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The Baltic Tigers after 20 years: is Russia extending a helping hand?

By Česlovas Iškauskas

On the New Year eve the Russian media started escalating the issue of Baltic countries’ future and their place in the region. The forecasts concerning future of the three Baltic States are far from promising. Yet most importantly, the efforts are made to withdraw Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia from the general European context by suggesting Eastern values to these countries. READ MORE

EU budget pact - a major breakthrough?

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By Bernd Riegert

At their summit on Monday, 26 European Union members are set to adopt a new treaty on budget discipline. The fiscal pact is aimed at cutting debt. Is it a breakthrough or just a sideshow? READ MORE

The Realist Prism: Iran's Nuclear Pipedream, and Washington's

By Nikolas Gvosdev

With the possibility of a clash between the United States and Iran over Tehran's nuclear program looming on the horizon, one cannot help but wonder: Is it worth it for Iran, now grappling with increasingly onerous sanctions, to continue its pursuit of a nuclear capacity, albeit an ambiguous one? READ MORE

EU imposes embargo on Iranian oil

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By Mark Hallam, Joanna Impey, Chuck Penfold

European Union foreign ministers have announced a ban on the import of Iranian oil. The new oil sanction against Iran prohibits any new deals and calls for existing contracts to be stopped by July this year. READ MORE

Croatians vote on EU entry

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By Gregg Benzow

Polls opened in Croatia this Sunday in a key nationwide vote to decide whether the Balkan country should join the European Union. Surveys show that some 60 percent of voters back EU membership. READ MORE

Past Year of Priorities in the European Union

By Arthur Dunn

In 2011 Chairmanship in the European Union for the first time was trapped in the arms of two East European states. For the first time Hungary and Poland did it and it has become a significant event for each of the country. READ MORE

The European Crisis in 2012

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For much of the fourth quarter of 2011, it appeared the eurozone was doomed. Debt was piling up for several key states, and those with the ability to assist lacked the political will to do so. But the European Central Bank (ECB) stepped in in December with measures that have postponed -- not solved -- the European crisis. READ MORE

Europe’s Foreign Policy Challenges

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By Laurence Norman

In a year when the survival of the euro is at stake, European Union foreign policy is unlikely to be the top priority in Brussels. READ MORE

Turkey’s Balancing Act

By Mohammed Ayoob

Turkey has over the past few weeks become the spearhead of a joint Western-Arab-Turkish policy aimed at forcing President Bashar al-Assad to cede power in Syria. This is quite a turnaround in Turkish policy, because over the past two years the government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had gone out of its way to cultivate good relations with neighboring Syria, with whom it shares a long land border. READ MORE

Russia's Plan to Disrupt U.S.-European Relations

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By Lauren Goodrich

Tensions between the United States and Russia have risen in the past month over several long-standing problems, including ballistic missile defense (BMD) and supply lines into Afghanistan. Moscow and Washington also appear to be nearing another crisis involving Russian accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO). READ MORE