In a rapidly changing world, with democracy and human rights under fire across the globe, the Open Society Foundations are restructuring to better meet the challenges of the day. This involves some hard choices, as we streamline operations to increase the speed and flexibility with which we can address and adapt to those challenges. The changes have also drawn increased interest from the press. Amid this coverage, an unfortunate narrative has emerged: the misguided idea that Open Society is abandoning Europe.

Our chair, Alex Soros, addressed this narrative head on in a op-ed published this week in Politico Europe. His central point: the Foundations’ commitment to Europe remains steadfast.

Europe has evolved since George Soros, our founder, began his philanthropic work there decades ago. And the Foundations need to evolve along with it. Russia’s all-out assault on Ukraine has shined a spotlight on the vital importance to a democratic future of Kyiv and its neighbors. Our ongoing work in Moldova and the Western Balkans is crucial to helping prevent the Russian threat from growing—and to helping fortify the European Union by extending these countries' memberships, which will enhance stability and security across the continent. And our commitment to the Roma remains constant, as we increase our efforts to help Europe’s largest ethnic minority overcome discrimination and achieve equal treatment.

In short, our priorities are changing, as we shift focus toward the east in Europe. But our funding endures. And under our new operating model, we will be better positioned to allow the robust civil society sector in many EU countries to move forward, as we free resources and personnel to anticipate emerging threats from authoritarians across the region, and indeed, around the world.

You can read Alex’s op-ed here.