... of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs; Alexander Grushko, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation; Giulio Tremonti, Minister of Economy and Finance of Italy (1994–1995, 2001–2006, 2008–2011); Markus Ederer, Ambassador of the European Union to Russia; Wolfgang Schüssel, Chancellor of Austria (2000–2007), Minister of the Interior of Austria (2007); Daniel Tarschys, Professor at the Stockholm University, Secretary General of the Council of Europe (1994– 1999); Andrey Kortunov,...
... unrest.
South Tyrol successfully consolidated its autonomy over the last decades, fostering ties between the central state authority and the peripheral regional authority. Now, the German-speakers there live peacefully within Italy as citizens of the European Union.
This integration-through-decentralization process into the Italian national identity shows how a widely shared process and agreement recognizing a high level of institutional autonomy would lead, in the medium-to-long term perspective,...
... Margus Laidre, Ambassador of the Republic of Estonia to Russia.
The following issues were discussed during the meeting: current issues of bilateral relations between Russia and Estonia, possibilities and constraints of interaction between Russia and the European Union as a whole, as well as more general trends in the world’s political agenda. The Estonian diplomat was informed about the Council’s immediate plans regarding security studies in the Baltic region.
A trumpet of Armageddon or a wakeup call?
We do not know now and we will probably never know for sure what exactly pushed Donald Trump to endorse the
assassination of General Qasem Soleimani
. Was it the recent mob attack on the US Embassy in Bagdad? Was it the continuous pressure on the President by many US allies in the region – from Saudi Arabia to Israel – urging the White House to take more steps to stop the growing Iranian presence in the Middle East? Was it a flood of advice from self-proclaimed...
... Estonia had to take political decisions following the geography and aspirations of most of its citizens to integrate the Euro-Atlantic society. Based on the past and the Nordic-Teutonic identity, the Government of Estonia embraced the idea of joining the European Union, NATO, and later on the Eurozone.
Both Germany and Austria (former parts of Holly Roman Empire) have recognized the Germanic background of the Estonian people when the Nordics - Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Greenland and the ...
Macron does not want to lose his shot at the now-vacant position of foreign policy leader of Europe, including regarding Russian, which is very important for the European Union
Emmanuel Macron’s recent response to Russia’s proposed moratorium on deploying short- and intermediary-range missiles in Europe has caused an uproar. European media was quick to conclude that the French leader effectively supported ...
... have already voiced strong discontent with the U.S. sanctions. Indeed, they benefit from the project. Russia has agreed to preserve a considerable part of its gas transit via Ukraine — this has been one of the key demands to support the project. The European Union has never invited the U.S. to protect them from the NS2, though there was a heated debate inside the EU. Apparently, sanctions emerge as an instrument of towering market competition for the European gas market. Donald Trump has repeatedly ...
Brussels, Beijing, Moscow and other capitals are increasingly unhappy about the US free-wheeling
One of the major achievements of 2019 was the US Department of the Treasury’s truly monumental efforts to collect fines from foreign businesses for breaching US sanctions. Such fines have long become an irritating risk. Although big fines worth several hundred million or even several billion US dollars are still few and far between, the very fact that businesses have to be involved in US official enquiries...
Despite international security problems that overshadow Caucasus challenges, the region retains its independent significance
In late 2016, the Russian International Affairs Council published
The Evolution of the Post-Soviet Space: Past, Present and Future
, a major anthology attempting to conceptualise development trends in both domestic and foreign policies in the newly independent states that emerged after the collapse of the once-single state, the USSR. The Trans-Caucasus featured prominently...
... hosted the signing of the Agreement on Trade and Commercial and Economic Cooperation between the USSR and the European communities. This date became the point of departure for official relations between Russia as the successor state of the USSR and the European Union.
Symbolically, the Agreement was signed slightly over a month after the fall of the Berlin Wall, an event that came down in history as a landmark signifying the end of the Cold War, a period, when the continent was divided into two opposing ...
