The dynamics of NATO's role in the South Caucasus has been considered against the backdrop of the Wider Black Sea since both geopolitical and policy reasons make the South Caucasus a too narrow geopolitical scope for the analysis of NATO's policies. In fact, in contrast to the situation before the Russo-Georgian war in 2008, the South Caucasus is currently very rarely referred as such in NATO's statements, except for the cases where the Alliance is expressing concerns over the settlement of the "frozen conflicts". READ MORE

• George Vlad Niculescu  |  Published on EGF: 08.03.2012  |  External Relations
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ISSUE #8
03/05/2012
On 27 February 2012, the Kiev Pecherskyy district court sentenced former Ukrainian Interior Minister Yuriy Lutsenko to four years in prison with property confiscation. The court found the former minister guilty of embezzlement and the appropriation of budget funds, which had inflicted the loss of 85,500 dollars on the state. READ MORE

• Gorshenin Weekly  |  Published on EGF: 07.03.2012  |  External Relations
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ISSUE #7
02/27/2012
Russia has accused Ukraine of unsanctioned withdrawal of gas intended for Europe. The Ukrainian news and analysis website Lb.ua quoted Gazprom's CEO Aleksey Miller as telling Russian President Dmitriy Medvedev during a meeting on 22 February 2012 that Ukraine had allegedly withdrawn Gazprom's transit gas intended for Europe during the February cold snap. READ MORE

• Gorshenin Weekly  |  Published on EGF: 29.02.2012  |  External Relations
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ISSUE #5
02/13/2012
On 9 February 2012, the Ukrainian parliament adopted in the first reading a presidential draft of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC). The Ukrainian news and analysis website Lb.ua reported that the presidential draft of the CPC was registered in parliament on 13 January 2012. A group of lawmakers headed by presidential advisor Andriy Portnov has been working on it for a year and a half. READ MORE

• Gorshenin Weekly  |  Published on EGF: 21.02.2012  |  External Relations
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ISSUE #6
02/20/2012
Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych has again reshuffled the country's top leadership. On 14 February 2012, the president dismissed Andriy Klyuyev from the post of first deputy prime minister and economy minister and appointed him as secretary of the National Security and Defence Council (NSDC). READ MORE

• Gorshenin Weekly  |  Published on EGF: 21.02.2012  |  External Relations
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BSIS, University of Kent, Brussels, 8 December 2011 Provisional summary of seminar findings

By Dr Marat Terterov and Mr. George Vlad Niculescu, European Geopolitical Forum, Brussels

On December 8 2011, The European Geopolitical Forum staged a seminar on the topic “The Unresolved Conflicts in the South Caucasus: Implications for European and Eurasian Integration” at the University of Kent/Brussels School of International Studies. The seminar represented a concerted attempt by the organizers to provide a platform for a lively and objective roundtable debate where experts of different orientations would have the opportunity to engage in a frank exchange of positions on the highly sensitive subject matter of South Caucasus unresolved conflicts. In contrast to many events taking place in Brussels, the organizers of the December 8 seminar did not have the objective of taking sides in political disputes, or seeking to promote the merits of one side at the expense of the other. READ MORE

• EGF Editorial  |  Published on EGF: 17.02.2012  |  External Relations
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In a recent interview for "The Voice of Russia", EGF Expert on Radical Islamic Movements, Mikhail Roshchin, explained the political dynamics emerging between Islamist and secular political parties in Egypt following recent parliamentary elections. His key message for all stakeholders engaged in the formation of new governance institutions in Egypt was that the Muslim Brotherhood, which now forms the largest political bloc in Egypt's new parliament, is more likely to broker political deals with secular parties rather than develop any sense of "ideological alliances" with other, more radical, Islamist factions. This will most likely remove the concerns over "new shades of green" emerging in the ensuing Egyptian political landscape and lead to further fragmentation of the political environment in advance of the country's looming presidential elections, which are currently scheduled for June 2012. Click HERE for the entire interview.
 

• M. Roshchin  |  Published on EGF: 16.02.2012  |  External Relations
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ISSUE #4
02/06/2012
Ukraine's ruling Party of Regions has refused to decriminalize the articles of the Ukrainian Criminal Procedures Code under which former Prime Minister Yuliya Tymoshenko was convicted. On 31 January 2012, the Party of Regions parliamentary faction's head, Oleksandr Yefremov, said that his party had no intention to consider the decriminalization of Article 364 entitled “Abuse of power or position” and Article 365 which deals with exceeding one's power or authority. These are the articles under which Yuliya Tymoshenko was sentenced to seven years behind bars. “The faction did not take other decisions,” the politician explained. READ MORE

• Gorshenin Weekly  |  Published on EGF: 14.02.2012  |  External Relations
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ISSUE #5
02/13/2012
On 9 February 2012, the Ukrainian parliament adopted in the first reading a presidential draft of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC). The Ukrainian news and analysis website Lb.ua reported that the presidential draft of the CPC was registered in parliament on 13 January 2012. A group of lawmakers headed by presidential advisor Andriy Portnov has been working on it for a year and a half. READ MORE

• Gorshenin Weekly  |  Published on EGF: 14.02.2012  |  External Relations
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ISSUE #3
01/30/2012
A new criminal case which was launched against former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yuliya Tymoshenko will be submitted to a court in the near future.
The Ukrainian news and analysis website Lb.ua cited Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych as saying in Davos on 27 January 2011 that the criminal cases over the corporation United Energy Systems of Ukraine (UESU), which had been opened against former Prime Minister Yuliya Tymoshenko would be submitted for a court's consideration in the near future. READ MORE

• Gorshenin Weekly  |  Published on EGF: 06.02.2012  |  External Relations
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