Our Board

Andrej Novak, Chairman
(Nuremberg / Germany – Europe)

Initiator of the European Idealists
Thinker, expert on foreign, security and European policy, as well as on Eastern and Southeastern Europe
Educated in Germany, Russia and the USA. Higher education (Political Science, International Relations, Eastern European Studies, Russian Studies & History) at top-ranked institutes.
Professional experience in business, the non-profit sector and as independent expert, consultant and pundit in Germany, Great Britain (2.5 years), Russia (1 year) and Ukraine (multiple trips since 2002).
(Co-)Founder & board member of several civil society organisations since 2008. Currently Chairman of One Europe e. V. NGO & involved in humanitarian aid for Ukraine.
Former Top-2 candidate of the German Greens in Bavaria for the European Parliamentary elections of 2014 with the main slogan “Energy Transition instead of Gazprom”. Also in mid-February 2014, got the German Greens to adopt the explicit European perspective into their electoral programme (and did the same for Moldova & Georgia in 2019).
Public critic of the Putin regime since 2008.
Ran for the Croatian parliament twice as No. 1 of ORaH’s diaspora list in the 2010s.
Former Bundeswehr PsyOps soldier with focus on SFOR in Bosnia in the late 90s.

Monika Weigand, Vice-Chairwoman
(Frankfurt / Germany – Europe)

Ihor Zakharchenko, Vice-Chairman
(Bruges / Belgium – Europe)

Student at the College of Europe in the Master’s Programme on International Relations & Diplomacy Studies
Educated in Ukraine, Germany & Belgium
Degrees in European Studies, Social Sciences, German Studies.
2.5 years of work experience at a large German multinational corporation and at German Government agencies.
Former intern of the Bundestag (German Parliament).
From Kharkiv / Ukraine – Europe