Our Correspondents, Translators and Community managers
Correspondents
euro|topics has a Europe-wide network of correspondents. Every day they read the main newspapers in countries across the continent, from Estonia to Portugal, and select articles for the press review. The translators then make sure that the press review is also available in English and French. A list of the correspondents and translators follows. If you would like to get in touch, please send an email to: eurotopics@bpb.de
Dirk Auer is euro|topics' correspondent for Germany. He has worked as a freelance Southeast Europe correspondent for various print media and radio broadcasters since 2003 and was based in Sofia and Belgrade for ten years. He studied political science, sociology and philosophy in Oldenburg and Bremen.
Liudmyla Berdnyk is euro|topics' correspondent in Ukraine. After studies in Ukrainian and German languages and literature she worked as a reporter and editor for the German-language service of Radio Ukraine International from 2006 to 2018. Since then Liudmyla has been active as a freelance producer and translator for various German media in Ukraine.
Annette Birschel is the euro|topics correspondent in the Netherlands and the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium. She has been based in Amsterdam for 12 years, working as an independent (radio) journalist for various German media. Before that she lived in Germany, France, the US and Switzerland (Geneva).
Born of Hungarian parents, Peter Bognar grew up in Vienna. He studied political science, philosophy and Hungarian literature in Vienna and Budapest. After many years in Budapest, he now lives with his wife and three children in Vienna, from where he reports on current affairs in Austria and Hungary.
Dilşad Budak Sarıoğlu is the Turkey correspondent for euro|topics. She studied law at the Heinrich-Heine University in Düsseldorf. Dilşad has been working as an actor, author, presenter and freelance producer in Istanbul, her birthplace, since 2013. She has also worked for the German state broadcaster ARD.
Nicholas Bukovec is the euro|topics correspondent for the UK and Ireland. He studied political science, history and economics in Vienna, Dublin and Limerick. From 1999 to 2011 he worked as a political and international editor for the daily newspaper Kurier in Vienna. Since 2011 he has been based in Dublin, working as a freelance journalist and for an online marketing platform.
Eva Clausen is the euro|topics correspondent in Italy. After completing her A-levels she travelled to Italy and has been living in Rome since 1980. She studied English literature and language and art history in Rome. She worked for a literary agency, in film, in theatre and for various publishers. Since 1995, she has focussed on journalism, working for RAI in Italy, the Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Handelsblatt, Der Standard and Die Zeit and mainly covering art and culture, society, and travel.
Maris Hellrand is the euro|topics correspondent in Estonia. While reading political studies and communication in Munich she worked for Radio Free Europe. She then worked as a freelance journalist in Korea, England and Singapore. When Tallinn was European Capital of Culture 2011 she was the contact person for all the international media. Today she also works as a media advisor for festivals and conferences.
Nina Henkelmann is the euro|topics correspondent for France and the Francophone communities of Luxembourg, Belgium and Switzerland. She studied Romance languages and literature, cultural studies and communication in Germany and France, and works in media and publicity, language teaching and translation in Germany, France and Italy.
Kristina Karasu is the euro|topics correspondent in Turkey. After studying applied cultural studies in Hildesheim (Germany) and Sassari (Italy), she worked as a TV editor in Hanover. Kristina has been living in Istanbul since 2010, where she works as a documentary filmmaker, film editor and freelance journalist for Spiegel Online, Arte, Deutsche Welle and ZDF, among others.
Kornélia Kiss is euro|topics correspondent in Hungary. She studied law and political science in Pécs, Hungary. She worked for the Hungarian daily newspaper Magyar Nemzet as a journalist. Since 2018 she is a co-founder and journalist of the Hungarian independent weekly newspaper Magyar Hang. She reports about social and domestic political issues, migration and culture. 2018-2019 she was a fellow on the European Journalism Fellowship scheme at Freie Universität Berlin and correspondent for the European Journalism Observatory (EJO).
Claudia Knauer is the euro|topics correspondent in Denmark, where she and her family have lived for almost twelve years. After studying political science, philosophy and public law in Kiel and the United States Claudia worked as a journalist for many years, primarily covering stories dealing with university education and medicine. She has been deputy editor of the German-language newspaper Der Nordschleswiger for several years now.
