Baltic Rim Economies
 (2 Mb) Baltic Rim Economies
The Tanks of August
The publication of this collection of essays coincides with the second anniversary of the armed conflict between Russia and Georgia on August 8-12, 2009. The first essay looks into the transformation of the Georgian armed forces under President Mikhail Saakashvili and details Tbilisi’s key preparations for the war.
EGF Forum Outlook: Assessing Gazprom’s Next Movements
(86 Kb) In a recent briefing on Russia, this Forum expressed the view that Moscow is becoming an increasingly assertive regional player in the wider Black and Caspian Sea (BCS) basin and that energy remains a key Russian priority for the region. We commented in that report that the Russian state-controlled energy holding, Gazprom, provided Moscow with a significant instrument to exercise power in the region. READ MORE
The EU-Russia Energy Partnership: The Future of the Energy Charter (..and the Debate over the Third Package)
(162 Kb)  Summary of Panel I: The Future of the Energy Charter and the Debate over the Third Package
The EU-Russia Energy Partnership: Russia's Arctic Uncertainty
(154 Kb) Summary of Panel II: Russia’s Arctic Uncertainty
Changing EU Energy Legislation: Practical Scenarios for Strengthening the EU-Russia Energy Partnership
(162 Kb) Energy Roundtable Summary Document
Geopolitical Challenges: Prospects and Scenarios 2010 - Summary Document
(158 Kb)
At the end of December 1999, as the world prepared to usher in a new Millennium, in Europe and other parts of the planet, there was widespread concern that the so called “Millennium Bug” would strike, causing unforeseen disruption and havoc. Ten years on, in December of last year, for many in Europe, the Millennium Bug was just a shade in the memory as a far more ominous concern was pressing home – the prospect of another gas crisis. Although the fact that the Russia-Ukraine gas dispute of January 2009 – and its knock-on effect of leaving much of Europe without natural gas in the peak of winter – did not repeat itself during the record cold European temperatures of January this year, the very fact that European attention has become so focused on this theme demonstrates how geopolitical developments in the European hinterlands have come to impact the day-to-day livelihood of all Europeans
New European Commission Members
(681 Kb) Following approval by the European Parliament, the European Council today appointed the new European Commission for the period from 10 February 2010 to 31 October 2014. The Council also appointed Mr.Günther Oettinger to replace Mr.Andris Piebalgs as the Energy Commissioner. Please, see the full list of the new Commission Members.
GEORGIA AND THE SYSTEMIC IMPACT OF THE FINANCIAL CRISIS
(139 Kb) This paper analyses the potential effects that the systemic developments stemming from the global financial crisis and the August war are likely to have in Georgia, within a context of hegemonic stability theoretical fundamentals. According to this perspective, both events have undermined the role of the US as the sole world hegemon. As a result, the Western strategic priorities toward the Caucasus are likely to shift, to the detriment of the special relationship between the Saakashvili administration and the US. To demonstrate this, the analysis will focus on the case study provided by energy- and transit-related Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), as the Georgian political and economic dependence on a geopolitical rent is strongly connected to them and is likely to disappear in the aftermath of the recent events.
Russia in the global economic storm
(72 Kb) Russia has been badly affected by the economic crisis, because in the boom years - when it was able to rely on oil and gas exports - it had not diversified its economic base or introduced any major structural economic reforms, speakers agreed at an EPC Policy Dialogue organised with the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and with World Bank support. They hoped the crisis would spur Moscow to introduce reforms, particularly to modernise the banking sector, public administration and governance structures.
|
