Religion and power(s) – present and past
From President Putin’s visit to the Orthodox Christian monastic community of the “Holy Mount”, Mount Athos, Greece, 28 May 2016. Looking for help from above at difficult times?
Tagged Russia
The Eastern Mediterranean arc of fire and Europe*
Geography and history, modern and older, internal fault lines as well as external interventions, have given rise to a perfect storm in the Eastern Mediterranean. In an arc of fire that stretches from Libya to Syria and can be extrapolated further North, all the way to Russia and Ukraine, a series of conflicts have made this an area of particular instability, for the world as a whole and more immediately for nearby Europe…
The five dimensions of the Ukrainian conflict
By Anonymous
The Ukrainian crisis started in 2013, when protests were held in Kiev over the refusal of Ukraine to sign a trade agreement with the EU. It quickly escalated to violence and political struggles for power, culminating with the annexation of Crimea by Russia and clashes between pro-Russian and pro-Ukrainian forces in the east, where two other provinces, Donetsk and Luhansk, declared themselves independent.
Fears and choices in the Baltic states in the face of Russia
A review of the current geopolitical situation in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
By Ricardo Lenoir
Last summer, Madrid hosted the finals of the world basketball championship. This fact completely monopolised the information on Internet coming from the Baltic states, a region which had hitherto abounded in entries on tourism, inviting people to visit its three beautiful capitals. Six months later, and with toughening…
G7 leaders make headway in Germany
On the 7 and 8 of June, leaders of the world’s seven leading advanced economies met in Schloss Elmau, Germany for their annual summit. These meetings are aimed at tackling the most complex challenges of our times and showing that, in the face of adversity, this powerful group of 7 stand together. With the Alpine landscape providing a stunning backdrop for the talks, this year’s gathering was by no means short of noteworthy advances. The G7 is an important political and economic gathering which attempts to address a wide range of the world’s most pressing issues. The advance of ISIS in the Middle East and the crisis in Ukraine dominated this year’s agenda with the earthquake in Nepal, the global economy
Eastern Partnership Summit ends with a joint declaration
Leaders of the European Union and six former Soviet republics (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine) met in Riga for the first Eastern Partnership Summit since the Ukrainian crisis erupted. Unlike the Riga Summit of 2013, which triggered a series of events that eventually led to the downfall of Viktor Yanukovych and Russia’s annexation of Crimea, this year’s meeting had a less earth-shaking outcome. It ended in a joint declaration that lacks any firm commitments. Even where it was supposed to pack the most punches – its condemnation of Russian aggression in Ukraine – the language had to be watered down significantly
What-Does-Europe-Want Day
“It’s Europe Day!” my wife called out when I showed her the invitation flier to Kriek & Frites party on May 8-9 at Place Jourdan in Brussels. Neither the flier nor its typically Belgian offer implied any connection with the EU. Given my early school days were spent in the Soviet Union, I associated the dates rather with the end of World War II. So what’s this Europe Day anyway? I distantly remembered that it had something to do with the day on which France and Germany decided to unite their coal and steel industries, hoping that this would prevent them if not from ever again piling up tanks and cannons…
Conclusions of the 17th EU-Ukraine Summit
If you blinked you might have missed it. The 17th EU-Ukraine Summit in Kiev has come and gone without too much fuss. Little media coverage, few analyses, only a joint statement and Donald Tusk’s Tweeter feed to remind us that Ukraine and the European Union have met for the very first time under the new Association Agreement. It is also the first Summit to take place after Viktor Yanukovych was ousted from power more than a year ago. The importance and outcome of the Summit remain by no means secondary. If anything, resuming this high-level bilateral meeting signals a less volatile, albeit still dangerous situation in Eastern Ukraine
“The Orthodox Axis”
Meeting between President Vladimir Putin of Russia and Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras of Greece in Moscow, 8 April 2015 Mr Putin and Mr Tsipras discussed a broad range of bilateral cooperation matters, especially in the trade, economic, investment, cultural and humanitarian fields. The two leaders exchanged views on the international agenda. Following the talks, Mr…
Quo vadis Graecia? Rupture or agreement with European creditors
By Georgios X. Protopapas
The negotiations between the Greek government and Greece’s European creditors have become unpredictable, while the Greek economy remains stagnant and the state desperately needs cash to avoid default. Athens has two choices: to make compromises in order to receive bailout funds or to decide a rupture with Brussels. In addition, the government in Athens is playing the “card” of Russia as an alternative to European pressures and as part of a new, multi-level foreign policy.
