Eastern Europe Archives

European Council President Charles Michel will attend a regional summit in the Georgian Black Sea city of Batumi on Monday (19 July), after a weekend visit of Armenia and Azerbaijan, in what appears as an attempt to keep the region closer to the EU. EURACTIV reports from Batumi.

Sofia hosts a summit of the Three Seas Initiative (3SI) on Thursday and Friday (8-9 July) at a very inconvenient time – just before the snap general elections to be held in Bulgaria on Sunday. It’s not great when geopolitics interferes with politics.

The Georgian parliament approved amendments to the electoral code late on Monday (28 June), a key provision in an EU-brokered political deal meant to resolve the institutional crisis in the South Caucasian country with strong European aspirations.

The foreign ministers of Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine are together in Brussels on Thursday (24 June) for their first joint visit to the EU since the three countries formalised the format of ‘Associated Trio’ last May. This exclusive opinion by David Zalkaliani, Aureliu Ciocoim and Dmytro Kuleba highlights their countries’ higher EU ambition.

The EU must apply consistent pressure on the repressive Belarusian regime until it responds to calls for dialogue, exiled democratic opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya told EURACTIV in an exclusive interview.

Azerbaijan on Saturday (12 June) released to Armenia 15 prisoners of war captured last year during hostilities over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, under a deal mediated by Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili and saluted by the US and the EU.

As many Belarusians flee their country and seek refuge in neighbouring countries, what can Lithuania and Poland do to protect Belarusians, write Monika Bičkauskaitė and Veranika Laputska.

Georgia's main opposition party on Sunday (30 May) announced the end of a months-long parliamentary boycott that has plunged the Caucasus nation into a spiralling political crisis, following disputed elections last year.

The EU has effectively banned air connections with Belarus in the wake of a forced diversion of a Vilnius-bound flight from Athens which the Baltic states have labelled a "hijacking", however critics of the move fear the new measures could hurt dissidents fleeing regime repression.

Despite the speculations about a Russian involvement in the forced landing of the Ryanair airliner in Minsk, given the importance of Russia, EU leaders who met in Brussels for a two-day summit decided to decouple the issues and concentrate on …

In a wide-ranging interview, Kakha Kuchava, the Speaker of the Parliament of Georgia, told about the latest developments since the mediation by Council President Charles Michel, the role of Russia and the new format of ‘Associated Trio’ between Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova.

The three former Soviet republics hoping to join the EU have formalised their cooperation towards a more ambitious European integration on Monday (17 May) during a meeting of their foreign ministers in Kyiv.

Georgia on Monday (10 May) released jailed opposition leader Nika Melia on bail posted by the European Union, in a move expected to defuse a political crisis in the Caucasus country.

European Council President Charles Michel "took risks" during his recent visit to Georgia, and some in Brussels thought his actions were "mad", according to an EU official familiar with the latest diplomatic action meant to reassert the EU's 'soft power'.

Actions of the international community, including European sanctions against the regime of Alexander Lukashenko, have to be ‘faster and braver‘ to support Belarusian civil society in its struggle, Belarus opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya told EURACTIV. "The protest mood hasn't been stifled …

Georgia's ruling party and the opposition on Monday (19 April) signed an EU-mediated agreement to end a months-long political crisis that raised concerns in the West over the Caucasus country's backsliding on democracy.

After Kyiv and Moscow traded blame over the worsening situation in the eastern Donbas region, Ukraine was able to mobilise its Western allies at political level, with several high-level meetings planned this week.

The lack of visionaries in Georgian politics increases the European Union’s responsibility to make sure that the country gets out of its current crisis, write Vakshuti Menabde and Teona Lavrelashvili. By Vakhushti Menabde is director of Program of Support for …

The second round of European Union-mediated talks between Georgia's ruling party and the opposition failed Wednesday (31 March) to resolve a political impasse sparked by elections last year, an EU mediator said.

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has called on Belarusian authorities to stop harassing Poles living in the country after a minority activist was sentenced to 15 days in jail earlier this week. The issue will be raised at today's EU summit, the Polish PM said.

The quest for democracy and freedom is in the hands of the people of Belarus. They should know that they are not alone, writes David McAllister.

European Council President Charles Michel's personal envoy to Georgia will head back to Tbilisi this week in an effort to find a solution to the ongoing political crisis that EU officials say may jeopardise the South Caucasian country's European aspirations. Georgia’s …

After a week of negotiations, the special envoy of European Council President Charles Michel returns to Brussels empty-handed, after unsuccessful attempts to find solutions for the Georgian political stalemate.

EU-mediated negotiations between the Georgian ruling party and the opposition are yet to bear fruit, the South Caucasian country's prime ministerial visit to Brussels revealed on Tuesday (16 March).