![](/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/region-europe.jpg)
Latest Articles about Europe
![](/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Chinese-Belarusian_Industrial_Park_finance_agreement_signing_-_EDM_January_16__2014.jpg)
Dependency on Russia and Belarusian Identity
Recently published detailed analysis of Belarus’s economic problems on the Russian analytical portal Regnum (https://www.regnum.ru/news/1752886.html) is couched in stridently negative terms. The highlights include a decline of industrial exports to Russia because of lower (recession-conditioned) demand and heightened competition due to Russia’s accession to the... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Ilham_Aliyev_and_Recep_Tayyip_Erdogan__TANAP_-_EDM_January_15__2014.jpg)
SCP, TANAP, TAP: Segments of the Southern Gas Corridor to Europe
Full-scale investment approved at Shah Deniz, and supply contracts secured in Europe, make it possible for pipeline construction to proceed along the 3,500-kilometer Southern Gas Corridor, from Azerbaijan to European Union territory in Italy. The cumulative investments are estimated at $25 billion in the offshore... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Shah_Deniz_Platform_-_EDM_January_14__2014.png)
Shah Deniz Investment Decision Validates Commercial Agreements, Triggers Construction Contracts
The Shah Deniz gas producers’ consortium has approved the final investment decision (FID) on December 17, 2013, launching Phase Two of production at the project in Azerbaijan (see accompanying article). This decision has two immediate consequences, both of them pre-programmed. It validates the long-term gas... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Shah_Deniz_Platform_Baku_-_EDM_January_14__2014.jpg)
Shah Deniz Gas Consortium in Azerbaijan Approves Final Investment Decision
On December 17, 2013, in Baku, the Shah Deniz natural gas producers’ consortium approved the Final Investment Decision (FID) to start Phase Two of production. The investment commitment is valued at $25 billion for field development, separately from the estimated $20 billion for the construction... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Constitutional_Court_of_Moldova_-_EDM_January_13__2014.jpg)
Language Politics, Party Politics, and Constitutional Court Politics in Moldova
Denominating the Republic of Moldova’s indigenous ethnicity and the state language as Moldovan or Romanian is a salient, continuous, and often emotional controversy in Moldova. This issue is far more political than philological. And it is often misperceived as involving a choice between Moldovan statehood... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Gas_pipelines_-_EDM_January_13__2014.jpg)
Balkan Energy: A Year in Review
The year 2013 was particularly important for energy security in the Balkans, as it brought the news that Caspian natural gas is closer than ever to reaching a region that has been heavily dependent on Russian sources. At the same time, the Russian-led South Stream... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Constitutional_Court_of_Moldova_-_EDM_January_10__2014.png)
Constitutional Court Seeks to Rename Moldova’s State Language Romanian
On December 5 and 24, 2013, Moldova’s Constitutional Court issued a ruling and the substantiating arguments (Moldpres, Unimedia, December 5, 24). These documents are widely interpreted to require the renaming of the state language, from Moldovan to Romanian. If so, any renaming of the state... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Vladimir_Putin_and_Alyaksandr_Lukashenka_-_EDM_January_9__2014.jpg)
Belarus: Hallmarks of 2013 and Prospects for 2014
The year 2013 was marked by Belarus’s deepening economic dependency on Russia. It became apparent that the generous socio-economic model of the Belarusian state—including heavily subsidized utilities and mortgage loans; free health care and education; a retention of the Soviet-era recreational facilities such as day... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Viktor_Yanukovych_and_Vladimir_Putin_-_EDM_January_8__2014.jpg)
Russia Begins Collecting Its Ukrainian Gas Bill
Although demonstrators still occupy the Maidan in central Kyiv and none of Ukraine’s fundamental issues that precipitated the crisis in late 2013 have been resolved, it is clear that the Russian “transfusion” of support for Ukrainian bonds and lower natural gas prices has given President... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Viktor_Yanukovych_Vilnius_summit_-_EDM_January_8__2014.jpg)
Controversial Year for Ukraine: President Yanukovych Makes U-turn to Avoid Default
Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych made a sensational U-turn last year, choosing Russian economic assistance over an association and free-trade deal with the European Union. The decision, which triggered the most massive anti-government protests since 2004, was dictated by a dismal state of the Ukrainian economy... MORE