Amidst growing concerns about the escalation of Turkish-Israeli tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean, Ankara’s decision to undertake seismic exploration for oil and gas – in retaliation for the Greek Cypriot administration’s ongoing exploration activities – further raised tensions in the region. Recently, the Greek Cypriots... MORE

On March 11, the government privatization agency State Property Fund (SPF) signed documents selling 92.8 percent of the fixed-line operator Ukrtelecom shares to ESU, the Ukrainian daughter of the Austrian company EPIC (European Privatization and Investment Corporation). This is the biggest privatization deal since 2005,... MORE

“Achieving the objectives of the Southern Corridor,” in the European Commission’s phrase (EurActiv, February 19), implies commitment to its strategic purpose. This is to supply countries along the Nabucco project’s route, from Bulgaria to Austria and Germany, with Caspian gas, thus reducing those countries’ dependence... MORE

After selling a large block of shares in Hungarian MOL to the Kremlin-connected Surgutneftegaz, Austrian OMV CEO Wolfgang Ruttenstorfer’s final gift to European energy security is an agreement with Gazprom that interferes with the EU-backed Nabucco project. On February 21 in Moscow, Gazprom CEO Aleksei... MORE

Two parallel court proceedings in Vienna have confirmed that Austrian OMV and Russian Surgut Neftegaz had coordinated their hostile takeover attempts against Hungarian MOL. The Austrian and the Russian company were targeting MOL’s oil-refining business, which is recognized as the most efficient in Central Europe.... MORE

Vienna’s Prosecutor Office announced on November 17 that it has brought charges against OMV’s oil and gas company CEO, Wolfgang Ruttenstorfer, following the Austrian financial regulators’ investigation into OMV’s sale of a large stake in Hungarian MOL to Russian Surgut Neftegaz (Austria Presseagentur, November 17,... MORE

Russia’s Surgutneftegaz has filed a case in Budapest’s Metropolitan Court, seeking legal registration as a stakeholder in Hungarian MOL, the national oil and gas company. Surgut is asking the court to invalidate MOL’s April 2010 refusal to enter the Russian company’s shares in the Hungarian... MORE

The recent election in Greece resulted in a convincing victory for George Papandreou’s Pan-Hellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK). Despite the fact that Turkish-Greek relations were not a major issue during the election campaign, Ankara closely monitored the election. Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu stated that Turkey... MORE

The troubled peace talks have resumed in Cyprus after Greek Cypriot officials boycotted them in the first week of September. As the second part of the negotiations began, the Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat and his Greek Cypriot counterpart Dimitris Christofias met for their... MORE