Latest Articles about Europe
PARTY OF REGIONS BLOCKS PARLIAMENT
Ukraine still has no new cabinet in place, and the parliament elected in March still has not started work either. On July 4 President Viktor Yushchenko described this situation as a “parliamentary crisis.” It took months to form the majority in parliament required by the... MORE
Jihad Without Rules: The Evolution of al-Takfir wa al-Hijra
The September 11 attacks precipitated the uncovering of extensive al-Takfir wa al-Hijra (Excommunication and Exile) networks across Europe specialized in logistical support to terrorist groups. While the obscure group had been previously encountered by law enforcement, many were surprised at the extent and reach of... MORE
ORANGE TWO GOVERNMENT CAN MEET THE TRANSNISTRIA CHALLENGE
Minister of Foreign Affairs Borys Tarasyuk’s June 26-27 visit to Moldova was the first visit abroad by a senior Ukrainian official since the formation of the parliamentary coalition and designation of a prime minister in the person of Yulia Tymoshenko (June 22). His discussions with... MORE
ORANGE REVOLUTION PARTIES RE-ESTABLISH GOVERNMENT COALITION
Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko’s Our Ukraine bloc, the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc, and the Socialist Party (SPU) have agreed to revive the Orange Revolution government coalition that existed until September 2005, when Yushchenko fired Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko. The news of an accord among the three... MORE
INTEGRATION, RHETORIC, AND THE FUTURE OF BELARUS
As the United States and Belarus continue their war of words, accompanied by freezing the actual or imagined assets of each other's leading government figures, Minsk played host to a series of summits. At the same time, Belarus and Russia carried out the largest-ever joint... MORE
TURKMEN GAS PRICE HIKE: IMPLICATIONS FOR UKRAINE
Turkmenistan's proposal to raise the price of gas it sells to Gazprom, from $65 per 1,000 cubic meters at present to $100 in the second half of 2006, holds potentially momentous implications for Ukraine. It can help emancipate Ukraine from the RosUkrEnergo gas deal that... MORE
UKRAINE’S GAS PREDICAMENT WORSENING
One year ago today (see EDM, June 22, 2005), Moscow’s preparations for a late-autumn gas attack on Ukraine could already be detected. The early alert hardly registered in official Kyiv (except with then-prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko, who was soon forced out), let alone internationally; and... MORE
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