Latest Articles about Europe
Mixed Response to Vendors’ Protests in Belarus
Protests by Belarusian entrepreneurs against the imposition of an 18% value-added tax (VAT) on all imports from Russia have continued for the past two weeks. The reaction of the Lukashenka government has been described aptly as a "stick and a carrot" policy: a combination of... MORE
Putin in Kyiv
On March 19, Russian President Vladimir Putin paid a one-day working visit to Ukraine. The event was designed to signal a major improvement in the atmosphere of bilateral relations. For Putin, it was both a fence-mending move toward Ukraine and an international damage-limitation move after... MORE
UKRAINE CONTINUES TO CHALLENGE RUSSIA’S ROLE AS A CENTER OF GRAVITY IN POST-SOVIET LANDS
As Russian President Vladimir Putin prepares to meet with his Ukrainian counterpart Viktor Yushchenko on March 19, Kyiv defies Moscow's leadership role in the post-Soviet space. On March 14, Yushchenko held an unprecedented meeting with a group of about 20 top Russian business executives, including... MORE
BEREZOVSKY HOPES TO SELL ORANGE REVOLUTION TO RUSSIA
Exiled Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky is planning to visit Ukraine in the very near future, a trip that may prove uncomfortable for Ukrainian authorities because of two factors. First, Berezovsky may plan to be in Ukraine when Russian President Vladimir Putin arrives on March 19.... MORE
SURGE OF INTEREST IN ODESSA-BRODY OIL PIPELINE
Political transformation in Ukraine has reactivated international interest in using the Odessa-Brody oil pipeline in the originally intended northerly direction, which involves extending the pipeline into Poland to Plock and on to Gdansk. Initially designed for transporting Caspian oil to Europe, the Odessa-Brody pipeline has... MORE
RUSSIAN DIPLOMACY IN LITHUANIA: AGGRESSIVE BUT CLUMSY
Not long after Russia's new ambassador to Latvia, Viktor Kalyuzhny, had piled gaffe upon diplomatic gaffe in lecturing his host country, Russian diplomacy in Lithuania seems to demonstrate the same mix of aggressiveness and clumsiness. On March 15, Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a... MORE
UKRAINIAN FOREIGN MINISTER CHARMS WASHINGTON
Ukraine's new Foreign Minister, Borys Tarasyuk, visited Washington, DC, on March 10-11 to prepare for a four-day state visit by President Viktor Yushchenko in the first week of April. Tarasyuk's career includes an earlier stint as Ukraine's foreign minister (1998-2000), ambassador to the Benelux countries... MORE
PRO-WESTERN GOVERNING COALITION POSSIBLE IN MOLDOVA
On March 11, Moldova's Central Electoral Commission released the final results of the country's March 6 parliamentary elections. The outcome, verified by election observers in parallel vote-counting, shows the Communist Party with 56 parliamentary seats (one more than initially announced), the heterogeneous Bloc Moldova Democrata... MORE
SHOULD UKRAINIAN NATIONALISTS MERGE WITH NEW PARTY OF POWER?
Ukraine's two strongest nationalist parties have refused to merge with President Viktor Yushchenko's new People's Union Our Ukraine party (NSNY). Addressing the party's founding congress on March 4, Yushchenko made it clear that he was unhappy about this development (see EDM, March 9). But staying... MORE
RIFT BETWEEN MOSCOW AND BALTIC STATES: IS IT ALL ABOUT HISTORY?
The presidents of Estonia and Lithuania have refused invitations to attend the May 9 ceremonies in Moscow celebrating the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II. This move marks the climax of the ongoing "battle over history" between Moscow and the Baltic countries... MORE