With the collapse of the Soviet Union and the fall of the Berlin Wall, a wave of optimism swept across the European continent. The brutalities of authoritarianism should belong, once and for all, in the past. People who had lived under strict control and surveillance looked to a future of civic liberties under democratic rule. Citizens mobilized and civil society emerged. 1989 became the symbol of hope and optimism a synonym of the time. In 15 years, the European continent went from disharmony and separation to unity and integration, a process peaking in 2004 with the EU enlargement - an extraordinary achievement, considering European history.

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However, 30 years have passed, and in the past 15 years, things have changed. Skepticism and pessimism about the future has, to a certain extent, replaced the optimism that arose with the end of communist authoritarianism. Populist movements and isolationist forces threaten civic space, civil society, democratic values, and central EU rights and freedoms, which emerged in the years between 1989 and 2004.