Latest Articles about Europe
The Shadowy Side of Gazprom’s Expanding Central European Gas Hub
OMV, the Austrian oil and gas group, and Russia’s Gazprom, along with the Vienna Stock Exchange and Centrex Europe Energy and Gas AG (CEEGAG) have agreed to cooperate in developing the Central European Gas Hub (CEGH) located in Baumgarten, Austria, Kommersant daily reported on November... MORE
Yushchenko Uses Security Service Against Former Orange Allies
The Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) is targeting the president’s former Orange ally, the Yulia Tymoshenko bloc (BYuT), as part of a strategy to undermine Tymoshenko’s popularity ahead of the January 2010 presidential elections. The campaign uses methods similar to those used by former President Leonid... MORE
Belarus Facing Recession
Since the mid-1990s, Belarus has frequently cited its economic successes: high growth rates (over 10 percent in the first half of 2008), impressive increases in industrial output, and an economy that has managed to thrive even while closely controlled by the state. President Alyaksandr Lukashenka... MORE
Austria’s OMV To Share Key Terminal With Gazprom
On November 5 Austria’s OMV energy company advanced toward a final agreement with Russia’s Gazprom to share the Baumgarten gas terminal near Vienna. That terminal, however, is the designated end point and regional distribution center for the Western-backed Nabucco gas transport project. Sharing Baumgarten with... MORE
Is Yushchenko’s Top Aide Backing Ruthenian Separatist Movement?
The leaders of Subcarpathian Ruthenians (pidkarpatski rusyny) have urged Kyiv to grant autonomous status to their native area, Ukraine’s westernmost Transcarpathian Region. There was no official reaction from the Ukrainian government, but several parties accused them of separatism; and a criminal investigation has been launched.... MORE
YugoRosGas—Another Gazprom Scandal
Russian Gazprom’s opaque European network of subsidiaries and silent partners, which have been mired in numerous scandals over the past decade, is once again involved in what appears to be a major scam. This time it involves YugoRosGas, a gas middleman operating in Serbia with... MORE
EU Extends an Olive Branch to Belarusian Leaders
On October 13 the foreign ministers of the 27 member-states of the European Union met in Luxemburg and agreed to lift sanctions on travel for 36 high-ranking members of the Belarusian government, including President Alyaksandr Lukashenka, for a trial period of six months. The decision... MORE
Romania Firmly Aboard Nabucco Project, Hints at Leverage vis-a-vis South Stream
President Traian Basescu and Prime Minister Calin Popescu-Tariceanu have ruled out Romania’s participation in Gazprom’s South Stream project. Instead, they reaffirmed the country’s full commitment to the Western-backed Nabucco project. The two leaders acted after Gazprom had hinted at the possible inclusion of Romania in... MORE
Destruction of Turkish Outpost by PKK Leads to Counterterrorism Reforms
Click Here for a Interactive Map The PKK’s October 3 attack on the Aktutun military outpost sparked a controversy over whether Turkish counterterrorism strategy is on the right track. In its three decades old battle against the PKK, the Aktutun attack marked the first time... MORE
UKRAINIAN CABLE TV NETWORKS ORDERED TO DROP RUSSIAN CHANNELS
Moscow has claimed that Kyiv’s recent decision to banish several Russian TV channels from Ukrainian cable TV networks was a violation of bilateral accords and of the rights of Russian speakers. Kyiv, on the other hand, says that the Russian channels in question violated Ukrainian... MORE