Guest blogpost by Jack Cairns, Scottish journalist, first published on Europe’s Footsteps. Find Jack Cairns on Twitter, here. The British government’s decision to send 75 military advisors to aid the Ukrainian army has been seen by many experts as more symbolic than significant. If this is the case: why bother? Rewind the clock fifty years,… » read more
Archives for Europe’s East
Donbass: Sketching a roadmap to end the conflict
March 19, 2015
Oleksander Klymenko is former Ukrainian Minister of tax and revenue and founder of the public initiative “Restoring Donbass”. As the fragile Minsk Accords begin to collapse in Donbass, a new approach is desperately needed to end hostilities in Eastern Ukraine. Real resolution will require multilateral diplomacy. The Minsk process cannot be the only avenue towards… » read more
How important to tell desirable from real
March 15, 2015
The winter of 2014 was marked by one of the most prominent events for Ukraine since gaining independence — Euromaidan. Exacerbation of political crisis, activization of radical nationalists activity in the capital was not welcomed by eastern regions of the country, which have always been loyal to ex-president Victor Yanukovych and the Party of Regions.… » read more
Russian federation has lost hybrid war in Ukraine
March 4, 2015
The witnesses and the experts report why this war has succeeded in Crimea, but miserably failed in Donbass. The Russian “success” in Crimea has finished by a hard failure in Donbass. A country “Malorossia” stretching its territory from Lugansk to Odessa did not emerge and the hybrid war turned in a bloody and terroristic one,… » read more
Who’d Be A Russian Oligarch?
March 2, 2015
I had always presumed that life for a Russian billionaire must be pretty sweet. You know what I mean – private jets, international homes, super yachts, vast sprawling business empire, obligatory ownership of a football club, wedges of cash and lots of glamorous Russian girls. It all sounds pretty sweet to me! Obviously there have… » read more
By Daniele Brunetto After the extension of EU sanctions against Russia and the Minsk-2 deal, one might seriously ask how effective economic coercion is. the answer is: “It depends”.
Russia goes old-school on brand-new provocations against Ukraine’s weapon business
February 22, 2015
To date, Russia’s strategic sights as regards to unraveling Ukraine’s statehood lie with Yemen, where the ship bulging with Russian arms, is tried to be passed for Ukrainian delivery-at-door in the best interest of the Yemeni rebels. Undoubtedly, considering a regular cut-throat rivalry with their Ukrainian counterparts, Putin’s arms trade moguls found themselves on the… » read more
The pan-European student organization had a conference in Burgos, Spain, on 18 to 21 February 2015. It again chose a visionary topic, and asked me for an opening statement, below. (video to be inserted) “Buenos dias, bonjour! Europe and Russia: Today’s challenge from a youth perspective. What a great topic! 1) Congratulations for gathering so… » read more
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English, EU Citizens and Media, Europe's East, Global Europe |
The Munich Security Conference’s theme for 2015 was the question “Collapsing Order, Reluctant Guardians?”. On this background, the main topic discussed during the event was Ukraine. A few days later after the conference ended, on Feb. 12, negotiations on Ukraine conflict completed in what the media calls the Minsk Agreement 2.0, giving a feeling of… » read more
Was für eine Woche! Zwei parallele Dramen in Minsk und in Brüssel, zwei Krisenherde, die es einzuhegen gilt, beide mit großer zerstörerischer Energie und dem Potential zu Kettenreaktionen, deren Folgen von niemandem absehbar sind. Und mittendrin und vorneweg: die deutsche Bundesregierung mit Angela Merkel und Frank-Walter Steinmeier an der Spitze. Vom Bundespräsidenten abwärts ist in… » read more
“Kosovo, alles Scheiße. Serbien, auch Scheiße. Deutschland, das ist gut. Da kann man arbeiten, fünf Euro die Stunde, egal ob schwarz oder nicht, es ist besser.” (Rexhep Kurteshi) The greatest exodus from Kosovo since the 1998-99 war has started. More than 15 years after NATO bombing Kosovo is witnessing a dramatic surge in the number… » read more
Creating the political class. A starting point!
February 11, 2015
Now, more than ever, the subject of the political class creation and integrity (regardless of doctrinal orientation) becomes more than urgent. What does it mean “political class”? Does the Romanian state have an oriented vision in this regard, to take care for future generations? What is the role of civil society in this regard? But… » read more
Ukraine’s Wile E. Coyote moment
February 9, 2015
It’s 2015 and Ukraine has much in common with the famous cartoon from the 1950s. Like the Wile E. Coyote, its economy ran over the hill and is now suspended mid-air, treading on air. Inflation is upwards of 25%, foreign currency reserves are melting away to prop up a tumbling currency, the GDP contracted by… » read more
Tax evasion in Greece
February 8, 2015
Euractiv reported last week (5 February) that the European People´s Party (EPP) in the European Parliament intends to propose a motion of censure in the parliament against the right-wing Independent Greeks party. Following the recent election in Greece, they were included in a government coalition with the Syriza Party. Its founder Panos Kammenos has been… » read more
On the example of Russian-Ukrainian relations the world community faced a new type of aggression – the so-called hybrid war. The whole world observes the Russia`s funding and arming of insurgents on the south-east of Ukraine. With their help it performs military operations, organizes provocations, diversions, terrorist attacks in the territory of Ukraine, destroying infrastructure,… » read more
The implications of oil price slump
February 3, 2015
Low crude prices are now a fact and likely to remain so for the next few (or more) quarters. This is how long it will take the market to absorb the current supply glut and non-OPEC producers to cut output. The OPEC cartel has already made the decision to keep producing at current levels (at… » read more
Je suis Volnovakha
January 18, 2015
By Tyszecki Paris, January 11: one million of people out on the streets in memory of victims of the act of terrorism against Charlie Hebdo. Kiev, January 18: one million of people out on the Maidan to express their solidarity and indignation because of murder of Ukrainian civilians.
Moldova turned its back to Europe after Russia succeeded to impose a puppet government. Even if the three-partied Pro-European Alliance won the elections, two parties changed sides and chose to cooperate with the Putin-backed Communist Party. This is no big surprise because DP (Democrat Party) and LDPM (Liberal Democrat Party of Moldova) have both appeared… » read more
“Montenegro should be a force for peace and solidarity in the world, and not a small cog in the machine of the new Crusades”. In an interview with the Montenegrin National News Agency (MINA), published 10 January 2015, the Chairman of the Movement for Neutrality of Montenegro (MNMNE), Professor Filip Kovacevic, stated that, in the… » read more
On 6th October 2011 the European Commission adopted a draft legislative package for the Cohesion Policy for the funding period 2014 – 2020. According to the draft regulations, European Territorial Cooperation will be continued and even reinforced as separate cohesion goal. The existing strands of cross-border, transnational and interregional cooperation will be maintained. The European… » read more