Latest Articles about Europe
WHO ARE YUSHCHENKO’S TRUE ALLIES?
Despite Ukraine's September political crisis and the subsequent fall of the Yulia Tymoshenko government, the Tymoshenko bloc in parliament is still a fairly reliable ally of President Viktor Yushchenko's People's Union-Our Ukraine (NSNU). Other allies from the Orange Revolution, including the Socialist Party (SPU) and... MORE
KREMLIN SIGNALS TO THE BALTS IT IS DISPLEASED WITH THEIR DEFIANT STANCE
Yesterday (November 10) Moscow denied an entry visa to Estonia's foreign minister. Although the move was allegedly prompted by the Estonian side failing to comply with certain diplomatic formalities, it appears to be a clear sign of continuing tension between the Kremlin and the Balts.... MORE
RUSSIA ACKNOWLEDGES PUNISHING MOLDOVA’S WESTERN ORIENTATION
On November 10, Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs introduced for the first time a causal link between Moldova's pro-Western orientation and Russia's refusal to withdraw its forces from that country's territory. The Ministry's CIS Affairs Department Director Vyacheslav Kovalenko began a special news briefing that... MORE
OPPOSITION COURTS THE BELARUSIAN PUBLIC
Following the election of Alexander Milinkevich as the leader of the united opposition at the Democratic Convention in early October, the Belarusian opposition has begun to elaborate its tactics for the anticipated elections in the summer of 2006. The Political Council created after the Convention... MORE
YUSHCHENKO CHANGES PROSECUTORS
Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko has replaced Prosecutor-General Sviatoslav Piskun with Oleksandr Medvedko. Piskun was too close to former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko, who is set to be Yushchenko's most dangerous rival in the parliamentary election next March. Furthermore, Piskun failed to solve a single major... MORE
FROM “PEACEKEEPING” TO PEACEKEEPING? THE EU LOOKS AT MOLDOVA
Both officially and unofficially, Moldova will again top the European security agenda at next month's OSCE year-end ministerial conference. This will again be an exercise in futility, unless the European Union and the United States decide to act on their own, outside the OSCE's framework... MORE
UKRAINE’S CENTRIST CAMP IN DISARRAY AHEAD OF 2006 ELECTIONS
Although the main story in Ukrainian politics this fall has been the rift in the Orange Revolutionary camp, the centrists that once gathered around former president Leonid Kuchma are far more divided. Most of them will have a hard time winning seats in the 2006... MORE
UNEDIFYING DEBUT TO 5+2 NEGOTIATIONS ON MOLDOVA
After a 15-month break, negotiations on Transnistria resumed on October 27-28 in Chisinau and Tiraspol, now in the 5 + 2 format. This includes the United States and the European Union as observers to the old five-sided format of Russia, Ukraine, OSCE, Chisinau, and Tiraspol.... MORE
LYTVYN’S BLOC – AN UMBRELLA FOR KUCHMA’S PEOPLE?
Ukrainian Parliamentary Speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn has decided on the format of his participation in the March 2006 parliamentary polls. The much-advertised mega-bloc between Lytvyn, President Viktor Yushchenko's People's Union-Our Ukraine (NSNU), and former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko's Fatherland party has failed to materialize. Instead, Lytvyn... MORE
MOSCOW PUNDITS PONDER THE CHALLENGE OF POLISH CONSERVATIVE NATIONALISM
As a conservative nationalist known for his dislike of Russia prepares to become president of Poland, Kremlin strategists are pondering how the leadership change might affect the perennial rivalry between Moscow and Warsaw for influence in Eastern Europe. Last Sunday's (October 23) presidential run-off in... MORE