Chief Editor: Dr. Chen Xin
Preface
The year 2020 was very challenging for all the countries and regions around the world. When it comes to the coronavirus pandemic in Europe, it basically never stopped since it broke out in March 2020. The pandemic situation has not only led to low economic growth but also exerted enormous influence on all aspects of societies. Apart from the great reduction in economic activities in various sectors, the coronavirus affected domestic political developments in CEE countries, including elections at local and national levels, challenged social developments including schooling and domestic violence, and seriously impeded efforts to promote external relations and international cooperation.
The book provides an overview of major developments in 16 CEE countries and Greece in 2020. It is the fourth collection of annual reports published by the China-CEE Institute and covers 16 Central and Eastern European countries as well as Greece. China-CEE Institute has included Greece in its Country-Study research since 2018. In April 2019, Greece officially joined China-CEEC Cooperation Framework, and the “16+1” cooperation was renamed to “17+1” cooperation.
The structure of the book is divided into four aspects: domestic politics, economic situation, social development, and external relations. All reports were written by scholars from Central and Eastern European countries at the end of 2020. All reports are original and provide excellent insights into the developments of Central and Eastern European countries in 2020 under the background of the coronavirus pandemic. The English version of the individual reports has been published on the website of the China-CEE Institute. The views in the book are represented by the individual authors instead of the China-CEE Institute.
The China-CEE Institute, registered as a non-profit limited company in Budapest, Hungary, was established by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) in April 2017. The China-CEE Institute builds ties and strengthens partnerships with academic institutions and think tanks in Hungary, Central and Eastern European countries, as well as other parts of Europe. The China-CEE Institute aims to encourage scholars and researchers to carry out joint researches, field studies, organize seminars and lecture series, hold some training programs for younger students, and make publications, etc.
I hope that this book will be a valuable contribution to understanding the developments of Central and Eastern Europe in the past year.
Prof. Dr. CHEN Xin Executive President and Managing Director, China-CEE Institute Deputy Director General, Institute of European Studies, CASS