Latest Articles about Europe
BAM’S EFFECTIVENESS HINGES ON UKRAINE’S INTEGRITY
The success or failure of the European Union's first-ever Border Assistance Mission, now being launched on the Ukrainian-Moldovan border (see EDM, October 13) will depend on three highly uncertain factors: cooperation by the Ukrainian government, political consistency in Brussels and by EU diplomatic representatives in... MORE
SEPTEMBER CRISIS OVER, BUT STRATEGIC PROBLEMS REMAIN FOR YUSHCHENKO
President Viktor Yushchenko has declared that the political crisis in Ukraine is over. The turmoil began on September 5 with allegations of corruption within his inner circle (Channel 5 TV, October 6). Parliamentary Speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn, a close ally of Yushchenko’s, added that there are... MORE
WILL U.S. DEPORT FORMER SUMY GOVERNOR TO UKRAINE?
U.S. authorities have detained a prominent representative of Ukraine's old regime, former Sumy Region governor Volodymyr Shcherban, in Florida. Like disgraced former prime minister Pavlo Lazarenko in New York six years ago, Shcherban was detained on an immigration violation. Lazarenko had applied for political asylum.... MORE
BALTS, NATO, EU DIGESTING LESSONS FROM RUSSIAN PLANE CRASH IN LITHUANIA
Lithuania has completed a three-week investigation into the Russian Su-27 fighter jet's September 15 intrusion and crash in the country (see EDM, September 20, 27). The plane, flying tail in a seven-plane squadron en route from Russia's Leningrad Region to Kaliningrad Region over the Baltic... MORE
YUSHCHENKO TRIES TO REVERSE HIS RATINGS SLIDE
Last week Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko appealed to the nation in an effort to reverse the dwindling popular trust in his government and to save the parliamentary election campaign for his party. Over four days Yushchenko gave an extensive interview to four TV channels, addressed... MORE
MOLDOVA: TWO STOOLS FOR THE WEST, TWO GILDED CHAIRS FOR MOSCOW AND TIRASPOL
The United States and the European Union have accepted the status of observers to the "five-sided" format of negotiations toward conflict-resolution in Moldova. That format, created by Yevgeny Primakov in 1997 and abandoned by Moldova in 2004, had pitted Moscow, Kyiv, Tiraspol, and the OSCE... MORE
PACE ASKS FOR FULL INVESTIGATION OF GONGADZE CASE
On October 5 the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) issued a resolution requesting that the Ukrainian authorities deal with different aspects of the investigation into the murder of journalist Heorhiy Gongadze (assembly.coe.int). However, the Ukrainian authorities will not honor that request. The... MORE
BELARUS OPPOSITION CHOOSES ITS CANDIDATE
On October 2 about 1,000 delegates attending the Congress of Democratic Forces of Belarus, meeting at the Palace of Culture of the Minsk Automobile Factory, elected Alexander Milinkevich as the single candidate for the presidential elections of 2006. Milinkevich received 399 votes, defeating his closest... MORE
UKRAINE’S NEW PRIME MINISTER RETURNS EMPTY-HANDED FROM MOSCOW
Yuriy Yekhanurov paid his first visit abroad as Ukrainian prime minister to Moscow on September 30, barely eight days after his confirmation by parliament and only two days after the appointment of most of his ministerial team. The alacrity of the visit reflected -- as... MORE
BELARUS AUTHORITIES MOVE TO SHUT DOWN MAIN OPPOSITION NEWSPAPER
Belarus's main opposition newspaper, Narodnaya volya, did not appear on the streets of Minsk on October 1. On September 20, its assets were seized by the Lenin district court in Minsk, and the printing house and factory responsible for distributing the newspaper annulled their agreements... MORE