
Latest Articles about Europe

Kyiv Claims US Senate Resolution on Tymoshenko Not Serious
A US Senate resolution calling for visa sanctions against Ukrainian officials for jailing former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko last October has caused great controversy in Kyiv. Tymoshenko’s opposition party, Fatherland, welcomed the resolution, describing it as an important warning to President Viktor Yanukovych, whom they... MORE

Parliamentary Elections in Belarus Arouse Cynicism, Anger Among Population
The 2012 parliamentary elections in Belarus were held on September 23. In contrast to some earlier elections, the authorities blatantly violated procedures and inflated voter turnout, according to several sources. In turn the opposition, having failed to unite initially in a Coalition of Six, was... MORE

Belarus Takes Steps to Strengthen Economy Despite Negative Relations with West
During the first six months of 2012, the export of refined oil products from Belarus has grown by $2.4 billion compared with the same period in 2011, and the export of solvents has grown by $1.8 billion (to the total of $2.5 billion)—thus reversing the... MORE

Russia’s Bullying Backfires in Bulgaria
A row between Bulgaria and Russia over compensation for the scrapped Belene nuclear power plant (NPP) project threatens to delay the start of the South Stream gas pipeline, the Kremlin’s strategic energy corridor intended to bypass Ukraine in supplying Russian gas to Europe. On the... MORE

Ukraine to Keep Cutting Russian Gas Import in 2013
Ukraine has indicated that a cut in Russian natural gas purchases will be deeper next year than expected thus far, to 24.5 billion cubic meters (bcm). This means that Ukrainian gas imports from Russia will be below contractual volumes for the third year in a... MORE

Finnish Leaders Emphasize Bilateral Cooperation and Good Relations with Russia
On August 20–23, Finland’s foreign policy establishment convened in Helsinki for the Annual Meeting of Heads of Mission. In addition to speeches by President Sauli Niinisto and Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja, visiting Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was given the opportunity to give a short... MORE

Filat’s Reset: Moldovan Prime Minister Reaches out to Putin and Medvedev
Moldovan Prime Minister Vlad Filat’s September 10–12 back-to-back visits with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev (see accompanying article) amount to a reset of bilateral relations initiated by Filat. This marks the first time since 2003 (Kozak Memorandum’s collapse) that Putin deigns... MORE

Moldova’s Filat Discusses Energy Sector Agreement with Russia’s Putin and Medvedev
On September 10–12, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev received Moldovan Prime Minister Vlad Filat with his governmental delegation in Moscow and Sochi, respectively. The Transnistria conflict did not figure on the official agenda and seemed almost unmentioned in these discussions. Instead,... MORE

Belarusian-Kyrgyzstani Clash over the Bakiyevs
The recent discovery that former Kyrgyzstani President Kurmanbek Bakiyev’s brother Janysh is also living in Minsk sparked furious exchanges between Kyrgyzstan and Belarus, with the latter country refusing a request to extradite him to face charges of murder. Belarus maintains, officially at least, that the... MORE

President Basescu’s Back in Office, Reinforces Romania’s Ties with the West
On August 21, Romania’s Constitutional Court invalidated the July 29 national referendum on the question of removing President Traian Basescu from office. The referendum had fallen short of the constitutional quorum requirement (50 percent plus one vote of all eligible voters). On August 28, Basescu... MORE