A collection of 134 posts
According to a new draft law, Hungary’s Atomic Energy Authority – also responsible for the Paks 2 nuclear power plant investment – will no longer be under direct government control starting in 2022. Government politicians argued that the European Commission had long demanded the “independence” of the Authority, but critics are
Exiled businessman Mikhail Khodorkovsky at a public hearing of the European Parliment told to MEPs: Russia has recruited allies in Angela Merkel’s German chancellor’s “inner circle” so as in the Austrian intelligence services. One of the earliest and most well known Russian ologarch, Khodorkovsky with his UK-based pro-democracy
So far, the Baltic States, Romania, and Slovakia have all expelled Russian diplomats to show their solidarity with the Czech Republic, but Czechia’s prime minister, Andrej Babiš, is hoping for more. At last weekend’s gathering of EU leaders for the “Social Summit” in Portugal, Babiš asked other counterparts
Russian news agency Ria Novosti has reported that Hungary will start repaying a loan to Russia of EUR 9 billion for the Paks nuclear power facility investment in 2031, five years later than the original 2026 deadline. The delay might mean that new reactor units may not be nearing completion
The incumbent Bulgarian leader, Boyko Borissov, and his party, GERB, stumbled in the elections that took place on 4 April. For the prime minister, this meant losing his grip on the government after almost a decade of ruling the poorest EU member state. Three weeks after the inconclusive elections, the
651,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines will be donated from the European Union’s joint procurement to vaccinate healthcare workers in six countries in the western Balkans. The announcement comes weeks after China and Russia distributed millions of doses of their domestic jabs in the region. “With this initiative, we
Given the countries’ geographical proximity to one another, Slovak-Russian relations are a mixed bag, characterized by energy dependence on the one hand, and low-level trade on the other. Their luke-warm ties are underpinned by Bratislava’s sometimes firm, sometimes flexible stance toward Moscow. Slovakia was formerly a part of Czechoslovakia
Russian energy ties in Serbia and Moscow’s support to Belgrade vis a vis Kosovo add up to Serbia not intending to give up on its partnership with Russia very easily, despite its keenness on moving ahead with EU accession talks. But Serbia’s president appears to be getting closer
Within the EU, Romania is a hardliner against Russia, and a country almost immune to Russian pressure in Eastern Europe. New developments, especially the election of a new, pro-Romanian president in Moldova, raise the risk of further deterioration of Russo-Romanian relations, which have never been seamless. Romania was one of
Moscow has used Hungary as a gateway to the EU and consistently uses Russian finances to maintain the goodwill of the Orbán government. During the decades of the Cold War, Hungary was heavily dependent on the Soviet Union, both economically and politically. However, this has changed following the political transition
Historically, Warsaw has maintained the strongest stance against Russia’s efforts to gain political and economic influence, although it’s Poland’s 12th most important trading partner. Regardless of the government composition in Warsaw, Poland is resolute in its antipathy towards Moscow and views it as a threat. Poland was
Despite its historical dominance in Eastern Europe and geopolitical proximity to the EU, Russia remains a low-key trading partner for Europe, except when it comes to energy. Relations between Moscow and most EU member countries are best characterized as pragmatic, with both sides looking for mutual benefits and avoiding major
This week Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, on a visit to China, declared that Russia’s relations with the European Union are over, because the EU had destroyed long-term mechanisms between the two sides. Now, he said, Moscow would be dealing with individual European states instead of Brussels. For
None of France’s pharmaceutical companies have signed a contract with Russia to produce its Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine, a spokesman for France’s industry ministry said on Tuesday. The French reaction followed media reports by the head of Russia’s RDIF sovereign wealth fund stating an agreement had been