Swoboda became a member of the IFIMES Advisory board. From 2012 he was Chair of the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D) in the European Parliament (EP).
Dr Hannes Swoboda, an Austrian and European social democrat, has significantly affected Austrian, as well as European politics, and policies. Since 1997 he has been Vice-Chairman of the Delegation of the EP for Relations with South-East Europe. Most of his work in the EP Committee on Foreign Policy has been focused on the Balkans. He was President of the Group for Western Balkans, the Middle East, Turkey and the Maghreb. He performed the function of the EP rapporteur for the entry of Croatia into the EU. In December 2011, he recommended the entry of Croatia into the EU, a recommendation that the EP approved by a vast majority. In addition to these areas, Dr Hannes Swoboda spent much of his time dealing with EU's relations with Asia and the Russian Federation.
His willingness to cooperate with IFIMES is a great honour for the Institute and sets new challenges and responsibilities for our institution. His support and cooperation with the institute present an additional guarantee for the professionalism of our work at the same time implying recognition of our efforts and activities on the functioning of the Institute.
In 2013 IFIMES presented Dr Swoboda with high the award for the most visible European politician in the Western Balkans, which was presented by the honorary president of the Institute Stjepan Mesić, former President of the Republic of Croatia, and by the Vice-President of the Advisory board of the Institute Zoran Živković, former Prime Minister of the Republic of Serbia.
Ljubljana, September 30, 2014
