European Values () is a Czech

non-governmental organisation A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in ...

founded in 2005 and financed from some governments. Its incentive is to raise political culture in the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

as well as on the European level. It defines

European Values European values are the norms and values that Europeans are said to have in common, and which transcend national or state identity. In addition to helping promote European integration, this doctrine also provides the basis for analyses that char ...

personal freedom Civil liberties are guarantees and freedoms that governments commit not to abridge, either by constitution, legislation, or judicial interpretation, without due process. Though the scope of the term differs between countries, civil liberties ma ...

human dignity Dignity is the right of a person to be valued and respected for their own sake, and to be treated ethically. It is of significance in morality, ethics, law and politics as an extension of the Enlightenment-era concepts of inherent, inaliena ...

, solidarity, active civil society, market economy, democracy and rule of law. The organization promotes closer ties of the Czech Republic with the geopolitical

West West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

and fighting what it considers extremist ideologies.

Activities

The European Values organizes public and non-public debates, lectures, seminars and conferences. Among these are "Public debates on disinformation", the HOMEAFFAIRS – Internal Security Forum Prague and Stratcom Summit, which is marketed as informing about "Russian disinformation operations". Its analyses, policy papers and opinion articles published in newspapers or online share a similar thematic focus. A major program of the think tank is Kremlin Watch, which "aims to expose and confront instruments of Russian influence and disinformation operations focused against Western democracies". Under this program it awards the "

Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...

’s Champion Award" to European politicians and other public figures who it perceives as supporting the current government of Russia. In October 2017 the organization released a report titled
The Kremlin’s Platform for ‘Useful Idiots’ in the West: An Overview of RT’s Editorial Strategy and Evidence of Impact
including a list of 2326 persons of public significance primarily in the West who have appeared as guests on RT. Jakub Janda, Deputy Director of the European Values, has accused the Czech president

Miloš Zeman Miloš Zeman (; born 28 September 1944) is a Czech politician serving as the third and current President of the Czech Republic since 2013. He previously served as the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic from 1998 to 2002. As leader of the Cze ...

of being a "Russian Trojan Horse".

European Values Initiative

In April 2015, the European Values Initiative was introduced as a movement aimed at strengthening the principles of

liberal democracy Liberal democracy is the combination of a liberal political ideology that operates under an indirect democratic form of government. It is characterized by elections between multiple distinct political parties, a separation of powers into ...

in Europe via series of debates. The Initiative was backed by various Czech political figures, such as Petr Kolář,

Libor Rouček Libor Rouček (born 4 September 1954 in Kladno) is a Czech politician and Member of the European Parliament with the Czech Social Democratic Party, part of the Socialist Group and sits on the European Parliament's Committee on Foreign Affairs. ...

and

Štefan Füle Štefan Füle (born 24 May 1962 in Sokolov) is a former Czech diplomat who served as the European Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy from February 2010 until October 2014. Early life and education Füle was born on ...

Financing

The organisation is not linked to any political party. It is sponsored by various institutions and private donors. Some of the donors are International Visegrad Fund (Dutch government), Foreign & Commonwealth Office, British Embassy Prague, U.S. Embassy in The Czech Republic, Representation of European Commission in the Czech Republic, Embassy of the State of Israel, Embassy of Ukraine in Prague, Netherlands embassy in Prague (https://www.europeanvalues.cz/cs/about-us/annual-reports/) All financial data can be viewed on a transparent bank account.

References

External links

European Values Official website

The newest proposal from the "European Values'" think tank is unrealistic and at odds with the law
– the Multicultural Centre Prague. {{Authority control Think tanks based in the Czech Republic