Latest Articles about Europe

Can Nabucco be Married Off to Gazprom?

Unexpectedly, the US State Department’s Special Envoy for Eurasian energy affairs, Richard Morningstar, seems to embrace the idea of allowing Gazprom to become a user of the Nabucco pipeline. Speaking in Washington at the Center for American Progress (a think-tank associated with left-leaning constituencies in... MORE

Nabucco Gas Project Retains Political and Business Momentum

On February 3, the Bulgarian parliament ratified the inter-governmental agreement on the Nabucco gas transport project, as signed in July 2009 by the five stakeholder countries (the German company RWE being the sixth stakeholder) (BTA, February 3). The Bulgarian ratification vote was unanimous, implicitly confirming... MORE

Belarusian Opposition Prepares for Local and Presidential Elections

On January 28, Ales Mikhalevich, the former Deputy Chairman of the Belarusian Popular Front, announced that he will run for the Belarusian presidency in the election anticipated next year (Belapan, January 28). He is the second oppositionist anticipated to participate, as Alyaksandr Milinkevich, the leader... MORE

Hungary Signs South Stream Project Agreement

On January 31 in Budapest, Russian and Hungarian officials signed the project agreement for the construction of Gazprom’s South Stream pipeline on Hungarian territory. Hungary’s privately-owned MOL Company, a member of the Nabucco consortium, is not a party to the South Stream agreement. Hungary participates... MORE

Russia Backs Yanukovych in Ukraine’s 2010 Elections

Russian media coverage of the 2010 Ukrainian elections from the outset portrayed it as a two-horse race between Viktor Yanukovych and Yulia Tymoshenko. In the first phase of the election campaign (October-November 2009), the Russian media did not express a preference, but since the first... MORE

Belarus Accepts Drastic Reduction in Oil Subsidy From Russia

On January 27 in Moscow, Belarus accepted a drastic reduction in its traditional oil subsidy from Russia. The Russian government imposed this outcome through halting oil supplies to Belarus by pipeline almost completely since mid-January. The supply flow should now be restored, but at a... MORE

Bekkay Harrach: The Face of German Terror

Germany’s federal elections passed without incident on September 27, 2009, though they took place against a backdrop of intense concern in the German security services about a growing number of increasingly pointed al-Qaeda videos threatening Germany over its military deployment in Afghanistan. These messages included... MORE

Yanukovych, Tymoshenko Hold Opposite Views on Russian Gas

Both Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko and her opponent in the February 7 presidential election runoff, the former Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, have sought Moscow’s support for their campaigns. Both are expected to be rather pro-Russian compared to the outgoing pro-Western President Viktor Yushchenko, who is... MORE