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Latest Articles about Western Europe
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Moscow Faces Trial in The Hague Next Year Over Downed MH17 Airliner
Repercussions of the downing of Malaysian Airlines Boeing 777 Flight MH17, which was shot down over occupied Donbas (eastern Ukraine) on July 17, 2014, continue to haunt the Russian authorities. Everyone on board—283 passengers, including 80 children, and 15 crew members—was killed. The 298 victims... MORE
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Crimean Drilling Rigs Key to Russia’s Energy Policy in Syria and the Eastern Mediterranean
On December 29, 2018, the head of the occupying government in Crimea, Sergey Aksenov, proposed to transport Ukrainian offshore oil and natural gas drilling rigs (“nationalized” by Russia after the Crimean annexation) from the Black Sea to the Syrian coastal shelf (UAWire, December 30, 2018).... MORE
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Kerch Strait Incident: Ukraine Wins Court Ruling Against Russia
On May 25, the Hamburg-based International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) ordered Russia to release and repatriate to Ukraine all 24 sailors and three naval vessels, seized through military force off Crimea’s coast exactly six months earlier (see EDM, November 26, 2018),... MORE
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Control Over Russian Political Agenda Slipping From Putin’s Hands
In key global debates, Russia’s voice has been uncharacteristically timid lately, and various Russian domestic controversies are developing without the usual heavy-handed interference from the Kremlin—almost as if President Vladimir Putin has lost interest in the affairs of state. Such local disturbances as protests in... MORE
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Baltic Pipe to Cut Poland’s Gas Dependence on Russia
April 2019 saw a flurry of activity around the Baltic Pipe infrastructure project set to connect Poland and Denmark. The pipeline, which will carry around 10 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas from the North Sea to Poland and further to the Baltic States, is... MORE
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Nigeria Seeks Russian Military Aid in Its War on Boko Haram
Four years ago, Nigerian military sources said the country’s decision to shift to Russian military training and arms supplies was only an “interim measure” after its traditional partners, from the United States and the United Kingdom, seemingly showed insufficient interest in Nigeria’s fight against Boko... MORE
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Nord Stream Two Company Threatens to Sue the European Commission
The European Commission and its president, Jean-Claude Juncker, are bracing for a May 13 deadline, presented to them on April 12 in a quasi-ultimatum form by Nord Stream Two project company CEO, Matthias Warnig (112.international, April 23). On the company’s behalf, Warnig threatens to sue... MORE
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Novatek May Be Carving Out a Bigger Role in Russian Energy Diplomacy
Russia’s second-largest natural gas producer, Novatek, which captured the largest share of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) market in Europe in the first quarter of 2019, has sold 20 percent of its planned Arctic 2 LNG project to China (Novatek.ru, April 25). The stake went... MORE
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Italy Joins the Belt and Road Initiative: Context, Interests, and Drivers
Introduction In March 2019, Italy and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) signed a broad and comprehensive, albeit not legally binding, Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for Italy to join the Chinese-led Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). This has triggered a significant debate—in Brussels as well... MORE
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Ireland Faces Conundrum of Jihadist Returnees
During the past few months, the mainly-Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have captured several jihadists of Irish nationality, forcing Ireland to confront the fact that up to several dozen of its citizens have joined the Islamic State (IS) in recent years. These include both native-born... MORE