World Archives

Ukraine should establish a fruitful cooperation with the EU in order to disengage itself from the pressure imposed by the Kremlin and become an equal partner in their bilateral relations, says Vladimir Mischenko from the Ukrainian organisation 'People First'.

MEPs need to keep sight of the bigger picture regarding the new sets of regulations that European Commission is releasing on 7 December on EU external action and development strategy, warn experts from European Think-Tanks Group, in order to preserve the major role that EU holds in the field of international development.

As tensions rise with Ukraine, as Russia seeks to establish a Eurasian Union, and as Vladimir Putin stands unopposed for the Russian presidency, one has to ask whether the European Union has written off the concept of one Europe and is now helping to build a new psychological wall in the East, says Viktor Tkachuk, head of "People First".

As Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych weighs the economic benefits of the EU’s deep and comprehensive Free Trade Agreement and Russia’s Customs Union offer, Ukraine’s energy and security needs must be taken into consideration, argues Stephen Christensen.

Even as Ukraine formally gets closer to the European Union with the negotiations on an Association Agreement, the country's extreme economic insecurity and need for foreign capital to finance its debt are enabling a dramatic rise in Russian influence, argues Sonya Koshkina.

The European Union's plans to break up energy monopolies pose a direct threat to Russia's own hopes to maintain and enlarge its domination of energy markets in several EU member states, says Eugene Chausovsky.

There a clear mismatch between G20 meeting agreements and their implementation afterwards, and the new global governance tool could benefit from the EU's experience of the Open Method of Coordination, argues Henning Meyer from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

The cancellation of three EU summits with key Asian countries – China, India and South Korea – due to pressing concerns in the euro zone reinforces the perception that the EU struggles to think and act strategically, writes Gauri Khandekar of the Madrid-based think tank FRIDE.

The European Union does not take its relations with Beijing seriously enough, as evidenced by the unilateral postponement of the 14th EU-China summit and the failure to grant China Market Economy Status, argues Sebastian Bersick.

Russia's attempts to increase its influence over in its near-abroad is likely to lead to conflict and authoritarianism in neighbouring countries, but not necessarily to pro-Russian regimes, argues Alexey Leshchenko.

By stating their willingness to help the crisis-hit eurozone, emerging powers – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – stressed once more their key role in world geo-economics and politics. However, the BRICS remain too different to define common interests and should not have a centre-stage role in Europe's crisis, writes Susanne Gratius from the Madrid-based think-tank FRIDE.

The British prime minister's 12 September visit to Russia is long overdue but, despite growing British investment and thriving informal Anglo-Russian ties, it is unlikely to lead to genuine progress on the contentious issues between London and Moscow, argues Fraser Cameron, director of the EU-Russia Centre.

Kazakhstan is ready to play a key role in global security by hosting an international nuclear fuel bank under the auspices of the International Atomic Energy Agency, writes Kanat Saudabayev, the country's secretary of state, in an exclusive commentary for EURACTIV.

Wind power is the next great source of renewable energy, with China and the EU engaged in a competition to dominate the rapidly expanding market, argues Eberhard Rhein.

Low defence spending is undermining both Europe's ability to guarantee its own security and relations with the United States, argues Michael Berendt.

Dr Fraser Cameron argues that little will be achieved by today's (9 June) EU-Russia summit and that, in an age of budget cuts and austerity, the participants should consider restricting such gatherings to once a year.

Poland's announcement that it will head a new battlegroup of the Visegrad Group underscores the country's military leadership in the region and is likely to pose a new challenge for Russia, argues global intelligence company Stratfor.

Russian elites are taking sides as public opinion becomes increasingly polarised between support for Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and President Dmitry Medvedev, writes Denis Maksimov, a public affairs consultant and an expert on EU-Russia relations, in an exclusive commentary for EURACTIV.

The killing of an unarmed Osama Bin Laden by US forces in Pakistan violated America's democratic and legal principles as well as religious values, argues legal expert Andreas Geiger.

Central and Eastern European gas markets have long suffered from isolation and fragmentation, leaving them vulnerable to both supply disruptions and to monopoly pricing power. However, new research suggests that countries collectively negotiating with gas exporters could remedy this problem, argues economist and energy researcher Edward Hunter Christie.

Despite Anglo-French activism in Libya, the European Union's divisions on interventionism mean that the bloc is no substitute for the United States' continued engagement with the world, argues author and expert on international relations Dominique Moïsi.

More oil and gas drilling, biofuels, the abandonment of climate change ambitions and perhaps more fuel-efficient vehicles: this is the United States' recipe for energy in the next decade, writes Eberhard Rhein in a post on Blogactiv.

The EU may consider lifting its arms embargo on China in order to improve cooperation with the country, writes Vincent Metten from International Campaign for Tibet. However, he argues that the bloc ought to consider such a move in the context of human rights.

The European External Action Service (EEAS) can provide a more coherent, visible and effective EU foreign policy but faces problems such as low morale among personnel, friction with the European Commission and disputes over EU representation in international organisations, writes Graham Avery, senior advisor at the European Policy Centre (EPC).