Latest Articles about Europe
HUNGARY’S SOCIALIST GOVERNMENT JOINS GAZPROM’S SOUTH STREAM PROJECT
On February 28 Hungary’s Socialist Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany joined Russia’s outgoing and incoming presidents, Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev, in Moscow to seal an intergovernmental agreement on Gazprom’s further expansion into European Union territory via Hungary. Hungary’s privately owned energy company MOL is staying... MORE
Turkey’s Operation Gunes Attempts to Eliminate the PKK Threat
As Turkish troops and armor cross the border as part of Operation Gunes (Sun), the embattled nation of Iraq is once more host to a major military offensive, this time in its remote and sparsely populated northeastern region. Surprising many who expected Turkey to wait... MORE
NABUCCO GAS PROJECT FACING A CASCADE OF DEFECTIONS
Romania seems to be the one remaining loyal participant in the Nabucco pipeline project, which is planned to carry Caspian gas via Turkey and the Balkans to Central Europe. Defections are now cascading from this U.S.-backed, top-priority project of the European Union. The project can... MORE
KAZULIN PERMITTED TO ATTEND WIFE’S FUNERAL IN MINSK
On February 23, Iryna Kazulina, the 48-year-old wife of imprisoned Belarusian opposition leader Alyaksandr Kazulin, died of breast cancer, an illness she had suffered for the past decade. Following a mass gathering in the center of Minsk and appeals from various countries for clemency, President... MORE
MEDVEDEV FINALIZES GAS AGREEMENT WITH SERBIA WHILE MOSCOW ENCOURAGES VIOLENCE IN BELGRADE
Having previously encouraged assassination attempts against Georgia’s leaders, Russian state television has now lauded the assassination of Serbia’s pro-Western prime minister Zoran Djindjic by a local ultranationalist in 2003, and in the same breath assailed that country’s incumbent pro-Western president Boris Tadic. On February 21... MORE
KREMLIN CONTINUES TO BLAST THE WEST OVER KOSOVA
Mobs, angry over Kosovar independence, burned the U.S. Embassy in the Serbian capital Belgrade last week, promoting a new outburst of anti-Western, anti-U.S. rhetoric in Moscow. The pace was set by President Vladimir Putin, who during an informal Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) summit in... MORE
WILL UKRAINE HAVE NEW CONSTITUTION?
President Viktor Yushchenko has begun his drive to reverse the 2004 constitutional reform. His goals include boosting presidential powers and weakening the legislature. On February 20 Yushchenko convened the first meeting of the National Constitution Council (NKS), consisting of 97 experts and politicians, to share... MORE
RELEASE OF POLITICAL PRISONERS IN BELARUS SPARKS DEBATE
Over the past two weeks Belarus has released a large group of “political prisoners” from jails and camps across the country. They include activists, politicians, and some of the entrepreneurs who were arrested when protesting the restriction of their activities through new state laws. Significantly,... MORE
New Tests for Turkey’s Evolving Security Relationship with Israel
Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak’s visit to Ankara on February 12 and 13 attracted much attention from Turkish political and military officials (Milliyet, February 13). The visit may stand as a turning point in Turkish-Israeli relations by giving a boost to military cooperation between the... MORE
The Pakistan Connection to the United Kingdom’s Jihad Network
Recent weeks have seen increasing international interest in the connections between jihadis in the UK and their counterparts in Pakistan. Attention has focused on how such groups and individuals could link up and cooperate to carry out attacks in Europe, South Asia or the United... MORE