Eastern Europe Archives

Some troops in Russia's military districts adjacent to Ukraine are returning to their bases after completing drills, Russia's defence ministry said on Tuesday (15 February), a move that could de-escalate frictions between Moscow and the West.

The new prime minister of North Macedonia, Dimitar Kovachevski, is making his first visit to Brussels on 3 and 4 February. In view of Skopje's stalled EU accession bid, this could mean a groundbreaking visit, but it probably won't be. What can we realistically expect from it?

Polish contractors began work on Tuesday ( 25 January) on a 353-million euro wall along the Belarus border aimed at deterring migrant crossings following a crisis in the area last year.

NATO membership in the near future is not possible for Georgia and Ukraine, and the alternative - arming Ukraine - is a tricky issue, ECFR expert Kadri Liik told EURACTIV in an interview.

Medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has withdrawn its team on the Belarus-Poland border after Warsaw repeatedly blocked access to migrants there trying to enter the European Union, it said Thursday.

Political disillusionment, lack of economic opportunities and dreams of a better life are reasons why many asylum seekers that enter Lithuania from Belarus originate from Iraqi Kurdistan, a region considered one of the wealthiest and most stable in the region.

In a wide-ranging exclusive interview, Bulgaria’s President Rumen Radev explained at length the reasons behind his country’s veto which prevents North Macedonia from starting EU accession negotiations, and suggested the way forward to solve the issue, which includes a change in this country’s constitution. 

Only days after its adoption, the Serbian government abolished a decree that would have prevented independent research in numerous areas, thereby calling academic freedoms into question and violating the constitutional right to freedom of expression.

The upcoming EaP summit (15 December)  will be a watershed to either push for a visionary policy or to play “business as usual”, write Teona Lavrelashvili and Ramūnas Stanionis, who share their ideas how to boost the ‘Associated Trio’ format.

In an exclusive interview Vakhtang Makharoblishvili, Georgia’s Ambassador to the EU, discussed his country’s political situation and EU agenda, the upcoming Eastern Partnership summit on 15 December, and the more ambitious format of Associated Trio.

Despite proclamations of “strong commitment” to Eastern partners, the EU’s reluctance to fast-track integration for its most ambitious next-door neighbours is causing increasing frustration as top diplomats met in Brussels on Monday (15 November) to chart the policy’s future. EU top …

The current stand-off at the Belarus-Polish border will enter geopolitics textbooks. At least we hope so, because the alternative is that it might trigger an outright war, and then we will forget about textbooks.

The EU has been accused of contributing to the development of ‘surveillance’ capacities in third countries without considering fundamental rights and data protection; according to a complaint filed with the European Ombudsman by a coalition of privacy NGOs.

The defeat of Andrej Babiš in Czechia and the resignation of Austrian chancellor Sebastian Kurz were hailed by many as a win for Europe’s progressives. What is missed in these arguments is that there are only conservatives in line to replace the populists.

The EU executive asked Warsaw on Friday to allow Frontex staff on the Polish-Belarusian border where four migrants died while trying to cross into Europe amid an increase in irregular immigration the bloc blames on Minsk for orchestrating.

An Iraqi migrant has died in Poland after being found near the border with Belarus, bringing to five the death toll this week on this eastern EU frontier.

Relations between the EU and its eastern neighbours a going backwards. But a combination of renegotiated trade agreements and digital connectivity could reverse the tide, writes Dan Dalton.

As the dust settled following the dramatic evacuation at Kabul airport, the role of Georgia which provided critical assistance to the US and the Western partners is getting acknowledgement and praise.

An international summit initiated by Ukraine reaffirmed on Monday (23 August) international commitments to de-occupy Crimea, seven and a half years after Russian troops occupied the strategic Black Sea peninsula.

It is crucial that the EU beefs-up its presence in South Caucasus more broadly, particularly on security and conflict related issues, write Amanda Paul and Iana Maisuradze in an analysis of the situation in Georgia 13 years after the 2008 war which depleted the country of 20% of its territory.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Wednesday ordered a review of the risks to Belarusians in Ukraine following the death of an activist.

Ukraine will do its best to investigate the death of Belarusian activist Vitaly Shishov who was found hanged in a Kyiv park, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Tuesday.

Though vast majority of EU countries welcome deeper integration with Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine, their "Associated Trio" initiative finds more support within Eastern and Central Europe, while the Commission and Western member states remain hesitant to adopt the term.