Berlin has no will to rethink its long-held assumption that it can somehow improve Europe-Russia relations by engaging with Moscow from a position of weakness and betting on the benefits of long-term economic ties
By appointing a special representative for Crimea, the EU would show its commitment to standing by its partners and rejecting Russia’s violations of international law
Offering ‘resets’ to Russia does not work. On the contrary, a more muscular approach to the country will yield results
The events Navalny set in motion both indicate the urgent need for change and make such change less likely to happen
As European and US ambivalence towards the Western Balkans persists, the region will be in increasing danger of falling into an endless spiral of competition between various foreign actors
It will be difficult to sustain progress for Bosnia or the region without a credible and clear EU accession process
Grand bargains are tough to achieve but, eventually, Turkey and the EU will have to strike up a working partnership whereby they cooperate on some issues and compete on others
Many of the EU’s neighbours are hoping it will help them secure vaccines – leaving offers from China and Russia to flood in
Aliaksandr Lukashenka rewrote the rules to keep himself in power. But it did not succeed in 2020 – and the EU will not be able to remain a spectator to Belarus’s problems forever
The West and Russia are both worse off for their efforts to try to weaken each other. This competition will only end when one side feels it is losing the race.
