Latest Articles about Europe
Polish-Born Muslim Convert Sentenced for Leading Role in Tunisian Synagogue Bombing
A French court has sentenced Christian Ganczarski, a Polish-born German national and convert to Islam, to 18 years in prison for his role in the 2002 bombing of a synagogue in Tunisia. Though Ganczarski has been under suspicion for years, it was only the recent... MORE
Yushchenko Criticizes Tymoshenko for Gas Accords and Plea for Loan from Moscow
Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko has accused Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko of betraying national interests in the gas agreements concluded in Moscow on January 19 and 20 and by turning to Russia for a loan. Yushchenko used the February 10 meeting of the National Security and... MORE
Gongadze Murder Still Casts a Shadow over Yushchenko Presidency
On January 27 the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) issued another damning report about the poor state of Ukraine's investigation into the murder of opposition journalist Georgi Gongadze in the fall of 2000 (www.assembly.coe.int). The involvement of senior Ukrainian leaders in the... MORE
Bulgaria’s “Overgas,” a Russian Spy in Canada, and Gazprom
In February 2009, after the Ukrainian-Russian gas conflict ended and deliveries of gas were restored to Bulgaria, Bulgarian officials announced that they would once again seek to remove two middleman companies-Overgas, Inc., and Wintershall Erdgas Handelshaus Zug AG (WIEE)-from the gas supply chain between Russia... MORE
Nord Stream in the Russo-German Special Relationship
A former Stasi (East German secret police) officer and current Nord Stream general manager Matthias Warnig traveled around the world this week to promote that Russo-German gas transport project on the Baltic seabed. Warnig now also serves as an "independent member" of the board of... MORE
Austrian Prosecutors Were Investigating Israilov’s Charges against Kadyrov
Austrian prosecutors said on February 10 that they have investigated Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov for alleged torture and other abuses in Chechnya based on a criminal complaint filed in Austria by Umar Israilov, the former rebel-turned-Kadyrov-bodyguard who was shot to death in Vienna on January... MORE
No Gas Sources Foreseen for Gazprom’s South Stream
Gazprom vice-president Aleksandr Medvedev's extensive briefing on the South Stream transport project for potential investors (see article above) left the matter of sourcing it with gas entirely obscure. This omission could not come as a surprise, given Russia's gas production shortfall now setting for several... MORE
Gazprom Reveals Unaffordable Costs of South Stream Project
On February 6 in Moscow, Gazprom vice-president Aleksandr Medvedev gave a detailed presentation for potential investors regarding the South Stream gas transport project as well as the outlook on gas extraction. The presentation revealed huge increases in South Stream's cost projections, coupled with stagnant gas... MORE
Tymoshenko Defeats Yanukovych in Parliament
Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko survived a no-confidence motion in parliament on February 5. The motion was backed by 203 votes, 23 short of the number required in the 450-seat chamber to oust the government. This was another victory of this kind for Tymoshenko, who... MORE
Will Lukashenka Be Welcomed in Prague?
Since last October, the European Union, through an Eastern Partnership Program originally initiated last summer by Poland and Sweden, has taken several steps to normalize relations with Belarus. For some members of the opposition, the maneuvers appear to abandon the EU's former insistence on democratization... MORE