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Latest Articles about Europe
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South Stream: A Project with Changeable Geography
Russian President Vladimir Putin wants the South Stream consortium to make a final investment decision by November 2012, and insists that Gazprom start construction work by the same date on the pipeline’s section in the Black Sea (Interfax, July 23; www.kremlin.ru, July 24). With four... MORE
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Italy Ambivalent About Gazprom’s South Stream Project
On July 23 in Sochi, Russian President Vladimir Putin obtained a verbal endorsement of Gazprom’s South Stream project from Italy’s new prime minister, Mario Monti, on his first visit to Russia in that capacity. Italy’s state-controlled oil and gas company, ENI, is a shareholder in... MORE
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Lukashenka’s Latin American Trip Brings Some Short-Term Benefits for Minsk
In late June, President of Belarus Alyaksandr Lukashenka visited Cuba, Venezuela and Ecuador. He signed over 20 accords with the President of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez, renewed acquaintances with Raul Castro in Cuba and started a new relationship with Rafael Correa, the President of Ecuador. The... MORE
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Hungarian MOL Goes Upstream in Kazakhstani Projects
On July 19, Hungarian-based MOL entered into a partnership with Kazmunaigaz E&P (Exploration & Production, the upstream subsidiary of the national company Kazmunaigaz) to develop the North Karpovsky oil and gas block in Kazakhstan. Kazmunaigaz E&P’s CEO, Alik Aidarbayev, commented that MOL was selected for... MORE
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Turkmenistan’s Gas Export Potential: New Implications for Europe
BP’s latest annual Statistical Review of World Energy has revealed Turkmenistan’s proven gas reserves as even bigger than previously assessed (see accompanying article). From Ashgabat’s perspective, European gas markets must look more lucrative and reliable compared with Turkmenistan’s existing export markets in China, Russia, and... MORE
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General Makarov Makes Incendiary Remarks in Finland
Speaking in Helsinki on June 5, Russia’s Chief of the General Staff General Nikolai Makarov made several incendiary remarks about Finland. Since such speeches are only made with official guidance, these outbursts must be assumed to reflect official Russian policy. Makarov warned Finland against cooperating... MORE
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The EU Visa Ban and the Fate of Independent Belarusian Pollsters
Lidiya Yermoshina, chair of the Belarus Central Electoral Commission, long on the EU travel ban list, was invited to the Vienna-based July 12 OSCE conference “Democratic Elections and Election Observation.” Her deputy, Nikolay Lozovik, also under EU travel sanctions, was invited as well, and both... MORE
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Moldova’s Communist Party Haunted by Its Past and Its Present
Moldova’s parliament initially banned the Communist Party and confiscated all its assets in August 1991, when the pro-Soviet putsch failed in Russia while Moldova proclaimed its independence. The banned party was the local branch of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU). The next... MORE
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Moldova Condemns Communism at Long Last
Twenty-one years after the Soviet Union’s demise and Moldova’s proclamation of independence, the Moldovan parliament has at last repudiated Communism, albeit by a narrow margin. The Communist Party retains a broad base of support in the country. For the last 15 years, Moldova has held... MORE
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Crisis in Greece: Anarchists in the Birthplace of Democracy
Despite having consigned most members of Greece’s most violent anarchist groups to prison since 2010, there are new concerns amongst Greek authorities that the June 27 car-bombing of the Athens headquarters of Microsoft could mark a resurgence in anarchist political violence, a resurgence fuelled by... MORE