Read all posts for ‘Central and Eastern Europe’

“Yugonostalgia.” It’s an expression that suggests many things at once. Generally, it refers to a feeling of longing for “the good old days” felt by citizens of those countries which comprise the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. A recent survey shows that among all the former Yugoslav republics, Bosnia-Herzegovina […]

The beauty of childhood is its lack of expectations Photo credit: Powerhouse Museum Collection Every year, on the 25th of December, everybody in Romania celebrates Christmas. But some Romanians also use the occasion to commemorate the former communist president, Nicoale Ceaușescu. They gather at the Ghencea Cemetry and in front […]

As societies in Europe become older, Central European countries and EU member states as a whole need to find out if they want, and are able to sustain, the state welfare system inherited from the 20th century in a world of global competition. During the 1980s there was a proverb […]

Global healthcare spending has increased faster than global economic growth. This faster pace of growth is due to the lack of effective economic and health policy-making but is also driven by the global economic crisis and the growing number of people using health services. When it comes to healthcare, all […]

“My mom called me in the middle of the day and said that I should come home immediately because some strangers had brought my father back after he collapsed in the street,” a very close friend told me. “So I took a taxi. When I arrived home, my older sister […]