In the course of its 60 years, NATO has institutionalized three monumental transformations in world affairs: first, the end of the centuries-long “civil war” within the West for trans-oceanic and European supremacy; second, the United States’s post–World War II commitment to the defense of Europe against Soviet domination; and third, the peaceful termination of the Cold War, which created the preconditions for a larger democratic European Union. 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 murky world of Moldovan politics has become murkier still with acting President Vladimir Voronin's announcement that he will resign that post if his Communist Party officially goes into the opposition, as it is almost certain to do. 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

Will Astana Become a Unique Basis for Dialogue of the Heads of OSCE States? 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

Poland commemorates the battle of Westerplatte, which marked the start of World War II on Sept. 1, 1939. Ignacy Skowron was one of the soldiers who tried to defend his country from the Germans' overwhelming attack. 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

Politicizing Ethnicity: US Plan to Repeat Yugoslav Scenario in Caucasus. READ MORE