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LINAS LINKEVICIUS: EUROPE BEGINS AT HOME

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Exclusive interview of the Lithuania’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr. Linas Linkevičius READ MORE

Egyptian Army Can Choose Turkish or Algerian Path

By Omar Ashour

In September 2011, I was part of a diverse group of Egyptian activists, from liberals to Salafis, which we set up for a single purpose: To persuade all candidates running in the presidential elections to commit to keeping the military out of politics for good. READ MORE

NATO praises Georgia and encourages further reforms

On the second day of a visit to Georgia, the North Atlantic Council met with President Mikheil Saakashvili in Tbilisi and praised Georgia’s role as a special partner of the Alliance. READ MORE

NATO and Europeans

By Arthur Dunn

Back in 2011 the NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen issued a public warning, noting that the aggregate reductions in military spending in Europe totaled USD 45 billion, which is jeopardizing the viability of the Alliance and the US-European relations. Since then, bogged down in the Afghan war and faced with the economic downturn and the need to reduce budget deficits, military spending of the EU countries decreased even more. The U.S. share of total expenditures NATO has grown from 63% in 2001 to almost 75% today. Military budgets of the Alliance from 2009 to 2013 declined by about 8.5%, and tend to decrease in the future. If in 2009 the total level of defense spending in Europe amounted to USD 256 billion, in 2013 - USD 234,3 billion of the 28 NATO countries only the United States, Britain and Greece held its own requirements on the amount of military spending at 2% of GDP. Even Britain and France were forced to go on ways to reduce defense appropriations. As a result, last year for the first time Asian military spending exceeded European. READ MORE

"Turkey-EU relations exponentially decelerated especialy after Gezi Park protests"

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JTW team held an interview with USAK Center for European Union Studies expert Mustafa Kutlay, analyzing the Gezi Park protests as regards to the Turkey-EU relations. Kutlay stated that EU’s remarks concerning the Gezi Park protests are not particularly resulted from Turkey’s stance. He stressed that this issue is linked with the fundamental rights and freedoms which are assured in the EU’s legal texts. READ MORE

NATO and Missile Defence

Speech by NATO Deputy Secretary General Ambassador Alexander Vershbow at the 2013 RUSI Missile Defence Conference, London – 12 june 2013 READ MORE

Germany blocks Turkey's EU accession talks

Germany blocked the next step in the European Union's membership talks with Turkey over Ankara's crackdown on anti-government protests. Berlin blocked the decision to open a new chapter in the long-running accession talks because “there are still open questions,” Associated Press reported, referring to a diplomat from an EU nation. READ MORE

Obama visit: Why U.S. now needs Germany more than ever

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By Sudha David-Wilp

U.S. President John F. Kennedy's "Ich bin ein Berliner" speech delivered 50 years ago was well received by more than 100,000 Germans hopeful for America's steadfast support as Berlin came to symbolize one of the Cold War's main battlegrounds. As presidential candidate in the summer of 2008, Barack Obama had nearly twice that number of optimistic onlookers at Berlin's Victory Column who eagerly anticipated a new American outlook on questions ranging from climate change to nuclear disarmament. READ MORE

Foreign Ministers Of Baltic States And Germany: We Aim For Success Of The Eastern Partnership Summit In Vilnius

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Linas Linkevičius, the Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs Urmas Paet, Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkēvičs, and the German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle issued a joint statement on Eastern Partnership. READ MORE

Prime minister: Lithuanians have ‘little interest’ in their country’s EU presidency

By Ewald König

Despite a high rate of approval for the European project, Lithuanians appear to have little interest in the country’s first stint at leading the rotating presidency of the EU, starting 1 July, Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevičius told  READ MORE