Brigitte Kramer is our euro|topics correspondent in Spain. She was born in Munich and graduated from the Deutsche Journalistenschule (DJS). Since the mid-1990s she has lived in Spain, first on a scholarship from Süddeutscher Verlag, then as a freelance writer for magazines and newspapers (mare, Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Süddeutsche Zeitung, Der Standard). She now mainly works for German radio broadcaster ARD, specialising in features on the environment and social issues. She has won several awards for her travel reports and radio features from the Mediterranean region.
Leo Mausbach is our euro|topics correspondent in Poland. He studied political science and international relations in Berlin, Wrocław, Frankfurt (Oder) and Poznań. As a freelance journalist, Leo reports on German-Polish relations for various blogs. He has lived in Warsaw since 2016.
Dimiter Muftieff is the euro|topics correspondent in Bulgaria. A native of Sofia, he studied in Vienna and Hamburg before working as an editor for Bulgarian National Radio. Today he reports from Sofia as a freelance print and radio journalist for a variety of German media and n-ost.
Annett Müller is the euro|topics correspondent in Romania. She works as an independent journalist in Bucharest and Leipzig for the German public broadcaster ARD and n-ost. She studied journalism and psychology in Leipzig and Edinburgh.
Egita Proveja is euro|topics' Latvia correspondent. She studied German language and literature and since 2003/2004 she has worked as a researcher in linguistics and translation at Ventspils University of Applied Sciences, a project manager at the German-Baltic Chamber of Commerce in Riga and a translator and interpreter for various German media.
Simon Roth is euro|topics correspondent for Switzerland and Austria. He completed a Bachelor's degree in Eastern European Studies in Zurich and then gathered journalistic experience in various editorial offices. He is currently studying for a Master's degree in World Society and Global Governance in Lucerne, specialising in history and political science.
Anne Rentzsch is the euro|topics correspondent in Sweden. She has lived in Stockholm since 1990. She is an editor for the public broadcaster Sveriges Radio. She also works as a translator and freelance journalist for several radio stations and print media in Germany and Austria.
Ksenija Samardzija Matul is the euro|topics correspondent in Slovenia. She was born and brought up in Stuttgart, the child of immigrant workers - a Slovenian mother and Croatian father. She took a degree in English and German studies in Slovenia. She works as a freelance journalist and news editor in the German and English editorial department at Radio Slovenia International (part of Slovenia's public broadcasting service) in Maribor. She also works as a translator and narrator for short documentaries and presentation films.
Hans-Jörg Schmidt is euro|topics correspondent for Czech Republic and Slovakia, as well as correspondent for various German-language newspapers including the Vienna-based Die Presse. He studied journalism, and has lived in Prague since 1990. Hans-Jörg has written two books on the Czech Republic: "Tschechien - ein Länderporträt" [The Czech Republic - Portrait of a Country] and "Wedier Zeman - Kein Fühling in Prag" [Zeman Again - Not a Prague Spring].
Susanne Šemelė is euro|topics' correspondent in Lithuania. She studied media and communication sciences in Germany and Lithuania and has been working as a freelancer for European and international institutes, NGOs and companies in the fields of media, marketing and translation since 2019.
Claudius Technau is the euro|topics correspondent in Finland. After studying journalism and political science he moved to Helsinki in 1995 and taught German for a few years. Since 1996 he has been a freelance journalist and worked for the Berliner Zeitung, Spiegel magazine, the German broadcaster NDR, the APA news agency and other media. He also works as a translator.
Sandra Valtere † was euro|topics correspondent in Latvia from 2013 to 2023. She studied German language and literature in Riga and was a long-time foreign correspondent for ZDF reporting from Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia.
Marijan Vrdoljak is euro|topics' correspondent in Croatia. He studied journalism with a focus on television and worked for several years as an editor for RTL Croatia, among others. As a freelance journalist and producer he has filmed reports for various Croatian and foreign media. He works as a TV producer in Zagreb and since 2014 as a stringer for German broadcaster ZDF's Vienna studio in Croatia.
