What is going on in Central Europe? After Viktor Orban’s consolidation of power in Hungary, another political strongman has returned to the helm, this time in Slovakia. Former Prime Minister Robert Fico has once again assumed the leadership of Slovakia following his Smer-Social Democracy (SMER-SD) party’s landslide victory in last month’s elections. Like Orban in Hungary, Fico will preside over the first single-party cabinet in Slovakia since the collapse of communism in 1989. His coalition government between 2006 and 2010 had been accused of abuses of power and a lack of respect toward the opposition, media, and NGOs. And, much like his Hungarian counterpart, Fico could yet use his political mandate to attempt to reinterpret Slovakia’s history, change key laws, or battle with the European Union on nationalistic grounds. READ MORE

08:58, 28 March 2012 – the claxon shrieks at Tampere Air Base in Finland. Four minutes later, two F-18 Hornet fighter jets from the Finnish Air Force take off. Their mission – to intercept an aircraft that is not complying with international air traffic regulations. Since the attacks of 11 September 2001, the surveillance of European airspace is a sensitive topic for the Alliance member States and their partners. READ MORE

NATO supports Georgia's expectations to join NATO and confirms the position, announced at the summit in Bucharest in 2008, related to Georgia's accession to NATO, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen. According to him, Georgia is an exemplary partner of the Organization. READ MORE

Policymakers worry that an Iranian atomic weapon will force the country's neighbours to explore the nuclear option, but that is not the case for Turkey. READ MORE

The Report on Latvian-Lithuanian Co-operation Perspectives was presented in January of this year by the ambassadors Neris Germanas (Lithuania) and Alberts Sarkanis (Latvia). In fact Lithuania’s foreign policy is directed toward the U.S., Russia, Belarus and Poland, whereas a close neighbor Latvia is somehow left aside. The authors of the Report ask: “Why… in reality today we are not closer and better acquainted with each other than with more distant neighboring nations? […].  Why are we incapable, despite the publicly declared unity, to coordinate and come forward with a common position which could be useful for us as well as for a wider region?” READ MORE

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev ordered the government to present suggestions about easing visa rules for tourists, including those visiting while on a cruise and yachts, by June 1. READ MORE

U.S. policy toward the Central Asian states has aimed at facilitating their cooperation with U.S. and NATO stabilization efforts in Afghanistan and their efforts to combat terrorism, proliferation, and trafficking in arms, drugs, and persons. Other U.S. objectives have included promoting free markets, democratization, human rights, energy development, and the forging of East-West and Central Asia-South Asia trade links. Such policies aim to help the states become what various U.S. administrations have considered to be responsible members of the international community rather than to degenerate into xenophobic, extremist, and anti-Western regimes that contribute to wider regional conflict and instability. READ MORE

Pro-Western Serbian President Boris Tadic said Wednesday he is resigning, paving the way for an early presidential election when he will face a strong challenge from a nationalist candidate who has Russia’s support. READ MORE

The North Atlantic Alliance had engaged regional governments on defense matters since the mid-1990s, when former Soviet Central Asian republics have joined NATO’s Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC) and its related Partnership for Peace (PfP) program. READ MORE

Azerbaijan leaves. READ MORE