We kindly inform you that, as long as the subject affiliation of our 300.000+ articles is in progress, you might get unsufficient or no results on your third level or second level search. In this case, please broaden your search criteria.

0.00 €

The Cyprus Precedent, the Post-Soviet “Frozen Conflicts” and the European Agenda of Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia

Author(s): Denis Cenuşă / Language(s): English

Against the backdrop of a radical reset of the regional geopolitical context, joining the European Union (EU) is a necessity, not just a historic opportunity, for Ukraine, Moldova, and Georgia in their efforts to consolidate their own statehood. In addition, embracing the European vector would make possible a future detachment from the Russian sphere of influence, provided that the reforms initiated generate order and prosperity, and depopulation is stopped.

More...

0.00 €

Comunitatea Politică Europeană: oportunități și provocări

Author(s): Caroline Raluca Ghețu / Language(s): Romanian

The European Political Community (EPC) is a new format of cooperation at the European level that evokes, either by its name or by its scope, two previous projects: one from the 1950s, and another from the end of the Cold War. There have been a number of controversies regarding the need for this new political coordination platform. Do its goals overlap with the goals of international organizations such as the Council of Europe (CoE), the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) or the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)? What distinguishes CPE from other cooperation formats initiated at European level? What are the opportunities and challenges associated with CPE? These are the research questions pursued in this paper in order to carry out a SWOT analysis of the European Political Community. Qualitative research methods were used in this study: analysis, synthesis and interpretation of primary and secondary documentation sources.

More...

0.00 €

Parteneriatul Estic în contextul agresiunii militare ruse împotriva Ucrainei. Perspective asupra noii geopolitici a Uniunii Europene

Author(s): Ioana Elena Secu / Language(s): Romanian

In the current international context determined by the unprovoked and illegal Russian military aggression against Ukraine, triggered on February 24, 2022, the geopolitical and security situation of the member states of the Eastern Partnership (Ukraine, Republic of Moldova, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan) has undergone significant changes. Today, two of these, Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova, are candidate countries for joining the European Union, while Georgia benefits from a European integration perspective. The new geopolitics of the European Union, presented at the highest level of the European institutions, aims to protect not only the borders of the EU, but also the states that share European values. In the current research, we set out to show if, and to what extent, the European Union could identify a new strategy regarding the Eastern Partnership, in order to strengthen it and keep the partner states connected to the Western sphere. For this we will use several types of sources, such as the method of analyzing primary sources (official documents, speeches of political figures, etc.) and the method of secondary sources (studies, articles, academic books, etc.). In order to understand the current situation of the Eastern Partnership, as well as the application of the Union's new geopolitics with regard to the EaP, we made a brief presentation of the evolution of these countries within the Eastern Partnership, in order to create a picture of international realities. In conclusion, we will present the conclusions of the research undertaken, as well as possible perspectives of the European Union on the improvement of the format of the Eastern Partnership, as a result of its adoption of a new geopolitics, in order to respond to the current security challenges.

More...

0.00 €

Anticipating the 2023 Three Seas Initiative Bucharest Summit. Advancing the common agenda

Author(s): / Language(s): English

In September 2023, Romania will be the first member state to host again a 3SI summit, assuming a leading role in taking the cooperation to the next stage. In this context, the collective report “Anticipating the 2023 Three Seas Initiative Bucharest Summit. Advancing the common agenda” was designed as a comprehensive platform for experts from the 3SI member countries, partners and potential future participants to present their views on the future of the framework, and their expectations regarding the 2023 Bucharest Summit. The views expressed in this report converge on the usefulness of such a regional coordination effort, while proposing concrete steps to further increase the national commitments. To conduct this study, we gathered the contributions of 14 experts from Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia. Additionally, we included the views of 5 experts from partner and potential future member states: Georgia, Greece, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine. All the contributors provide their personal perspectives based on their experience in think tanks, academia, consultancy or public offices.

More...

0.00 €

Why EU should not hesitate in granting Candidate Status to Moldova? Debunking main myths about Moldovan economy in the context of country’s request to join EU

Author(s): Adrian Lupuşor / Language(s): English

The Republic of Moldova signed the request to join EU on the second week after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This was a logical step for a country looking for a peace and development anchor amid unfolding security threats. It also reconfirmed the government’s strategic European vector that was paved so far by the ongoing Association Agreement with EU (signed in 2014). But to advance on this European path on the background of current security and economic crisis, Moldova needs a clear European perspective provided by EU in the form of Candidate country status and access to EU Single Market. On May 5, the European Parliament adopted a resolution2 that welcomed Moldova’s formal EU membership application and stated that the EU should grant it candidate status as soon as possible, in line with Article 49 TEU and ‘on the basis of merit’.

