The Great Pipeline Opera
Inside the European pipeline fantasy that became a real-life gas war with Russia.
When Joschka Fischer's lucrative new job as the "political communications advisor" to a consortium of European energy companies was leaked to a German business publication this summer, there was one comment that stood out. "Welcome to the club," said Gerhard Schröder, an even more highly paid advocate for the other side in Europe's increasingly politicized energy war.
Schröder's remark was short, snide -- and very much to the point. For eight years, the two men had led Germany together, with Schröder ruling as its center-left chancellor and Fischer as his foreign minister. Their long-running partnership had survived a particularly complicated era in post-Cold War Europe, and publicly Fischer had always been supportive, even telling Der Spiegel that Schröder "will go down in the history books as a great chancellor." READ MORE
Mateusz Piskorski: Poland and Russia Are Against Chauvinism: the Chance For Strategic Partnership?
The visit of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to Poland is the most significant event in the foreign policy of Poland in 2009. The Government of Donald Tusk has a serious task to normalize Polish-Russian relations, which has lately occurred to be almost frozen. READ MORE
Merkel's CDU Party Experiences Setback In State Elections
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
Chancellor Candidate Steinmeier Pledges 4 Million Jobs By 2020
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who faces off with Angela Merkel in next month's parliamentary elections, has pledged to create millions of jobs. It is drawing sharp criticism from rivals. READ MORE
New NATO: Germany Returns To World Military Stage
When the post-World War II German states the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic, West and East Germany, respectively, were united in 1990, it was for many in Europe and the world as a whole a heady time, fraught with hopes of a continent at peace and perhaps disarmed. READ MORE
A Year On, Mediterranean Union Has Made Little Progress
The Union for the Mediterranean, launched a year ago, was meant to revive cooperation between the EU and countries bordering on the Mediterranean. But little progress has been made on pressing issues in the region. READ MORE
Russia-Germany: an Asymmetric "Strategic Partnership"
 and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev (2R) watch as officials sign documents in Munich on July 16, 2009..jpg)
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and German Chancellor Angela Merkel headed large governmental delegations for bilateral talks on July 16 in Munich. The process, known as Russo-German inter-governmental consultations, involves informal semi-annual summits at which leading business representatives join the cabinet ministers on either side. The Munich meeting reviewed ongoing cooperation projects and considered new ones. READ MORE
Germany, Russia Hold Traditional Dialog Forum In Munich
Politicians, business leaders and civil society experts from Germany and Russia are meeting in Munich for the "Petersburg Dialog", a key semi-annual event meant to strengthen ties between the two countries. READ MORE
Obama, Merkel Speak With 'One Voice' On Iran
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and U.S. President Barack Obama have condemned the Iranian government for cracking down on citizens who have questioned the results of the June 12 presidential election, which President Mahmud Ahmadinejad is said to have won. READ MORE
“Solutions based on compromise and solidarity will make the enlarged and unified Europe even stronger”
President of the Republic of Lithuania Valdas Adamkus participated and made a speech in the second working session of the European Council. READ MORE
