The U.S. National Intelligence Council (NIC) released its latest report on Dec. 10, “Global Trends 2030: Alternative Worlds,” in order to provide a framework for thinking about the future. Although it was principally authored by the NIC’s leading global futurist, Mat Burrows, it does not seek to predict the future, an impossible feat, but rather sketch an outline for possible futures. The main contours of the report are so familiar by now from similar reports that there are few new ideas; even though it talks about “tectonic shifts” there is certainly nothing shocking. READ MORE

Energy safety in the Black Sea region: development trends, integration trajectories, hemispheres of attraction and confrontation READ MORE

Currently Kyrgyzstan is working on joining both the Customs Union of the Eurasian Economic Community and the Common Economic Space of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan (Kyrgyzstan is a longstanding EurAsEc member). READ MORE

Ukraine is determined to sign an association agreement with the European Union as soon as possible, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych has said. READ MORE

As EU leaders agree on supervision of eurozone banks, Prime Minister Tusk has said Poland must decide whether it wants adopt the single currency or remain on the “periphery of Europe”. READ MORE

During the parliamentary polls in October the opposition coalition block Georgian Dream with its leader billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili defeated the United National Movement of Mikhail Saakashvili. After the elections public space of the country was full of various forecasts, including the fears on possible Georgia‘s return to Russia‘s influence. READ MORE

In his first state of the nation address since his reeletion to the Kremlin for a third term, President Vladimir Putin defended the status quo. It was a disappointing speech, says DW's Ingo Mannteufel. READ MORE

Kazakhstan isn’t changing priorities in its foreign policy, President Nazarbayev stated  when speaking at a solemn meeting to celebrate the 21th anniversary of the nation’s independence. READ MORE

Russia proceeds with the course of development of special relations with the biggest economies and leading political centers of continental Europe. Interaction with Germany and Italy promotes within quite predictable sphere of energy cooperation. As for France, then the trade scopes of Russian-French cooperation within absolute numbers fall behind from Russian-German and Russian-Italian analogues, but it possesses a pretty significant peculiarity. Moscow and Paris strive to diverse their economic relations. READ MORE

At the meeting of the General Affairs Council on 11 December in Brussels, Lithuanian Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs Vytautas Leškevičius stressed that it was in the EU interest to make an objective evaluation of Serbia’s progress based solely on the facts and own merits. READ MORE