Latest Articles about Europe's East
Ukraine Continues To Knock on the West’s Doors but Looks Back to Russia
Kyiv has suffered several setbacks in its Euro-Atlantic integration plans. The European Union came up with a collective plan for Ukraine and several other post-Soviet states that does not give Ukraine the prospect of EU membership. NATO refrained from offering a Membership Action Plan (MAP),... MORE
Ukrainian and Georgian ANPs Are Also Testing NATO
The NATO ministerial meeting in Brussels on December 3 announced that Albania and Croatia were now completing their Membership Action Plans (MAPs) and would be welcomed at the NATO Summit in April 2009 as new members of the alliance. The ministerial communiqué takes note of... MORE
From MAPs to ANPs: the Background to NATO’s Compromise Decision
NATO’s ministerial meeting on December 3 decided to offer Annual National Plans (ANPs), instead of Membership Action Plans (MAPs), to Georgia and Ukraine. The old NATO-Ukraine Commission and the new NATO-Georgia Commission are to draw up and administer the ANPs (see EDM, December 5). A... MORE
Ukraine Beefs Up Its Military Defenses with an Eye on Russia
Since the Russian invasion of Georgia in August, Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko has stressed the need to review defense priorities, with reference to the budgetary allocations to the military (The Times, August 23). The president warned that he would refuse to sign the state budget... MORE
Ukraine Recognizes Gas Debt, May Face Higher Price
Gazprom has threatened to more than double the gas price in 2009 if Ukraine fails to pay its debt for previous purchases by January 1. Ukraine’s energy inefficient industry might not survive such an increase amid the global economic crisis. Moreover, RosUkrEnergo may be retained... MORE
The Meeting That Never Took Place
On December 1 a session of the Supreme Council of the Union State of Russia and Belarus was scheduled to take place in Moscow. According to propaganda from the two sides, it was to be a significant occasion that, in contrast to the recent past,... MORE
Medvedev’s Refusal To Attend Famine Commemorations Worsens Already Poor Relations
Ukraine’s relations with Russia have deteriorated to their lowest level in two decades, with Zerkalo Nedeli (November 22) stating that the Russian authorities and society have never been as negatively disposed toward Ukraine as now, even during the Orange Revolution. The deterioration has taken place... MORE
A New Ukrainian Russian Gas Confrontation
Just when the outlook for normalization in the Ukrainian-Russian gas relationship appeared on the horizon, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Gazprom head Alexei Miller have upset the gas cart.On November 20 Kommersant Daily reported that Medvedev and Miller threatened to charge Ukraine $400 per 1,000... MORE
Were Ukrainian Arms Supplies to Georgia Illegal?
A Ukrainian parliamentary commission investigating arms supplies to Georgia has claimed that they were illegal. The commission chairman, Valery Konovalyuk from the pro-Russian Party of Regions (PRU), insists that President Viktor Yushchenko was aware that Ukraine supplied arms to Georgia illegally. The Security Service of... MORE
Changing Priorities in Belarus
Several recent events suggest that changes are underway in Belarus as it emerges from isolation and begins new dialogues with the countries of the European Union. According to sociological surveys, the electorate remains behind the president; and after a brief shock engendered by sharp price... MORE