The newly-elected director-general of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, presented to EurActiv in an interview her ambitious plans for the organisation, responsible for promoting education, science and culture throughout the world. She attached special importance to francophony. READ MORE

The Head of the OSCE Mission to Serbia, Ambassador Hans Ola Urstad, and Serbian Interior Minister Ivica Dacic signed a revised agreement on continued strategic partnership on police reform priorities. READ MORE

At the beginning of World War II, the Soviet invasion of Poland led to massive loss of life in prison camps and massacres. A new resolution from the Polish parliament condemns the invasion - and irks Russia. READ MORE

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon has expressed "grave concern" over Tehran's secret nuclear activities. He was referring to the disclosure of a new uranium enrichment facility hidden beneath a mountain. READ MORE

As the twentieth anniversary of the independence of states of Central Asia approaches, it is appropriate to review what the international community has learned about the efficacy of regional cooperation in responding to the challenges that the Central Asian region has faced. The article attempts to answer the question why the international community; particularly western defined or dominated institutions, have only been partially successful in working with the countries of the region to work towards the amelioration of these issues, and regional cooperation, cooperation between the five Central Asian states has been disappointing. READ MORE

Commission president José Manuel Barroso, who is running for a second term at the EU executive’s helm, likened EU policies to address climate change and improve energy security to the coal and steel community which paved the way for European reconciliation after the Second World War. READ MORE

Germany and the EU are ready to help the Central Asian countries improve the region’s water management. Minister of State Gernot Erler underlined this during the second EU-Central Asia conference at ministerial level in Brussels. In 2008 Germany, already recognizing
the problem, started the Central Asia Water Initiative. READ MORE

The presidents of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Turkmenistan ended their meeting in Kazakhstan's resort city of Kenderly with its purpose and consequences as clear as distant figures in an early autumn mist. READ MORE

Ten years of absolute power and 10 years of unlimited sycophancy have not failed to leave their mark on Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. He has completely lost the ability to listen to others or to hear himself. READ MORE

What exactly is going on in Russian – Ukrainian politics? Nobody can give a precise answer nor can they explain what really provoked the strongly-worded statement of Russian president Dmitry Medvedev on August 11th, in which he denounced the Ukrainian president for his anti-Russian policy and announced that the new Russian envoy to Ukraine would remain in Moscow for the time being. READ MORE

A year after its war with Georgia, Russia is engaging in an increasingly hostile standoff with another pro-Western neighbor, Ukraine. READ MORE

Lithuania-Belarus economic forum which will take place in the middle of September in Vilnius and the all at once coming information about Aleksandr Lukashenko possibly visiting it, can be events which will draw the attention of mass media, politicians and observers not only in Lithuania and Belarus. Obviously, the official Minsk will try to build a bridge to the West again, and this time to a very close West. The reporter of euramost.org asked the international observer Roman Yakovlevsky to comment on the forthcoming events. READ MORE

The world is remaking itself. Amid pressing economic challenges and multinational security concerns, new alliances are forming. Global commerce along with governments are bringing down borders, opening relationships and creating opportunity. Kazakhstan, like most emerging democracies, is cautiously optimistic, with a pragmatism steeped in the hard lessons of history. Policies have consequences; alliances can liberate as well as captivate. With the stroke of a pen, superpower leaders like Presidents Obama and Dmitry Medvedev of Russia can reverse a decade of tepid relations to put forces and agendas into motion that affect all of us. READ MORE

Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbayev has instructed the government to form a State Commission on Preparations for Kazakhstan's Chairmanship of the OSCE. Personally chairing an enlarged inter-departmental meeting on this subject, Nazarbayev described Kazakhstan's chairmanship of the OSCE in 2010 as a "national strategic project." The State Commission should coordinate all aspects of the country's effort, from policy analysis and diplomatic activity to personnel training and public outreach. READ MORE

Dmitry Medvedev interfered into Russian-Ukrainian gas talks. READ MORE

During an official visit to Kazakhstan, Estonian Prime Minister Andrus Ansip signed two bilateral agreements within the meeting with Kazakhstan Prime Minister Karim Massimov.  According to the news agency REGNUM Novosti, on September 7th Estonian Government Office received the both agreements – one on the issue of visas abolishment for diplomats of both countries, and on the issue of economic, scientific and technical cooperation. READ MORE

President of the Republic of Lithuania Dalia Grybauskaitė and President of the Republic of France Nicolas Sarkozy signed a strategic partnership agreement which is the first document of this kind in the history of the two countries. READ MORE

The thesis that the EU is perceived by citizens of Eastern Europe in the light of its visa policy towards them is hardly a new one. Indeed, for most applicants, a meeting with a consular officer constitutes their first opportunity to come face to face with those representing the EU. In this regard, the way in which this process is carried out can either contribute to a positive image of the European Union in the eyes of the outside world, or on the contrary it can significantly diminish the reputation of EU Member States, particularly when the visa application process could become, as stated by Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn, a “bureaucratic and costly nightmare.” READ MORE

The new round of Russian Government attention to the issue of the Caspian Sea legal status determination, specified by President Dmitry Medvedev during the recent meeting in Astrakhan, called a disruptive reaction among pre-Caspian states. READ MORE

Just a month before national elections, Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats suffered losses in two out of three state elections, while the left-wing Left party and the liberal Free Democrats gained ground. READ MORE

Caspian region with bordering territories became the most promising and gasul regif the world by the beginning of decade. Proved stocks of “black gold” here are about 10 billion tons, and overall resources of oil and gas condensate are estimated as 18-20 billion tons. The experts of the US Energy Ministry suggest that by 2015 Caspian region will cover 7% of world production of liquid hydrocarbons and 12% of their export (200-230 million tons annually). READ MORE