More...

0.00 €

Pactul influenței maligne: Tiraspolul și Comratul, mobilizate pentru păstrarea Moldovei în zona de influență a Federației Ruse

Author(s): Ilie Gulca / Language(s): Romanian

On May 17, the "Pervîi Pridnestrovski" television station from Transnistria resorted to a technical detail with which it surprised the public on both banks of the Dniester. The editorial staff of the main television station from Tiraspol broadcast on YouTube the show "Dialogues with the President of Transnistria", with Romanian subtitles, in which the secessionist leader, Vadim Krasnoselski, spoke about how Moldova is destroying the economy of Transnistria. The columnist of the official Novosti pmr.md, Andrei Safonov, says that the appearance of Romanian subtitles on the "Pervîi Pridnestrovski" screen is "no hidden movement" and that the Transnistrians only want the inhabitants of the right bank of the Dniester to know the position of Tiraspol. "Everything is normal and respectful", he mentions, for Moldovans to read the "running" Romanian letters from the bottom of the screen after in Moldova "the Latin alphabet was imposed from above in 1989".

More...

0.00 €

Modus operandi și operațiunile maligne ale Rusiei pentru “inimile și mințile” moldovenilor

Author(s): Mădălin Necşuţu / Language(s): Romanian

In the imposing glass building on Schuman Square in the center of Brussels, where the European External Action Service (EEAS) is based, the European institutions are responding to an unseen war for the "hearts and minds" of Europeans invaded by the toxic narratives generated by large-scale operations disinformation launched from the Kremlin. "The Republic of Moldova is subject to almost the entire range of hybrid threats, becoming a testing ground from this point of view. We observe an increasing trend of hybrid threats in Moldova, as the EU accession negotiations and the EU accession referendum approach and in the local electoral context", an official from the European diplomacy draws our attention during a session with journalists, experts and officials from several countries in the ex-Soviet space that today have European aspirations.

More...

0.00 €

Cum obținem securitate energetică? Interconectarea pe gaze România-Moldova

Author(s): Ana Otilia Nuțu,Sergiu Tofilat,Denis Cenușă / Language(s): Romanian

Today, Moldova depends on Russian gas in a proportion of almost 100%, both for domestic and industrial consumption, as well as for the production of electricity. After 2019, with the current contracts with Gazprom expiring and uncertainties regarding gas transit through Ukraine, a solution must be found. This can be the interconnection with Romania, as an alternative gas source and route. Since 2014, there has been a gas pipeline between Iasi and Ungheni, and the governments of Romania and Moldova have officially committed to interconnecting the two countries, both for gas and electricity. In order for the Romania-Moldova gas interconnector to become truly functional, works are needed both in Romania (two pipeline sections and two compression stations) and in Moldova (mainly the Ungheni-Chisinau pipeline). After long discussions and several options analyzed, in 2018, Transgaz acquired the company Vestmoldtransgaz, which owns the Moldovan section of the Iasi-Ungheni interconnector. The Romanian operator was to handle the construction of the pipeline to Chisinau, theoretically by the end of 2019 at the latest. In parallel, the same company is responsible for completing the Romanian section. It should be remembered that the interconnection with Romania would not mean changing one dependence on another (on "Russians" vs. "Romanians"), but eliminating Gazprom's monopoly on the Moldovan gas market. Moldovan consumers will have a choice between the approximately 50 gas suppliers from Romania and possibly Gazprom, depending on where a better price will come from. In addition to this, access to gas from Romania gives Moldova an advantage in the negotiations of a new contract with Gazprom, which must exclude any existing abusive conditions, such as the delivery of gas for the Transnistrian region on a debt basis.

More...

0.00 €

Implications of the second Nagorno Karabakh war for Armenia

Author(s): Benyamin Poghosyan / Language(s): English

The second Nagorno Karabakh war ended with Armenia's capitulation. The unrecognized Nagorno Karabakh Republic lost approximately 75 percent of ist territories, including parts of the former Nagorno Karabakh Autonomous Region within its 1988 borders. However, despite the clear defeat of Armenia, the conflict has not been solved. Azerbaijan was not able to invade the whole territory of Nagorno Karabakh and currently, some 3,000 square km of the territory is being controlled by Russian peacekeepers effectively creating a de facto Russian protectorate. The defeat of Armenia will have profound economic and political implications for Armenia and will affect Armenia's foreign and defense policy.

More...

