The signals coming from the US regarding Ukraine and the transatlantic commitments are forcing Europeans to rethink their security. Obstacles: costs of hundreds of billions and extremists’ boycott.
While some argue that the Baltic States have been abandoned by a major strategic partner, others insist on the need for Europe to become more militarily independent.
Official statistics show that Russia's economy is growing despite war and Western sanctions. In fact, economic problems are piling up and Russia risks recession.
Belarus has an ever increasing list of items deemed extremist, ranging from reasonable ones, like Hitler’s Mein Kampf, to rock songs that authorities see as being critical to Lukashenko’s regime.
The practice of compiling “blacklists” has reemerged in Romania. Such lists were used by legionnaires and communists to take out their opponents. The former provoked a spiral of political violence and death.
On February 8, the Baltic states completely disconnected their power grids from Russia’s and switched to the European grid. Contrary to concerns, this transition did not cause any major complications.
The ruling GERB party, marred in the past by corruption allegations but with a pro-European discourse, is embracing some ideas of pro-Russian extremists and seems ready to adapt to Washington's new policy.
After its anti-democratic and anti-Ukrainian blunders compromised its relations with the West, the Georgian Dream hopes to be able to "reset" its relations with the US, now that it is led by Donald Trump.
For years, Poland has been forging close ties with both the US and Ukraine, regarding both as vital to its security. Changes in Washington’s policy are forcing Warsaw to rethink its future, but Polish politicians can’t seem to be able overcome their differences.
The so-called “blacklists” have recently remerged in Romania – they are particularly circulated by Călin Georgescu’s supporters. In Romania, blacklists have a rather dark history, as they were used by extremists to take out their opponents.
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Despite being antagonistic to the US, the Kremlin craves Washington’s attention, just as the Soviets and the Tsars did in their time. And Putin suddenly finds common grounds between his regime and Trumpism.
The Trump administration's signals about a US policy toward Moscow, Ukraine, and the EU are causing concern in Russia's neighborhood, from the Black Sea to the Baltic Sea.
Latvia must be prepared for everything in its defense: in the short term for versatile hybrid attacks, and in the long term even for a broader and more direct attack.
Retreating from the front, with a population increasingly feeling the war fatigue, ignored by the US, which has launched bilateral peace talks with Russia, Ukraine is also on the verge of a political crisis.
As young Russians are sent to the front or fleeing the country, Russia’s economy needs migrants. But the latter are a target for extremists and populist politicians.
Brussels is dismayed by the measures and positions taken by Trump. In the new geopolitical context, the EU is emerging as the last bastion of liberal democracies.
Serbia has been rocked by weeks of student-led protests triggered by the Novi Sad tragedy. What started as an anti-corruption drive morphed into a movement demanding a profound change of the system.
Donald Trump said the USA might take over Gaza once Palestinians leave. No one in the Middle East can accept such a proposal because it would increase instability in the region.
The war in Ukraine is increasing the gap between Russia’s wealthy elites and the majority of the population. There is also a drive to redistribute wealth and channel it towards those loyal to Putin’s regime.
As various capitals in Eastern Europe are gripped by demonstrations, reformists in Bulgaria – a country with a tradition of protests – seem apathetic following years of political logjam and the return of the “system” parties.
Aleksandr Lukashenko won his seventh term as president with 86.82% of the vote and a turnout of 85.9%, results typical for dictatorial regimes. The figures were touted as proof of stability in Belarus, popular support for Lukashenko and tolerance of the opposition. However, the elections were neither free nor fair, but just a show that fooled no one.
A new word is gradually gaining traction across media and political debates: “sovereignists”. How does it all impact liberal democracy? To what extent can sovereignists influence EU politics?
On a brisk January morning in Strasbourg, Donald Tusk, the Prime Minister of Poland, stood before the European Parliament to deliver what many have already labeled a defining speech of his career. With his characteristic blend of gravitas and urgency, Tusk addressed Europe’s place in an increasingly volatile world. Referring to the profound shifts in transatlantic relations under Donald Trump’s presidency, Donald Tusk paraphrased another US President, John F. Kennedy: “Ask not what America can do for Europe and its security—ask what we can do for it”. His words reverberated across the chamber, signaling the dawn of a (let’s hope) pivotal six months in European politics: Poland’s presidency of the Council of the European Union.
New NATO members Finland and Sweden are increasingly involved in the security of the Baltic region, which has seen a number of aggressive Russian moves including sabotages of undersea infrastructure. However, the potential for cooperation with the Baltic countries has merely been tapped.
At the Union Hora, organized by the followers of Călin Georgescu, I got into a mix of nationalist mysticism, conspiracy theories, false Russian narratives and the belief that the "president elect" is some kind of messianic figure who will turn Romania into another Dubai.
Putin believed that by invading Ukraine and engaging in wars in the East, he was restoring Russia's great power status. The result was Moscow's long-term loss of influence.
A wave of "accidents"/sabotages in the Baltic Sea suggests that the tanker fleet used by Russia to evade Western sanctions is also being deployed in the hybrid warfare that Moscow is waging against the West.
China is the main threat to the US, which would benefit from the weakening of the Beijing-Moscow axis. A Trump-Putin deal may entail, however, sacrificing Ukraine and problems for the EU.
Donald Trump's return to the White House has generated fears about his approach to Russia and the conflict in Ukraine, as well as the economic relationship with the European Union. Veridica’s team of contributors has analyzed how Trump’s return to power is seen in Brussels and in Russia's neighboring countries - some of them ex-Soviet or ex-communist states, most of them members of the EU or NATO or with Euro-Atlantic aspirations.
Romanian extremists seem to believe that the return of Donald Trump is bound to bring them more voters and legitimize a type of discourse marked by populism and false narratives. They also hope that Trump will help them get the power. It is a kind of oxymoronic reasoning that shows that, in fact, Romanian extremists do not even understand the meaning of the word they adopted to define themselves - "sovereignism".
Russia’s civil aviation is facing an unprecedented crisis, as both domestic production and foreign imports are being hampered by sanctions imposed by the West following Ukraine’s invasion.
A Minsk-based Orthodox Convent has been raising money for years to support Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Some of the money come from activities in EU countries.
