EU Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger: Gas Prices Must Be The Same In All EU Countries
President Dalia Grybauskaitė and EU Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger discussed the progress made by Lithuania and all Baltic countries in integrating themselves into the EU's energy system and the creation of regional gas and electricity markets during their meeting in Vilnius on Friday. READ MORE
Soft Power with an Iron Fist: Putin Administration to Change the Face of Russia’s Foreign Policy Toward Its Neighbors
Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev’s talk at the Russian Foreign Ministry on September 3, when he powerfully stressed the need for his country to strengthen and consolidate its “soft power” (mid.ru, September 3), may look to an outside observer like an optimistic signal and a long-awaited change in Russia’s foreign policy. This benign view, however, could not be more wrong. Rather, the Kremlin is seeking to exploit the Western concept of “soft power”—which basically implies the power of attraction—and reframing it as a euphemism for coercive policy and economic arm-twisting. READ MORE
Slovenia Puts €172mn Price Tag On Croatia's EU Entry
EU leaders in December signed Croatia's accession treaty, trumpeting the move as a sign the EU's enlargement programme is alive and well despite the euro crisis. READ MORE
Uncertain World: China-Japan Tensions – Who Stands to Gain?
The Asia-Pacific Region’s growing global economic and political importance was a clear priority for all those attending APEC 2012 in Vladivostok. Representatives from economies across the globe gathered to discuss its promising future. But recent events in the region have reaffirmed the axiom that great opportunities tend to be accompanied by equally great risks. READ MORE
Hungarian PM Viktor Orban Praises Lithuania For Debt Management
Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who is visiting Vilnius, praised Lithuania for its fast economic growth and the way the Baltic country dealt with its debt. READ MORE
Where Does NATO’s Turkey Go?
This October it’s the 60th anniversary of joining Turkey to NATO. In the heat of the “cold war” it was extremely important part of strategic planning of the North Atlantic Alliance. Those times its task was about counteracting to the extension of geopolitical influence of the Soviet Union. Except for that, together with Greece simultaneously joining the Alliance it was a natural barrier on the way of direct approach of the USSR to an oil-wealthy Near East. READ MORE