0.00 €

Again, the Visible Hand. Slobodan Milošević's Manipulation of the Kosovo Dispute (ICG Yugoslavia Report No. 2 - - 6 May 1998)

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): English

This International Crisis Group (ICG) report describes the complex political forces at work in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and examines how they are propelling Kosovo toward war. The report, prepared by an ICG field analyst based in Belgrade, attempts to explain why Milošević has so far opted to ignore the seemingly compelling logic of peace and adopted a confrontational policy toward Kosovo's Albanians and the Contact Group. The report also shows how the disunity of the Contact Group has wasted crucial time, and it projects future short-term developments in Kosovo by carrying forward the thrust of the logic inherent in the present positions of Milošević and Kosovo's Albanians.

More...

0.00 €

Inventory of a Windfall: Milosevic’s gains from the Kosovo Dialogue

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): English

When on 15 May 1998 Slobodan Milosevic met with Ibrahim Rugova it was the first time that the Yugoslav president had met with an Albanian leader from Kosovo in close to a decade. The event, heralding weekly talks between Kosovo’s Albanians and the Serbian government, has thus been hailed as a "dramatic turn-about" and "a first step toward peace in Kosovo". However, the fact that, after so many years of stale-mate, some kind of negotiations have begun, should not in itself be a reason for euphoria. Key to the success of any talks is the framework within which they take place. Negotiations concerning the future status of Kosovo may, as a result of the concessions offered to the Yugoslav president, have got off to an inauspicious start. The Milosevic-Rugova meeting took place in the aftermath of six months of escalating violence in Kosovo between Serbian police and a separatist Albanian militia, known as the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA). It also followed intense US shuttle diplomacy under the auspices of Richard Holbrooke, architect of the Bosnian peace settlement.

More...

0.00 €

Going nowhere Fast. Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): English

Apart from stopping the fighting, silencing the guns and separating forces, the single clearest promise of the Dayton Peace Agreement (DPA) was that Bosnian refugees and internally displaced persons would be able to return home. However, the number of returnees has to date fallen far short of expectations. More than sixteen months after the DPA came into force, only about 250,000 refugees and internally displaced persons have actually made it home, almost exclusively to areas in which they form part of the majority group. And even that figure portrays an artificially rosy picture, since a further 80,000 people have been displaced in the same period, largely during the transfer of territory between the two Entities.

More...

0.00 €

House Burnings: Obstruction of the Right to Return to Drvar

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): English

On the night of 2-3 May 1997, some 25 houses were set ablaze in the Croat-controlled municipality of Drvar, Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Federation). The arsons occurred after an international delegation headed by Federation mediator Dr Christian Schwarz-Schilling met with local authorities and other international agencies earlier in the day to discuss the return of displaced Serbs to the area. With this report, the International Crisis Group (ICG) hopes to contribute to the international community’s as well as Bosnian authorities’ efforts to ascertain the facts surrounding the May incident, responsibility thereof, and suggests additional measures to prevent future such incidents.

More...

0.00 €

Dayton: Two Years On. A Review of Progress in Implementing the Dayton Peace Accords in Bosnia

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): English

The about-turn in international policy is, in part, a product of the change in government in Britain as well as the appointment of Madeleine Albright as US Secretary of State. It also reflects a realisation that NATO forces will only be able to make a dignified withdrawal from Bosnia and Herzegovina once the groundwork for a lasting peace has been laid. Maintaining a cease-fire for two and a half years and holding elections is simply not enough to prevent the country from slipping back into war as soon as international peacekeepers pull out. While the more robust international approach to implementing the DPA has begun to pay dividends, it has also highlighted the magnitude of the remaining task necessary to rebuild Bosnia and Herzegovina after four years of war.

More...

0.00 €

A Peace, or just a Cease-Fire? The military Equation in Post-Dayton Bosnia and Herzegovina

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): English

This paper concerns three military topics that are seldom raised in relation to one another but that cannot meaningfully be assessed in isolation. Taken together, they are likely to have a decisive effect on the future of the DPA: the balance of military forces among the former combatants on a sub-regional level; the US-sponsored Train and Equip programme; and the NATO exit strategy. The balance of military forces among the former combatants, including the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) and Croatia, has been the focus of a sub-regional arms reduction process monitored by the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). Levels were set at a ratio of 5:2:2, based on the approximate size of the populations of FRY, Croatia and Bosnia, further divided on a 2:1 ratio between the Federation and Republika Srpska. On 21 November 1997, the OSCE announced that all four parties had met their reduction liabilities by the 31 October deadline. Republika Srpska and the FRY destroyed the most weapons but remained at or near the allowed ceilings, since they had by far the largest excess of weapons at the start of the process. The Federation was only required to destroy artillery.

