Some adults turn their noses up at the question of “why,” believing it to be childish. And when it comes to the EU’s foreign policy, especially in its Eastern neighborhood, the question is considered simply inappropriate. That the EU will engage with its Eastern neighbors is just a given today. Take Ukraine. The EU has made a significant political investment in Kyiv over the years but has not given much thought to why Ukraine matters. READ MORE

Uzbek President Islam Karimov's visit to Moscow has been completed. The sides discussed a wide range of issues of bilateral cooperation. Uzbekistan decided to resume a dialogue with one of the largest regional players - Russia, which was once lost, as Tashkent's dialogue with many other regional players was lost. READ MORE

Serbian Prime Minister Ivica Dačić said he would ask EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton to set a day for his country to open EU accession negotiations. The moves follows an agreement to improve relations with Kosovo, BETA, the EurActiv partner in Serbia, reports. READ MORE

As the United States and the European Union are getting ready for free trade talks, the Lithuanian ambassador to Washington D.C. says such an agreement could encourage export of gas from the US. READ MORE

Balkhash, Aktau and Kurchatov (East-Kazakhstan oblast) are being considered as likely locations for construction of nuclear plants in Kazakhstan, Tengrinews.kz reports citing Kazakhstan National Nuclear Center. READ MORE

Travel to the EU is set to become easier for people from Ukraine and Moldova after MEPs approved plans for visa exemptions for holders of biometric service passports and a simplification of requirements demonstrating the purpose of their journey. EU citizens are already exempt from visa requirements when travelling to these countries. We talked to Claude Moraes and Marian Jean Marinescu, the two MEPs in charge, about why they support these amendments to the existing visa facilitation agreements. READ MORE

The workshop organized by the GMF Warsaw Office and the Embassy of Sweden in Poland on March 26th 2013 entitled: “Nordic-Baltic Security and the role of Poland as a regional actor,” was a follow up event on two reports issued by the Swedish Defense Research Agency (FOI): “Polish security today and tomorrow” and “The Security and Defensibility of the Baltic States”. READ MORE

The North African region has played a decisive role over the past few years in shaping global political agendas. It is the birthplace of the Arab Spring (Tunisia) and the region often most affected by Islamist terrorist groups in the wider MENA area. Terrorism impacts the energy security of the European Union, and has the potential to become a source of significant instability in the near future. READ MORE

In-depth party-to-party exchanges and dialogue between China and Europe should play a unique role in narrowing differences and enhancing the Sino-European comprehensive strategic partnership, a senior official of the Communist Party of China said on Thursday. READ MORE

Energy efficiency should become the main trend of Kazakhstan's Energy Strategy being developed by our association, the chairman of the KAZENERGY Association Timur Kulibayev said at a meeting with representatives of national companies, interested ministries and foreign experts. READ MORE