AGENDA CENTRAL EUROPE
From CEE to Central Europe
The term Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) is still widely used by businesses, media, public institutions and international organisations.
However, we believe it no longer reflects the actual position of our region.
More than three decades after the political transformation of 1989, and particularly after the geopolitical changes that followed Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the countries at the heart of our region should no longer be defined primarily through their former place in the Soviet sphere of influence.
Agenda Central Europe promotes the use of Central Europe instead of Central and Eastern Europe when referring to our region.
Why Central Europe?
Central Europe has increasingly become a region with a distinct geopolitical role of its own.
The response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine demonstrated that countries such as Poland and the Czech Republic are capable of assuming responsibility for major crises in their neighbourhood — from receiving millions of refugees to organising humanitarian, logistical and military support.
At the same time, the region has become an important part of NATO’s eastern security architecture and a political, economic and infrastructural link between Western Europe and the countries further east.
Central Europe also retains a strong historical memory of the political and civilisational catastrophes of the twentieth century while being fully integrated into Western economic, democratic and security structures.
For these reasons, we believe Central Europe describes the contemporary position of the region more accurately than Central and Eastern Europe.
Why not CEE?
The term “Central and Eastern Europe” emerged from a specific historical context. In practice, it has often functioned as a collective label for countries that were formerly part of the Soviet sphere of influence.
Thirty-seven years after the political transformation of our region, we believe this category has become outdated.
The problem is not only geographical. In international perception, the term Central and Eastern Europe is often understood primarily through the word Eastern.
As a result, countries that have been members of NATO and the European Union for decades, have undergone profound economic and political transformation and today play an important role in European security are still described through a category rooted in the division of Europe created during the Cold War.
We believe the language used to describe the region should reflect the Europe of today rather than the political geography of the twentieth century.
The Agenda Central Europe initiative
Agenda Central Europe is an initiative of the Central European Perspective Foundation aimed at changing the terminology used to describe our region.
We want to encourage companies, media, publishers, research institutions, public figures and creators to reconsider the automatic use of Central and Eastern Europe / CEE and, where appropriate, use Central Europe instead.
Changing international perceptions begins with the language we use ourselves.
If companies headquartered in Warsaw, Prague, Bratislava, Budapest or Vienna continue to describe their own region as CEE, the same terminology will naturally continue to be used in London, Brussels, Paris, New York and elsewhere. The same applies to media coverage, corporate structures, market analyses, rankings, reports and conferences.
Our objective is not to create another political organisation or a new regional cooperation format. It is to establish Central Europe as the natural and standard name for our region, first in the way we describe ourselves, and ultimately in the broader international debate.
Organisations that want to support this change can join Agenda Central Europe and receive the declaration by email.
Organisations supporting Agenda Central Europe
The organisations below support Agenda Central Europe and the effort to establish Central Europe as the standard name for our region.
Join Agenda Central Europe
If your organisation would like to support Agenda Central Europe, leave your contact details below.
We will send you the declaration and further information about joining the initiative by email.