Latest Articles about Europe
UKRAINE’S STATE GAS COMPANY FALLING RAPIDLY INTO DEBT
The gas deals, signed by Kyiv’s envoys with Gazprom and its offshoot RosUkrEnergo in January and February, are showing their damaging impact even faster than anticipated. The state oil and gas company Naftohaz Ukrainy is rapidly falling into arrears for gas delivered by Gazprom through... MORE
LUKASHENKA SEEKS TO REWRITE HISTORY BOOKS
On June 16, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenka opened the new National Library in Minsk. Formerly located across the street from the president's residence, the new building, which resembles a space capsule, is located east of the city on the main road to Moscow and the... MORE
YUSHCHENKO’S PARTY CHOOSING COALITION PARTNERS
As the clock ticks down to June 24, when President Viktor Yushchenko may disband the Ukrainian parliament if no group has been able to form a majority there, coalition talks have intensified dramatically. Now Yushchenko's Our Ukraine is in talks not only with the parties... MORE
NATO MEMBERSHIP ACTION PLAN STILL WITHIN UKRAINE’S REACH IN 2006
Notwithstanding the compromised military exercises and internal political paralysis, Ukraine can still qualify for obtaining a NATO Membership Action Plan (MAP) at the alliance's summit in Riga in November. Technically, MAP status would only imply a relatively small advance from Ukraine's present status under the... MORE
PROTESTS IN CRIMEA, INCITEMENT FROM MOSCOW, PARALYSIS IN KYIV THWART MILITARY EXERCISES
Kyiv authorities mishandled legal, political, and security aspects of the Sea Breeze and Tight Knot planned exercises, giving the local pro-Russia forces and Moscow an unexpected opportunity to derail this track of Ukraine-U.S. and Ukraine-NATO relations. By starting preparations for the exercises under deadline pressure... MORE
END OF ORANGE COALITION LOOMING?
Talks to establish a government coalition between President Viktor Yushchenko's Our Ukraine, the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc, and the Socialists have apparently fallen through. Our Ukraine has acquiesced to Tymoshenko's demand to give her back the post of prime minister, which she lost in September 2005.... MORE
BUSH VISIT, MILITARY EXERCISES CANCELED IN UKRAINE
The U.S. White House announced on June 8 that President George W. Bush would not go ahead with his tentatively planned visit to Ukraine. The announcement termed the decision a postponement, rather than cancellation, of the visit, and tactfully refrained from citing the reasons behind... MORE
RUSSIA AND WEST APPEAR SET TO CLASH OVER UKRAINE
The Kremlin and the West have ratcheted up their rhetoric over NATO’s possible expansion into Ukraine. The strategically located East European state appears destined to remain an apple of discord between an increasingly assertive Moscow and the Western powers. At stake are the intertwined issues... MORE
HOW “UNITED” IS THE UNITED OPPOSITION IN BELARUS?
The united opposition campaign during the 2006 Belarusian presidential election was a creditable effort, particularly in the weeks leading up to the vote as well during the protests afterward in October Square. Though hundreds were arrested, and the crackdown by the authorities is continuing, there... MORE
PARTY OF REGIONS CONTINUES TO PLAY ON YUSHCHENKO’S WEAKNESSES
The Ukrainian opposition, entrenched in the south and east of the country, continues to score points in its tug-of-war with Kyiv. More councils are raising the status of the Russian language in defiance of the constitution; regional governors appointed by Yushchenko after the Orange Revolution... MORE