Latest Articles about Europe
MILINKEVICH FACES NEW TASKS
The leader of the United Democratic Forces of Belarus (UDF), Alyaksandr Milinkevich, has signed an agreement with the Party of the Belarusian Popular Front. According to the leader of the initiative group for the formation of the movement "For Freedom," Viktar Karnienka, the agreement is... MORE
KYIV CHANGING IDEAS, MIXING SIGNALS ON ODESSA-BRODY OIL PIPELINE
Yesterday, November 15, Prime Ministers Viktor Yanukovych of Ukraine and Jaroslaw Kaczynski of Poland announced that they would support building an extension of the Odessa-Brody oil pipeline westward, to the Kralupy refinery in the Czech Republic. The announcement implicitly changes the original intention to extend... MORE
YUSHCHENKO LOSING HIS PARTY
The People’s Union-Our Ukraine (NSNU) political party has ignored President Viktor Yushchenko’s call for change. The second stage of the NSNU’s third congress on November 11 failed to replace the party’s leadership, although Yushchenko -- the party’s honorary chair -- had urged this at the... MORE
GAZPROM TARGETING UKRAINIAN INFRASTRUCTURE FOR HOSTILE TAKEOVERS
Gazprom is moving rapidly to take over Ukraine’s gas transport system through its monopolist offshoots in Ukraine: RosUkrEnergo and UkrGazEnergo. The immediate target is Ukraine’s internal gas distribution network, although the transit system is being targeted as well. This month, on the threshold of winter,... MORE
EX-GOVERNOR BACK HOME – A HOT POTATO FOR UKRAINIAN POLITICIANS
Former Sumy region governor Volodymyr Shcherban has returned to Ukraine from self-imposed exile in the United States. In Ukraine, he is suspected of several crimes, and for those who helped Viktor Yushchenko come to power in 2004, Shcherban epitomizes the corrupt regime of former president... MORE
BUCKING THE WTO, RUSSIA BROADENS ECONOMIC MEASURES AGAINST GEORGIA AND MOLDOVA
Russia’s Inspectorate for Consumer Protection (RosPotrebNadzor) has emerged as a proxy implementer of the Russian government’s foreign policy in conflict situations, a development paralleling the Kremlin’s larger-scale moves against foreign energy companies through environmental inspectorates. On November 7, RosPotrebNadzor head Gennady Onishchenko announced that Russia... MORE
OFFICIAL MINSK OUTRAGED BY MOSCOW’S POLITICAL USE OF THE ENERGY LEVERAGE
Belarus President Alexander Lukashenka’s visit to the Kremlin, scheduled for Friday, November 10, “will obviously be a rather difficult meeting,” according to Russia’s Ambassador in Minsk, Alexander Surikov, at a stage-setting news conference. Russia will not offer low-priced energy to Belarus, he warned, because “Russia... MORE
POLITICAL BATTLE IN UKRAINE OVER THE CONDUCT OF FOREIGN POLICY
The governing Party of Regions and its leftist allies have launched a systematic offensive to wrest control of Ukraine’s foreign policy from the president and his appointees. This offensive is forcing President Viktor Yushchenko to defend his positions more resolutely than has hitherto been the... MORE
Devising a New Counter-Terrorism Strategy in Europe
Before 2005, suicide terrorist attacks in Europe were only a dreaded scenario feared by police and the security community. Then, on July 7, 2005, four suicide bombers blew themselves up in three underground trains and one bus in London, causing 52 fatalities and injuring nearly... MORE
Al-Qaeda’s Caucasian Foot Soldiers
In the West, Islamic terrorism is a threat traditionally associated with Middle Eastern men whose faces are easily perceived as "alien" and who present a suitable profile around which to organize law enforcement monitoring. Recent events have again shown that this profile is outdated. The... MORE