Latest Articles about Europe
Reassessing the July 21 London Bombings
The apparent attempted suicide bombings in London on July 21, exactly two weeks after the attacks that left over 50 dead, provided the Metropolitan Police, in commissioner Ian Blair’s words, with its “greatest operational challenge since the Second World War.” The attacks, which the authorities... MORE
BEHIND UKRAINE’S POLITICAL CRISIS (Part 1)
The removal of Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko's government on September 8 came as a surprise in Ukraine, as it had not been accused of corruption until days earlier. On September 5 the outgoing head of the presidential secretariat, Oleksandr Zinchenko, had raised such accusations against... MORE
UKRAINIAN PRIME MINISTER DESIGNATE PROMISES STABILITY
Revolutionary passions in Kyiv should give way to pragmatism after the departure of Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, who was fired on September 8. President Viktor Yushchenko has made it clear that he will ask parliament to approve caretaker prime minister Yuriy Yekhanurov as his... MORE
GAZPROM’S NEW EUROPEAN ROUTE: CRY UKRAINE?
Russian President Vladimir Putin's brief visit to Berlin last week was not only perfectly timed for the German elections but also loaded accordingly: He delivered a valuable gift to his ally, Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, and made a pro-forma introduction to the opposition leader, Angela Merkel.... MORE
YUSHCHENKO FINALLY ACTS TO CLEAN UP HIS GOVERNMENT
Yesterday, September 8, Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko fired his government and removed top officials accused of corruption. Oleksandr Zinchenko, the former head of the presidential secretariat, had leveled the startling corruption charges four days earlier after resigning on September 2 (see EDM, September 8). The... MORE
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