From Defensive Outpost to Springboard?
The consequences for the Intermarium region of Russia’s (hypothetical) absorption of Belarus.
Read more
Central & Eastern Europe
The Three Seas Virtual Summit: All Icing, No Cake
On Monday 19 October, Estonia hosted the Three Seas Virtual Summit, marking the end of Estonia’s presidency of the initiative and handing over the reins to Bulgaria.
Read more
17+1 Cooperation Is Turning Sour: Shared Concerns Over China Can Help Repair the Transatlantic Relationship
Europe and the US have a number of common concerns caused by the rise of China that could help to repair transatlantic relations. Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries should invest in strengthening the EU’s unity and transatlantic cooperation vis-à-vis China rather than the 17+1 format.
Read more
Mikheil Saakashvili’s Political Comeback in Ukraine
On 7 May, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky appointed former Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili as head of the Executive Committee of Ukraine’s National Reform Council.
Read more
The Challenge of Distinguishing Own From Alien
For the Baltic states and Ukraine, national resilience, among other things, means rejecting (but not forgetting!) the Soviet heritage as utterly alien, retrograde and mind-intoxicating one.
Read more
Traian Băsescu: Russia is a Clear Threat to All Black Sea States
Romania gets along well with Turkey and is trying to fight the spread of Russian propaganda in Moldova.
Read more
The Martian View of Europe, liberalism, Hungary
If the Martians had a university where there was a department of European studies, they would be scratching their heads in a thoroughly perplexed fashion. Here is Europe facing its most serious crisis in a hundred years, Covid-19, one that is transforming society, the economy and much else, yet in the midst of it, the Hungary issue erupts yet again as a major source of political argument.
Read more
Hungary’s “Coronavirus Law”: How Power Becomes Unlimited?
On 30th March 2020, the Hungarian Parliament adopted a so-called “coronavirus law”, by claiming that efficiently combating the coronavirus pandemic would require extraordinary measures and the ability to make rapid decisions, should that become necessary.
Read more
Local elections in Hungary: Orbán no longer invincible, but his party is still the strongest
On 13 October 2019, Hungary held its municipal and local elections, which resulted in opposition parties taking over Budapest as well as several countryside cities.
Read more
Kalev Stoicescu in The Baltic Times: Russia’s Ambitions in the Baltic Region
“Judging by the Kremlin’s deeds (not its different rhetoric and narratives), Russia does not wish to accept anything less on its western and south western peripheries (the Baltic and Black Sea theatres) than clear military dominance,” Kalev Stoicescu, Research Fellow at the International Centre for Defence and Security, writes in his commentary in The Baltic Times 2019 Summer Magazine.
Read more