Russia needs to modernize its economy and shun protectionism to gain access to Western investment, the European Union said Tuesday

• Date: 02.06.2010  |  Published on EGF: 02.06.2010  |  Markets  |  from Wall Street Journal

Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama resigns amid pressure from his party to step down ahead of elections due in July.

• Date: 02.06.2010  |  Published on EGF: 02.06.2010  |  Markets  |  from bbc.co.uk

Vilnius is hosting the Baltic Development Forum and the Baltic Sea States Summit. European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso is expected to meet on Wednesday with regional representatives, including the prime ministers of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Finland and Norway.

• Date: 02.06.2010  |  Published on EGF: 02.06.2010  |  External Relations  |  from earthtimes.org

European Union President Herman Van Rompuy said at a summit with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev today that the bloc is seriously concerned about the situation in Russia for human rights activists and journalists.

• Date: 02.06.2010  |  Published on EGF: 02.06.2010  |  External Relations  |  from Radio Free Europe

A traditional Caspian Oil and Gas international exhibition opens here on Tuesday. It is held here for a17th time and will run until June 4, an official at the exhibition organizing committee announced.

• Date: 02.06.2010  |  Published on EGF: 02.06.2010  |  Energy  |  from itar-tass.com

Alyaksandr Lukashenka's support is waning — both domestically and from Russia — and he now looks the the most vulnerable he has done for years. Yet the opposition's failure to unite behind a single candidate still seems set to hand him victory in the upcoming presidential election.

• Date: 01.06.2010  |  Published on EGF: 01.06.2010  |  Markets  |  from opendemocracy.net

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the European Commission (EC) have not changed their position, and continue to support Latvia's chosen economic program based on preserving the current valuation of the national currency and gaining entry to the eurozone, LETA was informed by the IMF representative office in Latvia.

• Date: 01.06.2010  |  Published on EGF: 01.06.2010  |  Markets  |  from baltic-course.com

Despite seemingly encouraging words about freedom of speech from Vladimir Putin, the Prime Minister, Russian opposition activists were again beaten and detained when they tried to hold peaceful protests across the country yesterday.

• Date: 01.06.2010  |  Published on EGF: 01.06.2010  |  Security  |  from timesonline.co.uk