Latvia

War and Energy Security: Lessons for The Future

Russia’s war against Ukraine has produced multiple shifts in the geopolitical landscape of Europe. Various EU member states and EU institutions broke through entire decades of dogmatic principles and established practices in security and defence policies to respond to Russia’s aggression and protect the continent. The energy domain is at the forefront of this confrontation, as Russia used its dominant market position in European energy supply in the run-up to – as well as during – the war to weaken Europe’s responses, divide the EU, and deter it from increasing its support to Ukraine.

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Local Russian-language Journalism in the Baltics: Challenges and Perspectives for Building Resilient Communities of Media Professionals

The policy paper analysis explores a set of emerging human-driven vulnerabilities of the media landscapes in Estonia and Latvia to develop an evidence-based policy approach to increase the practical resilience and preparedness of Russian-language newsrooms and local journalists working in those areas and regions of high informational vulnerability.

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Dialogue with Russia. Russia Needs to Reset Relations with the West.

Moscow’s resurgent foreign policy and the undemocratic rule of President Vladimir Putin ended the relatively friendly relations that had been possible between Russia and the West in the 1990s. In the seven years since Russia annexed Crimea and started a war of attrition against Ukraine, the security situation in the transatlantic region has continuously deteriorated. The Kremlin has demonstrated hostility towards the West, crises and security issues have continued to multiply instead of being resolved, and the risk of outright conflict has come close to Cold War peaks. There is an obvious and urgent need to lower tensions, but Moscow prefers to demonstrate its readiness to escalate.

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Latvian Banking System in Early 2018: Coping with Bad Apples?

The Latvian banking system is less than 30 years old. During these three decades, the current liquidation of AB.lv banks is the fifth major crisis in Latvian banking. Although many banks have come and gone and the Latvian banking sector has been very vibrant with a hope to become a regional financial centre, every crisis has revealed a bad apple or two.

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