On 29 February in Vilnius, Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Audronius Ažubalis will participate in a regional conference on shale gas and oil potential and on prospects for changing the region’s energy market “Shale gas and oil as potential game changers in the energy market in the Baltic States and Poland.” READ MORE

Activists expressed disappointment at the EU Danish presidency’s version of the proposed Energy Efficiency Directive, which is likely to become the most important piece of legislation to date on the issue. READ MORE

The presidential election is still two weeks away and the inauguration of the next president more than two months off, but we can already analyze the results of Dmitry Medvedev’s presidency. The current focus is on his mentor and most likely successor, Vladimir Putin, who has made a number of policy statements as part of his tireless campaign efforts, including on foreign policy, which was not part of his brief as prime minister. READ MORE

Ambassador Vladimir Chizhov, head of the Russian mission to the EU, talks to New Europe about EU-Russian relations and the political situation in his country after the parliamentary elections and in the wake of the upcoming presidential election. READ MORE

The evolution of geopolitics is cyclical. Powers rise, fall and shift. Changes occur in every generation in an unending ballet. However, the period between 1989 and 1991 was unique in that a long cycle of human history spanning hundreds of years ended, and with it a shorter cycle also came to a close. The world is still reverberating from the events of that period. READ MORE

A new system for monitoring a criminal scourge is being put in place by the EU, strengthening the poorly enforced norms currently on the European books. Will this be enough to make a dent in Italy's endemic and widely tolerated culture of corruption? READ MORE

Partnership Training and Education Centres (PTEC) play an essential role in supporting NATO’s objectives for partnership with non-member countries. Initially launched in 1999 under the Partnership for Peace programme to develop training and education activities with Euro-Atlantic partners, activities have since been opened to participation of all partners. Most of the 23 institutions that currently make up the network of centres – of which 12 are located in partner countries – took part in an annual networking event known as the “Marketplace” at NATO Headquarters on 15 and 16 February. READ MORE

The Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP) harbors the lofty and unrealistic goal of expelling Chinese "occupiers" from Xinjiang province and create an independent State called "East Turkistan". READ MORE