Latest Articles about Europe
POLITICAL RAMIFICATIONS OF UKRAINE’S GAS SUPPLY PROBLEMS
President Viktor Yushchenko's September 7 decision to dismiss Yulia Tymoshenko's government will certainly affect Ukraine's crucial gas trade with Russia. Gas supply problems fraught with political complications are looming in Ukraine on the threshold of the heating-and-election season. The ruling coalition's prospects in the March... MORE
DIVISION OPENS IN UKRAINIAN LEADERSHIP: WILL YUSHCHENKO FALL IN?
It was no secret that the alliance that brought Viktor Yushchenko to power in Ukraine had its disagreements. The alliance, forged in the second round of the 2004 presidential elections, consisted of an eclectic group that ranged from socialists through liberal businessmen, moderate conservatives, and... MORE
YUSHCHENKO WANTS TO ERECT NEW BARRIER FOR RIVALS
Preparations for next spring's parliamentary election have de facto started in Ukraine, as President Viktor Yushchenko came up with a proposal for raising the barrier that parties and blocs of parties will have to overcome to get into the legislature. This plan should further weaken... MORE
BELARUS: THE LAST SUMMER OF THE OPPOSITION
The apocalyptic phrase "last summer of the opposition" was the title of an article by Dmitry Drigailo, which prognosticated that after the 2006 presidential elections in Belarus, the political opposition would cease to exist. Either it will come to power or "it will be taken... MORE
TANGLED RUSSIAN-UKRAINIAN GAS DEALS PROVIDE OPPORTUNITIES FOR CORRUPTION, INFLUENCE
Russia plans to triple gas prices ahead of Ukraine's parliamentary election and only months before winter begins (International Herald and Tribune, August 1). A recent commentary in Ukrayinska pravda (August 8) accused the regimes of former president Leonid Kuchma and Russia's President Vladimir Putin of... MORE
THE SAGA OF THE NEW RUSSIAN AMBASSADOR TO BELARUS
The appointment of the former Saratov governor, Dmitry Ayatskov, as the new Russian Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Belarus has resulted in a protracted scandal that has complicated relations with Russia and the proposed formation of a Union state. It indicates a clear hardening of... MORE
UKRAINIAN PARTIES SCRAMBLE FOR MEDIA, FOREIGN ALLIES, AHEAD OF PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS
When the Ukrainian parliament reconvenes in early September, the March 2006 parliamentary election campaign will officially begin. Over the summer Ukrainian political parties have been energetically seeking media resources (especially television) and foreign support. Since Viktor Yushchenko became president, several television channels have changed hands.... MORE
UKRAINIAN MEDIA DISCUSS LIFESTYLES OF PRESIDENT’S SON, PRIME MINISTER
The integrity of Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko and Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko has been called into question by a barrage of media reports suggesting that they or their families live beyond their means. Their awkward reactions to the reports have only added fuel to the... MORE
FAUX PAS IN BRUSSELS, FEHLTRITT IN BERLIN REGARDING BELARUS
Representatives of civil society in Belarus and the Executive Council of the Rada of the Belarusian Republic are appealing to the European Commission (EC, executive arm of the European Union) and the German government-connected international broadcaster, Deutsche Welle Radio, to correct their recent decision to... MORE
THE MYTH OF UKRAINE’S “THIRD FORCE” IN PARLIAMENT
Parliamentary speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn has made another trip to Moscow on August 1 to seek political support for the March 2006 parliamentary election (Ukrayinska pravda, August 1). But the choice is limited and it is not clear with whom Lytvyn's People's Party of Ukraine (NPU)... MORE