Latest Articles about Central Europe
“Eagle Guardian” and the Strange Case of the Leak Without Legs (Part One)
For more than a month the media was full of accounts of the latest revelations from WikiLeaks broadcasting US diplomatic cables to the world. The international speculation about the ramifications of the world reading US classified diplomatic traffic gave birth to a media frenzy and... MORE
Surgut Neftegaz is Thwarted in Hungary, While Austria Examines OMV-Surgut Deal
Vienna’s Prosecutor Office announced on November 17 that it has brought charges against OMV’s oil and gas company CEO, Wolfgang Ruttenstorfer, following the Austrian financial regulators’ investigation into OMV’s sale of a large stake in Hungarian MOL to Russian Surgut Neftegaz (Austria Presseagentur, November 17,... MORE
Russia Targeting Oil Assets in Poland and Lithuania
On October 30, Poland announced its intention to privatize the state-owned majority stake in the country’s second-largest oil industry concern, Lotos Group. The Polish government is inviting interested parties to pre-tender talks on the Lotos Group. The government has already talked with the Russian government... MORE
Polish Government Defends Nontransparent Gas Agreement with Russia
The Russian-Polish gas agreements (“Russian-Polish Gas Agreement Leaves Key Questions Unanswered,” EDM, November 2) mark an unprecedented turnabout by the Polish government, siding with Russia and Gazprom despite the European Commission’s cautionary advice (EDM, October 4, 5). The Commission’s concerns are of a legal and... MORE
Russian-Polish Gas Agreement Leaves Key Questions Unanswered
On October 29 in Warsaw, the Polish government and state gas company signed long-term supply and transit agreements with Russia, despite strong cautionary advice and warnings of legal action by the European Commission (EDM, October 4, 5). The agreements prolong and entrench Polish dependence on... MORE
Another Chance for the Odessa-Brody Pipeline
Using the Odessa-Brody oil pipeline as originally intended, south-north, is under active consideration again; this time, by the governments of Ukraine and Belarus. The pipeline is being used since 2004 in reverse, north-south, by Russian oil companies, for exports out of Odessa. Such reverse-use blocks... MORE
Hungary-Romania Gas Interconnector: First Step Towards Region-Wide Network
On October 14, Hungary and Romania inaugurated a gas pipeline connecting the two countries’ transmission systems. The Szeged (Hungary) – Arad (Romania) pipeline is the first in a series of interconnector projects supported by the EU in Central and Southeastern Europe. The EU’s Energy Commissioner,... MORE
Gazprom Sees Window of Opportunity to Keep Poland Dependent
Moscow is exploiting a number of Polish vulnerabilities of both the objective and the subjective variety, all short-term, in the negotiations on a new supply agreement. The proposed draft would perpetuate those vulnerabilities, and cause Polish long-term dependence on Gazprom. For the time being, Poland... MORE
Lavrov’s Visit to Poland: Is Russia’s Rapprochement with Poland Real?
In the last couple of years, Russia has engaged in a rapprochement policy with Poland preceding the death of Poland’s President, Lech Kaczynski and many leading members of the government in a fatal air crash on April 10, outside Smolensk,. However, this policy certainly received... MORE
European Union Assists Poland to Rectify Agreement With Gazprom
Poland consumes some 14.5 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas annually (unaffected by the economic recession elsewhere). The country produces some 4.3 bcm per year internally while importing the remainder from Gazprom (Bloomberg, September 18). Most of Gazprom’s deliveries enter Poland through the Yamal-Europe pipeline,... MORE