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Latest Articles about Europe
Russia Suspected of Trying to Take over Ukraine’s Gas Transit Network
Russia was supposed to resume pumping gas to the EU through Ukraine on January 13 following trilateral Moscow-Kyiv-Brussels talks, but the Russia-Ukraine gas row is far from over. Neither the issue of Kyiv’s debts, the very existence of which Ukraine denies, nor the conditions of... MORE
Russia’s Gas Disinformation Game
Disinformation operations, as every former KGB operative knows, can be an invaluable tool in winning a war. “Deza,” as it is called by the old boys who once worked on Dzerzhinsky Square in Moscow, is an art meant to be used carefully by professionals; otherwise... MORE
Belarus Devalues Its Currency
On January 2 residents of Belarus learned that the national currency—the Belarusian ruble (known locally as the zaichik or hare)—had been devalued by 20.5 percent against the US dollar, falling from around 2,200 to 2,650. In November and December the administration of President Alyaksandr Lukashenka... MORE
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A War Like No Other: Putin Mishandles Another Gas Conflict
Two weeks after the traditional turn of the valve in the first minute of the new year, the disagreement between Russia and Ukraine over the trade and transit of natural gas is still not resolved, and it is not only the duration that makes this... MORE
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Spain Extradites Chechen Terror Suspect
On New Year’s Eve, Spain extradited to Russia a Chechen accused of involvement in the June 2004 rebel attacks on the Ingush Interior Ministry building and other installations in Nazran. The BBC quoted the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office as saying that Murat Gasaev had been... MORE
Uncertain German Perspectives on Energy Relations with Russia
Beyond the energy sector itself, natural gas induces structural dependency at the macroeconomic level. The pipeline mode of delivery is based on long-term contracts, locking in the predominant share of the German market for Russia. The spot market for natural gas, which could provide an... MORE
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Germany Vulnerable to Russian Energy Supply Manipulations
Russia’s halt of gas deliveries via Ukraine to Europe in mid-winter underscores Germany’s dilemmas on energy security and policy. Those dilemmas are largely unnecessary and even self-inflicted. The country has allowed itself to drift—and to some extent be maneuvered—into a situation of overdependence on Russian... MORE
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Gazprom’s Gas Price Shell Game
How does Russia’s Gazprom set the price for the gas it sells its customers in the former Soviet republics and the EU? Few, if any, managers in Gazprom can answer this question with any measure of certainty. The formula for calculating this seemingly capricious price,... MORE
A Possible Alliance Between Yanukovych and Yushchenko
The establishment of a new coalition in the Ukrainian parliament has left the Party of Regions (PRU) led by former Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych in the opposition. Yanukovych wants to use this opportunity to come back to power on a wave of popular discontent with... MORE
Increased Western Involvement in Caspian Sea Energy Transport
On December 23 Austria’s OMV energy conglomerate and Germany’s leading power producer RWE (Rheinisch-Westfaelische Elektrizitaetswerke) announced an initiative to create a joint company for gas transportation from the Caspian Sea’s eastern shore westward. This initiative targets mainly Turkmen gas, aiming to build a trans-Caspian pipeline... MORE