Latest Articles about Europe
Biden Proposes Moving Beyond the CFE Treaty
US Vice-President, Joseph Biden’s, landmark article (Biden Proposes New Tasks for the OSCE, EDM, May 14) also heralds new US proposals on conventional arms control in Europe. These would seek to improve military transparency through exchanges of military data and on-site visits. According to Biden,... MORE
Vice President Biden Envisions New Tasks for the OSCE
The Obama administration is about to launch policy initiatives regarding Europe’s eastern neighborhood and conventional arms control in Europe. US Vice-President Joseph Biden has unveiled a number of ideas through the May 6 New York Times/International Herald Tribune article, “Advancing Europe’s Security,” under his byline.Biden’s... MORE
Ukraine Wary of Putin’s Proposal to Merge National Gas Companies
The Ukrainian government and opposition alike have reacted coolly to Russian Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin’s, April 30 proposal to merge the two countries’ national gas companies, Naftohaz Ukrainy and Gazprom. The government apparently does not see many benefits from such a move and hesitates, afraid... MORE
Shift to Soviet-Russian National Identity in Ukraine
The Viktor Yanukovych administration is undertaking a radical overhaul of Ukraine’s national identity that turns its back not only on the Yushchenko era, but also on two earlier presidents. All three presidents promoted Ukrainophile national identity that was based on the doyen of Ukrainian historiography,... MORE
Ukraine’s Leaders Trying to Resist Gazprom-Naftohaz “Merger”
Russian Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin’s, April 30 proposal to “merge” Ukraine’s national energy company Naftohaz with Gazprom (EDM, May 5) has stunned the new Ukrainian authorities. During an entire week after the proposal’s airing President, Viktor Yanukovych, and Prime Minister, Nikolai Azarov, have arrogated to... MORE
“Tired” Lukashenka Ready to Run for Re-election
While the date of the next presidential election in Belarus has not been determined definitively –February 6, 2011 has been mentioned as a possibility– Belarusian President, Alyaksandr Lukashenka, during a visit to the Homel’ region, declared that “a very hard campaign” awaits him because “some... MORE
Putin Calls For Naftohaz Ukrainy-Gazprom Gas Merger
Russian Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin, has proposed a “merger“of Ukraine’s national energy company Naftohaz Ukrainy with Russia’s Gazprom. The proposal emerged during Putin’s April 30 meeting with Ukrainian Prime Minister, Nikolai Azarov, in Sochi (ITAR-TASS, April 30). It was the seventh meeting, by most counts,... MORE
Hungarian Government and MOL Positioning for a Solution With Surgut
At its annual meeting of shareholders on April 29, Hungarian MOL oil and gas company cemented its defense against a possible takeover move by Russian Surgutneftegaz. With corporate and legal defenses in place, and a new Hungarian government firmly installed after the landslide election victory,... MORE
South Stream is Not a Ukraine Bypass Project
Russian Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin, stopped in Kyiv on April 27, following his discussions in Italy and Austria on the South Stream gas pipeline project (Austria Joins Gazprom’s South Stream Project, EDM, April 30).In Kyiv, Putin obliquely confirmed that Russia would not shift gas volumes... MORE
Austria Joins Gazprom’s South Stream Project
On April 24, Russia and Austria signed governmental and corporate agreements on Austria’s accession to Russia’s South Stream gas pipeline project. Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin, led the Russian delegation to the signing event in Vienna, with follow-up visits to Italy and Ukraine on April 26... MORE