
Latest Articles about Europe

Gazprom Seeks Expansion Into Germany’s Electricity Sector
On July 14, Gazprom CEO Aleksei Miller and RWE president Juergen Grossmann signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that would, if implemented, open a new stage of Gazprom’s expansion into Germany and Europe (Interfax, DPA, Gazprom and RWE press releases, July 14).The Essen-based RWE (Rheinisch-Westfaelisches... MORE

Is Hungary Becoming China’s Hub in Central Europe?
On June 24-26, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao stopped in Budapest with great fanfare. The Hungarian government, then closing out its term as rotating presidency of the EU Council of Ministers, celebrated Mr. Wen’s call on the Pearl of the Danube as an important coup for... MORE

Can Lukashenka Survive?
Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka is facing the greatest crisis of his seventeen years in office. With inflation rampant, hard currency unavailable, bank reserves dwindling, power cuts caused by non-payment of electricity costs to Russia, and growing dissatisfaction with his rule among the population, media speculation... MORE

Ukrainian Courts Prevented From Fair Judgment On Tymoshenko
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) on July 5 opened a criminal case against a former business of current opposition leader and former Prime Minister, Yulia Tymoshenko, the United Energy Systems (UES). The SBU alleged that the UES tried to embezzle $405 million, adding that... MORE

Belarus Reaching Out For Azerbaijani Oil Via Odessa-Brody Pipeline
President Alyaksandr Lukashenka is “caught in a vice, which will only continue to tighten,” between democratically motivated Western pressures and Russia’s “interest in acquiring attractive Belarusian assets from a vulnerable Lukashenka,” according to David Kramer and Wess Mitchell (www.charter97.org, July 9). If so, Western sanctions... MORE

Ukrainian Government Prepares Public Opinion for Possible Sales of Naftohaz Assets
Ukrainian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych hinted on July 8 at an imminent vote in the Verkhovna Rada to allow the sale of assets from Naftohaz Ukrainy to foreign investors. Yanukovych did not name these, but alluded to Gazprom. Indeed, exploratory discussions have taken place exclusively... MORE

Russian Experts Disagree On Missile Defense Guarantees
Follow-up reports in Moscow in the aftermath of the failed NATO-Russia Council discussions on European missile defense underscored the fact that any idea of a joint system, as opposed to a joint concept, was dead. Aleksei Arbatov, a leading Russian expert on strategic issues and... MORE

Implications of Lithuania’s Unbundling of Gazprom-Controlled Pipelines
Lithuania has become the first EU country to start implementing the EU’s Third Package of energy market liberalization laws. Estonia is considering a move in the same direction, possibly by October. Meanwhile, Latvia has postponed a decision, awaiting potentially fateful elections. In Lithuania (as elsewhere... MORE

Lithuania Decides to Unbundle Pipelines From Gazprom’s Control
On June 30, the Lithuanian parliament adopted legislation barring the supplier of natural gas (in this case, Gazprom) from owning or operating pipelines in the country. This conforms with the European Union’s Third Package of energy market legislation, which was adopted by the EU in... MORE

European Missile Defense, Strategic Strike Conventional Systems and Non-Strategic Nuclear Weapons: The View From 32/34 Smolenskaya-Sennaya Square
The initial response to the outcome of the discussions on European missile defense at the NATO-Russia Council (NRC) on June 9 was quite negative (EDM, June 21, 22). Senior Russian officials at the talks described the results in that manner. Defense Minister Anatoliy Serdyukov stated... MORE