Features
Russia haemorrhaged money last year, but Kremlin working overtime to stem capital flight this year
Sanctions on Russia have failed to cut the Kremlin off from the export revenues from oil and raw materials that are being used to fund the war in Ukraine, but they have bled the country of hundreds of billions of dollars – indirectly.
Poland's Law and Justice mounts vicious campaign to retain power
Jaroslaw Kaczynski's radical rightwing party accuses centrist opposition of treachery as it seeks an unprecedented third consecutive term.
Digital propaganda revolution dominates Slovak election campaign
President Zuzana Caputova has been repeatedly warning that her country is in an “information storm”.
Slovak election goes right down to the wire
Slovaks head to the polls on September 30 in an early election that is both vital for the country’s future and perhaps the future of Central Europe.
"The worst is over," says Russia's economic elite
After a horrendous start to the year with excruciating new oil sanctions that led to the largest January deficit on record, the Kremlin is starting to sound increasingly optimistic about the health of the Russian economy by the end of the year.
Plans for doubling Azerbaijan's gas flows to Europe on hold
Expansion of the Southern Gas Corridor pipelines carrying Azerbaijani gas to Europe is on hold pending confirmation that Europe will buy the gas. Baku's offensive to retake Nagorno-Karabakh could further complicate things.
Ukraine releases 2024 budget plan, more spending on military, but raising enough funding will be tough
The Ukrainian government has published a draft budget for 2024, but raising enough money to fund the war effort and keep the economy working is going to be a struggle.
Slovak strongman Robert Fico follows the Orban playbook
Opponents warn that if Fico wins this weekend's election he will follow Hungarian strongman Viktor Orban’s playbook by hollowing out the country’s democracy and cosying up to the Kremlin, making Slovakia another European renegade.
EBRD projects slowdown in Central Europe, robust growth in Eurasia
High gas prices, China slowdown and shifts in industrial production contribute to slower growth in Central Europe.
PANNIER: Climate change brings neverending energy crisis to Kyrgyzstan
Drought and melted glaciers mean a lack of water for hydro-electricity generation and the last-resort use of more dirty coal to provide power.
Azerbaijanis still too nervous to celebrate Nagorno-Karabakh victory
Azerbaijanis are tired of war but it is not yet clear that the 30 years of conflict are finally over against the ethnic Armenian enclave as well as Armenia itself.
A slow thaw in frozen US-Iran relations has led to booming oil exports
The deep freeze that has been US-Iran relations is slowly thawing. That doesn’t mean relations will become “good” anytime soon. But it does mean that Iran will be able to slowly reintegrate into the global economy.
Russian Foreign Minister roasts US and its European allies as an "Empire of Lies" in UN speech
The United States and its European allies are an "empire of lies," undertaking commitments it has no intention of fulfilling, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told delegates in his speech at the 78th United Nations General Assembly.
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Humanitarian crisis unfolding in Nagorno-Karabakh
A humanitarian crisis is unfolding in the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave following the launch of Azerbaijan’s so-called anti-terrorist operation on September 19. Hundreds of people have already been killed. Thousands more than have been made homeless.
INTERVIEW: Michal Simecka, Progressive Slovakia leader
Liberal leader says populist rival Robert Fico would become Hungarian strongman Viktor Orban's partner in pushing Russian interests inside the EU.
Ukraine can’t join the EU until the Common Agricultural Policy is reformed
On December 16 the European Council starts negotiations with Kyiv to join the EU. But while no one expects the process to go quickly, Ukraine cannot join at all unless the EU first reforms its Common Agricultural Policy.
Ukraine’s anti-corruption agency NABU drifting into the president’s orbit
Under the leadership of Semen Kryvonos, the newly appointed head of Ukraine's National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU), concerns grow about the bureau's independence, as it appears to be falling under the influence of the president’s office.
Eastern EU members building roads instead of railways
Across the EU far more has been invested in roads than railways over the last three decades, but this trend is even stronger in the newer EU members, a study commissioned by Greenpeace finds.
The fall of Nagorno-Karabakh
While Azerbaijani officials have said that civilians will be allowed to stay there unharmed, few, if any, of the locals believe them.
PROFILE: Michal Simecka, leader of Progressive Slovakia
There is a real hope that a late surge of support from the estimated one quarter of undecided voters could push Michal Simecka's Progressives into first place at the September 30 general election.