More...

0.00 €

A HOLLOW PROMISE? The Return of Bosnian Serb Displaced Persons to Drvar, Bosansko Grahovo and Glamoc

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): English

In Bosnia’s local elections on 13 and 14 September 1997, parties representing displaced Serbs from Croat-held Drvar, Bosansko Grahovo and Glamoc won either a majority or a plurality of council seats in these three municipalities in Canton 10 of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Since then, displaced Serbs have begun spontaneously moving back to their homes with the result that by mid-January, some 800 heads of households had returned to Drvar alone. Other displaced Serbs in Western Republika Srpska and in Brcko are monitoring the fortunes of these returnees closely. If Serbs are able to return to Drvar, this will free up housing in Republika Srpska for displaced Bosniacs and Croats. If, however, their return to Drvar is obstructed, displaced Serbs elsewhere will be discouraged from attempting to return to other Federation municipalities.

More...

0.00 €

REBUILDING A MULTI-ETHNIC SARAJEVO: The Need for Minority Returns

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): English

To many who followed the Bosnian war from abroad, Sarajevo symbolised Bosnia and Herzegovina’s rich tradition of multi-culturalism and multi-ethnicity. While the Bosnian capital came under daily bombardment from Republika Srpska forces, ist citizens of all faiths, Bosniacs, Serbs, Croats and others, suffered and survived together in the spirit of tolerance in which they had lived together for centuries. For multi-culturalism and multi-ethnicity to re-emerge in Bosnia after the war, this spirit must be rekindled in peace. (ICG Bosnia Project - Report No 30)

More...

0.00 €

Brcko: What Bosnia Could Be

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): English

The fate of the Brčko area, whether it should be in the Federation or Republika Srpska, was considered too contentious to be resolved in the Dayton Peace Agreement (DPA) and was left to binding arbitration. The Arbitral Tribunal announced an interim decision on 14 February 1997: the Tribunal retained jurisdiction on the matter for another year; maintained the territorial status quo leaving the Inter-Entity Boundary Line (IEBL) which divides the pre-war municipality; enumerated obligations for the parties to fulfil, including the return and reintegration of displaced person and the establishment of a multi-ethnic administration in part of the municipality held by Republika Srpska; provided for the establishment of the office of an International Supervisor to oversee the implementation of those obligations; and conditioned the final outcome of the arbitration on the conduct of the parties during the year. The Tribunal is scheduled to give a final ruling by 15 March this year

More...

0.00 €

KOSOVO SPRING (ICG Report Pristina- Sarajevo)

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): English

The report examines the evolution of relations between Serbs and Kosovars in Kosovo, the importance of the region to both communities and their competing claims. Since 1989 when Serbia forcibly stripped Kosovo of autonomy, a parallel Kosovar society has emerged within the province which exists almost completely outside the Serbian state. The report assesses the significance and sustainability of the parallel institutions, in particular the education and health care systems. It also critically analyses Kosovar politics and the policies of the undisputed Kosovar leader Ibrahim Rugova who charted the non-violent course which, until very recently, all Kosovars obediently followed. If Kosovar elections do go ahead as scheduled on 22 March, Rugova will surely be re-elected president, since he is the only candidate standing. Special sections are devoted to the economy, media and the Kosovo Liberation Army, UCK. The report considers Kosovo in its regional context, in relations to Serbia, Yugoslavia, Albania and the entire Balkan region. It examines initial diplomatic attempts to head off further fighting and find a solution. And it analyses the relative merits of the various solutions -- ranging from maintaining the status quo to full independence -- which are currently on offer. In a final section ICG presents a series of recommendations which, if taken up by policy-makers, could contribute to an eventual settlement in Kosovo. Appendices at the end include a chronology and a who’s who of Kosovo political life.

More...

0.00 €

Minority Return or Mass Relocation? (ICG Bosnia Project - Report Nº 33)

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): English

International organisations working to help displaced Bosnians return to their pre-war homes -- arguably the most important element of the Dayton Peace Agreement (DPA) -- have declared 1998 the “year of minority returns”. Four months into the year, however, there is the distinct possibility that 1998 may instead prove to be the “year of mass relocation”. This need not be the case. The political climate in Bosnia and Herzegovina (Bosnia) has shifted in recent months and, despite major setbacks, including in Drvar, minority return success stories are already beginning to emerge. In order to turn the current trickle of minority returns into a steady flow, the lessons of past failures and successes have to be learned.

More...