Tilo Wagner is our euro|topics correspondent in Portugal. He studied history, economics, Spanish, Portuguese and Arabic in Mainz, Madrid, Beirut and Berlin. Tilo also works as a freelance correspondent for Deutschlandfunk and other German-language media in Portugal.
Clara Weber is euro|topics correspondent for France and the French-speaking parts of Luxembourg, Belgium and Switzerland. After finishing her BA in Romance languages and literature and study-related stays in Brussels, Bogotá and Barcelona, she took on various jobs at Arte in Strasbourg. She is now doing graduate work in intercultural European studies in Germany, France and Spain.
Dieter Weiand is the euro|topics correspondent in Sweden. He has lived in front of the gates of Stockholm since 1994. Until 2008 he was managing editor at Radio Schweden, the German-language service of Swedish public broadcaster Sveriges Radio. He has been working as an editor for Swedish broadcasters since 2010.
Chrissi Wilkens is the euro|topics correspondent in Greece and Cyprus. She is half-Greek and studied sociology in Munich. Since 2003 she has been based in Athens, working as a journalist for the weekly newspaper "Investor's World", the magazine "Diplomatia" and other Greek media.
Translators
John Lambert translates euro|topics into English. After finishing his doctorate in post-analytic philosophy, John worked as translation editor for the English edition of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, then as editor-in-chief of the online cultural magazine signandsight.com. Freelance translator since 2008.
Alison Waldie translates euro|topics into English. She read European Studies in London and then moved in 1994 to Berlin, where she earned a degree in translation at the Humboldt University. She has been working as a freelance translator since 1999.
Marjolaine Cavalier translates euro|topics into French. After studying English studies and German studies in Montpellier she moved to Berlin, where she earned a degree in translation and did a preparatory course in Russian at the Humboldt University. After a year in Glasgow she returned to Berlin, where she has worked as a freelance translator specialized in education, research, labour and social affairs, and the environment since 2002.
Antoine Rossi studied languages in Grenoble and Heidelberg and earned a master's degree in translation. He has worked with euro|topics translating the press review into French since 2008. After spells in Bologna, Istanbul and Nicosia he moved to Athens, where he has been living and working since January 2011.
Sinem Derya Çetinkaya studied political science at Frankfurt J.W. Goethe University. She wrote her master's thesis on democracy and minority rights at the same university. Working as a trade union expert and coordinator and carrying out various rights-based projects in Turkey for a long time, Çetinkaya's working areas are occupational safety, censorship-artistic freedom of expression and gender equality. Çetinkaya, who occasionally writes as a guest writer for various newspapers and works as a freelance translator, is one of the euro|topics Turkish translators.
Behlül Çalışkan is euro|topics translator for the Turkish language version. He completed his PhD in journalism in Istanbul. He has published several articles on communication, media and culture in various international journals and books. Since 2007 he has been working as media researcher at different universities in Turkey. He worked as guest researcher in Thessaloniki in 2019. Çalışkan is also translator of technical texts and philosophical literature.
Olgay Karagöz is a graduate of Istanbul University's Faculty of Political Science. He has worked as a translator, editor and deputy curator in various media and Cultur and Art institutions in Turkey. As a freelance translator, Karagöz takes over the Turkish proofreading for euro | topics.
Social Media Managers
Harry Stopes is the social media editor for euro|topics' English channels. He is a journalist and historian with a wide range of interests, particularly social affairs and criminal justice; he is currently writing a book about the history of prison. He was born and raised in Manchester, moved to France, and has been living in Berlin since 2018.
Gaelle Legrand is social media editor for the French version of euro|topics on Facebook and Twitter. A trained (video) journalist, she worked for the daily paper Le Dauphiné Libéré in France and more recently for a local TV broadcaster in Liverpool.
Tuğba Tekerek is the social media manager for euro|topics in Turkey. Based in Istanbul, she worked as a journalist for the daily newspapers Milliyet and Taraf. She is awarded “journalist of the year” by the Contemporary Journalists’ Association twice. Since 2013 she is a freelancer working for various national and international media in Turkey. Her main areas of focus are press freedom, gender and the Kurdish conflict.