Latest Articles about Europe
Hard Times for Ukrainian Banks, Central Bank Chairman Under Fire
Ukraine’s banking system is teetering on the brink of disaster. The International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) $16.4-billion loan (see EDM, November 12) has probably come too late either to restore trust in banks or to prevent the national currency, the hryvnya, from a free fall. Most... MORE
Russian Dezyinformatsia Campaign against the Orange Coalition
On December 9 it was announced that a larger orange coalition had been agreed upon in Ukraine. It was formally registered on December 16. The news came as a surprise, as it had been widely assumed that Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko’s bloc (BYuT) was close... MORE
Belarus Survey Reveals Changes in Public Mood
The warming relationship between Belarus and the European Union has given rise to discussions about whether a new dialogue is possible under Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka. It also leads to questions about the link between the world financial crisis and the more conciliatory attitude in... MORE
Purge of Serb Negotiating Team To Precipitate Onerous Energy Agreements with Russia
Serbia’s coalition government has removed Economics Minister Mladan Dinkic from his concurrent assignment as head of the negotiating team on energy agreements with Russia. The impending oil and gas deals involve essentially a Russian takeover of Serbia’s energy sector. Dinkic and his colleagues who were... MORE
SBU Stops Separatism in Its Tracks
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has patted itself on the back for stopping separatism in three different regions: Donetsk, Crimea, and Transcarpathia (www.ssu.gov.ua, December 9). All three cases involved pro-Russian organizations financed from Russian sources. The SBU’s statements do not provide details about the... MORE
Hungary Doubling Efforts for Nabucco Ahead of Budapest Summit
The Hungarian government and the private MOL energy company are doubling their efforts to help launch the Nabucco gas project on schedule. Given Hungary’s 80 percent dependence on Russian gas, even the oft-wavering Socialist Party has joined the consensus view that supply diversification through Nabucco... MORE
Ukraine Continues To Knock on the West’s Doors but Looks Back to Russia
Kyiv has suffered several setbacks in its Euro-Atlantic integration plans. The European Union came up with a collective plan for Ukraine and several other post-Soviet states that does not give Ukraine the prospect of EU membership. NATO refrained from offering a Membership Action Plan (MAP),... MORE
Ukrainian and Georgian ANPs Are Also Testing NATO
The NATO ministerial meeting in Brussels on December 3 announced that Albania and Croatia were now completing their Membership Action Plans (MAPs) and would be welcomed at the NATO Summit in April 2009 as new members of the alliance. The ministerial communiqué takes note of... MORE
From MAPs to ANPs: the Background to NATO’s Compromise Decision
NATO’s ministerial meeting on December 3 decided to offer Annual National Plans (ANPs), instead of Membership Action Plans (MAPs), to Georgia and Ukraine. The old NATO-Ukraine Commission and the new NATO-Georgia Commission are to draw up and administer the ANPs (see EDM, December 5). A... MORE
Ukraine Beefs Up Its Military Defenses with an Eye on Russia
Since the Russian invasion of Georgia in August, Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko has stressed the need to review defense priorities, with reference to the budgetary allocations to the military (The Times, August 23). The president warned that he would refuse to sign the state budget... MORE