Moldova’s gas deal with Russia: David tries to draw with Goliath
The EU should learn from Moldova’s response to its gas crisis. It would be a mistake to link Russian concessions on energy prices to talks in areas such as trade policy
Eastern Partnership
A digital agenda for the Eastern Partnership
By reforming the Eastern Partnership, the EU can capitalise on the huge opportunities for economic and social development created by digitalisation
Happy birthday, Eastern Partnership: Celebrations deferred, not cancelled
The EU’s success is mixed in generating reform among Eastern Partnership countries. But patience and self-confidence remain its best bet for the future
Belarus and Armenia: How Russia handles uprisings
Russia’s goal in its neighbourhood is to regain influence, not to be surrounded by neutral, self-sufficient buffer states
Belarus should remind us to believe in freedom’s power
However uncertain the road ahead, these protests show how authoritarianism ultimately subverts itself
The Armenian model for Belarus
While many Western observers have seized on Ukraine's 2004-5 and 2014 revolutions to understand the mass protests in Belarus, a much better analogy is Armenia's democratic transition in 2018.
Russia’s military manoeuvres at the Belarus border – a message to the West
The Kremlin knows that intervening militarily would lose it the goodwill of the Belarusian people. But it does not rule out a managed transition to a candidate of its choice.
Why the EU now needs a deliberate Belarus policy
A new mass civic movement has emerged in Belarus – the EU should put supporting it at the heart of its new policy towards the country
The EU’s strategic sovereignty starts in Eastern Europe
The real test of the EU’s power and its strategic sovereignty will be in how it deals with external problems – not least those in its neighbourhood
Ukraine and the oligarchs: Endless delays to reform
The coronavirus has hit Ukraine hard, but the IMF has promised the country less funding than seemed likely only months ago. Self-interested oligarchs are delaying necessary new reforms and pushing back against those Ukraine has already made.