Testimonials

Hannes Swoboda

Member of the European Parliament
1996–2014, President of wiiw since 2015

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Beata Smarzynska Javorcik

Chief Economist, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)

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Robert Holzmann

Governor,
Austrian National Bank (OeNB)

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Ingrid Gazzari

Executive Director wiiw 1991–2006,
Co-founder of the institute

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Wolfgang Schüssel

Federal Chancellor of Austria 2000–2007, Founder of European Voices magazine

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Romana Vlahutin

Ambassador 2019–2022,
European External Action Service

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Hannes Swoboda

Member of the European Parliament 1996–2014
President of wiiw since 2015

“I hope that the institute will continue to renew itself as it has done so far, because we cannot stand still. There are always new challenges, also from ecology, sustainability, climate change. But these must always be combined with factual knowledge communicated to the public, because science also has a responsibility towards the public.”

Hannes Swoboda is the President of the Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies. As a former Member of the European Parliament, he focused on Southeast Europe and served, among other roles, as the rapporteur for Croatia’s accession to the European Union. He has always been dedicated to the region’s European integration process.

Beata Smarzynska Javorcik

Chief Economist
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)

“Independent institutes like the Vienna Institute can speak truth to power, they can also provide important credible messaging to the European Union authorities and the member governments about how the current discussions and discourse about further EU enlargement affects candidate countries.”

Beata Smarzynska Javorcik is the Chief Economist at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). Founded in 1991, the EBRD’s mission was to support the transition from centrally planned to market economies in Central and Eastern Europe by investing in the private sector.

Robert Holzmann

Governor
Austrian National Bank (OeNB)

“wiiw has had and continues to have great importance for research on Central, Eastern and South-Eastern European countries. It has a unique selling point with the Austrian National Bank (OeNB) in that it focuses on these countries, giving it a very strong international role.”

Robert Holzmann is the Governor of the Austrian National Bank, one of the institute’s most important sources of basic funding. This support enables the institute to compete successfully in the international research market for advanced economic projects and to formulate and present research findings that contribute to evidence-based policymaking both in Austria and internationally.

Ingrid Gazzari

Executive Director wiiw 1991–2006
Co-founder of the institute

“I wish the Institute continued success for the next 50 years, also as a point of reference for Vienna and Austria. I also wish the Institute continued internal cooperation and collegiality with a wonderful working atmosphere.”

Ingrid Gazzari served as Executive Director of wiiw from 1991 to 2006. She took over the institute’s management during a challenging period at the beginning of the 1990s. Under her 15-year leadership, wiiw grew significantly, nearly doubling its staff and budget. In the early 1970ies, Ingrid Gazzari played an important role in founding wiiw.

Wolfgang Schüssel

Federal Chancellor of Austria 2000–2007
Founder of European Voices magazine

“It is an extraordinary that such an institute has maintained such a positive ranking for 50 years and is among the most exciting economic research institutions.”

Wolfgang Schüssel served as Federal Chancellor of Austria from 2000 to 2007. He is involved in numerous institutions focused on foreign policy and European integration. Recently, he founded a quarterly magazine called “European Voices”, which provides a platform for experts, scholars, writers, political thinkers, and observers to reflect on the current state of Europe and share visions that could shape its future.

Romana Vlahutin

Ambassador 2019–2022
European External Action Service

“What I really appreciate about the institute is the combination of rigorous analysis, but also blue-sky thinking. For us, for diplomats working on policy issues, it is phantastic to get also the ideas what the next generation of policies should look like based on factual analysis.”

Romana Vlahutin served as Ambassador at Large and EU Special Envoy for Connectivity in the European External Action Service from 2019 to 2022. In this role, she led the EU’s connectivity strategy and acted as the chief negotiator for the EU-Japan and EU-India connectivity partnerships.

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