ISSUE #40
11/21/2011
On 17 November 2011, the Supreme Council of Ukraine adopted a new draft law on electing MPs. As many as 366 lawmakers voted in favour of the bill, with 226 votes being the required minimum for its adoption. Both representatives of the majority and the opposition participated in the vote. READ MORE

• Gorshenin Weekly  |  Published on EGF: 23.11.2011  |  External Relations
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ISSUE #39
11/14/2011
On 14 November 2011, a temporary special commission for drawing up a new electoral law continued its work. The commission was set up on 3 November 2011. It is noteworthy that it has not achieved any results in its first week of work. The main reason can be attributed to the disagreements regarding the key provisions of the electoral draft law which arise among the MPs representing both the majority and the opposition. READ MORE

• Gorshenin Weekly  |  Published on EGF: 23.11.2011  |  External Relations
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Executive Summary
On Monday, May 16, 2011, The European Geopolitical Forum staged a roundtable discussion on the “Changing Dynamics of the Wider Black Sea in Regional Security and External Relations” at the Brussels School of International Studies, University of Kent. The roundtable featured key international speakers: Dr. Andrej Kreutz (Canada), renowned international relations specialist and author of the recent book, “Russia in the Middle East: Friend or Foe?”; and Igor Muradyan (Armenia), an acclaimed public commentator on the geopolitics and geo-economics of the Black Sea-Caucasus-Caspian area. The roundtable discussion also drew participation of officials from the Turkish Embassy in Belgium, NATO International Staff Political Affairs and Security Policy Division (IS PASP), the Mission of Ukraine to European Union, the Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to NATO, the Energy Charter Secretariat, TUSIAD, the Armenian Federation of Europe, the Centre for East European and Asian Studies (Romania) and several other interested stakeholders. READ MORE

• EGF Editorial  |  Published on EGF: 13.11.2011  |  Security
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Issue 9: October 2011

A Snapshot of Key Developments in the External Relations of the Russian Gas Sector
Key points:

• In a somewhat surprising development for Gazprom, Turkish state-owned gas pipeline operator, Botaş, has declined to extend its contract for 6 billion cubic metres (bcm) of gas per year. The move is seen by some as an attempt by Ankara to obtain gas price discounts.
• The Polish state-owned energy company, PGNiG, has joined its European counterparts in pressing for lower gas prices from Gazprom. Warsaw wants to change the gas price formula and tie it to spot gas market prices.
• Another recent, unpleasant surprise for Gazprom was the launch of an investigation into its European partners carried out by the European Commission (EC). Officially, the EC investigation concerns the potential violation of antimonopoly legislation, although some commentators see the investigation as an attempt to strengthen the position of European consumers in their negotiations with the Russian gas giant.
• Belarus has agreed terms with Gazprom for the sale of the remaining 50 percent stake in Beltransgaz. In return, Belarus President, Alexander Lukashenko, is demanding guarantees of transit through the Belarusian pipeline network and a reduction in gas import prices to the level of internal Russian prices.
• Ukraine President, Viktor Yanukovich’s attempt to destroy his political rival, Yulia Timoshenko, is playing into Gazprom’s hands. As Brussels toughens its stance towards Kiev, Ukraine is forced to be more amenable in its negotiations with Russia, especially those over the future of Ukraine’s Gas Transit System (GTS)
• Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s visit to China failed to produce a breakthrough in negotiations over the Altai gas pipeline and potential Russian gas deliveries to China. The price of gas exports via the Altai pipeline remains the main stumbling block, as Gazprom is currently seeking other ways of exporting gas to China, namely via the Sakhalin-Khabarovsk-Vladivostok pipeline.

• EGF Editorial  |  Published on EGF: 13.11.2011  |  Energy
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Insights into Turkish Domestic and International Politics during October 2011
Key Points:

• Turkey’s economy continues to flourish in comparison with other developed economies on its European periphery. The country gained over a million jobs and clocked an 11 percent growth rate in the first quarter of 2011 while its GDP grew by 8.8 percent.
• Germany’s Foreign Minister, Guido Westerwelle, leant his support to the Turkish accession bid to the EU, saying that the EU should be “fair to Turkey in the negotiation process.”
• Ankara continues its condemnation of Syrian violence against opposition and activist members, and according to a number of reports, is now hosting a group of former Syrian soldiers called the Free Syrian Army.
• A large earthquake in the Van province has exacerbated Kurdish-Turkish relations with claims of bias being leveled at the government for the manner of its response to the disaster in the mainly Kurdish region.
• Turkish Security Forces (TSK) continue their assault on PKK strongholds in Iraq after a devastating attack in mid-October that left 24 TSK soldiers dead. On October 28, police arrested a number of pro-Kurdish BDP Party members in and around Istanbul, including member of the intra-party constitutional commission, Buşra Ersanli.
• Azerbaijan and Turkey finally conclude a natural gas supply agreement following two years of negotiations, while BOTAS informs Gazprom that it will not renew a key existing gas supply contract with Russia.

• EGF Editorial  |  Published on EGF: 13.11.2011  |  Energy
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ISSUE #37
10/31/2011
On 27 October 2011, the European Parliament adopted a resolution on the current situation in Ukraine. The resolution sets out support for Ukraine's prospects to join the EU. READ MORE

• Gorshenin Weekly  |  Published on EGF: 02.11.2011  |  External Relations
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ISSUE #36
10/24/2011
On 20 October 2011, Ukraine and the EU announced that they had completed negotiations on setting up a free trade area (FTA). “After intensive talks, we managed to agree all the key parameters of an FTA agreement,” the Ukrainian first deputy prime minister and minister of economic development and trade, Andriy Klyuyev, said. READ MORE

• Gorshenin Weekly  |  Published on EGF: 25.10.2011  |  External Relations
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ISSUE #35
10/17/2011
On 11 October 2011, a Kiev district court sentenced the leader of the opposition Fatherland party, former Prime Minister Yuliya Tymoshenko to seven years in jail. Tymoshenko was declared guilty under Part 3, Article 365 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, which deals with abuse of power. Additionally, she was stripped of the right to hold public office for three years. READ MORE

• Gorshenin Weekly  |  Published on EGF: 24.10.2011  |  External Relations
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ISSUE #34
10/10/2011
On 6 October 2011, the Ukrainian parliament adopted the first reading of a presidential draft law on decriminalizing economic offences. Under the draft law, perpetrators of economic offences will no longer bear criminal responsibility but instead will face administrative sanctions such as fines. READ MORE

• Gorshenin Weekly  |  Published on EGF: 23.10.2011  |  External Relations
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ISSUE #33
10/03/2011
On 11 October 2011 a Kiev district court will start to read the verdict regarding the leader of the opposition Fatherland party and former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yuliya Tymoshenko. A correspondent of the Ukrainian news and analysis website Lb.ua reported that that court debates in Tymoshenko's case were completed on 30 September 2011. It was expected that Tymoshenko would deliver a concluding speech in the court on the same day. However, the former prime minister requested her address to be rescheduled for 2 October 2011. She explained her demand by the fact that prior to her speech, the prosecutor's office and civil plaintiff had unveiled fresh “aspects that totally differ from the indictment.” READ MORE

• Gorshenin Weekly  |  Published on EGF: 22.10.2011  |  External Relations
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