So far the Baltic States were skeptical toward the EU’s possibilities to ensure collective security. By requiring to enhance Europe‘s solidarity in the sphere of foreign, security and defense policy, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia did not consider the EU security and defense policy a reliable instrument; moreover, complicated relations with eastern neighbors made the above countries [...]
June 16, 2010 | Posted in
Opinion & Analysis |
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The recently criticized Lithuania‘s diplomacy could remind that in principle it was its initiative to join the EU efforts in order to stop increasing the number of states not respecting the territorial integrity of Georgia, to start the dialogue between the EU and Belarus, to enhance the political development of the Eastern Partnership and to [...]
March 11, 2010 | Posted in
Baltics |
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It seems that Washington does not want to lose good relations with Poland, which got worse when the decision was made not to deploy the U.S. antimissile defense shield system in its territory. According to Poles, it was the fault of B. Obama, who pressed the „reset“ button in the relationship with Russia. This also implied a refusal [...]
February 16, 2010 | Posted in
Geopolitics |
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The President of Lithuania Dalia Grybauskaite is considering a possibility of inviting Presidents of neighbouring countries to the commemoration event of 20 years of the restoration of Lithuanian independence, including the countries that are not EU member states – Belarus and Russia. “I am seriously considering the possibility of inviting presidents on the 11th [...]
January 15, 2010 | Posted in
Baltics |
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The Copenhagen Summit with representatives of 192 states, including the national leaders and governmental representatives, most probably is the last opportunity to find solutions of problems related to climate change. Its organizers are going to adopt the document committing the world states to stabilize the greenhouse gas concentration in the air. The guests in the [...]
After the attack on the Muhammad cartoonist Kurt Westergaard by a Muslim of Somali origin it is to be feared that all Somali immigrants – and all Muslims – will be viewed with suspicion, warns the daily Jyllands-Posten (Denmark): “All of us – including the law-abiding Muslim immigrants – must see to it that this [...]
January 5, 2010 | Posted in
Politics |
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President Dalia Grybauskaitė urged NATO several times to elaborate the defense plan for the Baltic States. However, according to Secretary General of NATO A.F. Rasmussen, who has recently paid a visit to Lithuania, even if there is no specific defense plan, the Baltic States shall be protected pursuant to the collective defense principles, specified in [...]
Europe is on the verge of a new gas conflict with Russia According to the media reports, Europe is on the verge of a new, yet different from the former years, gas conflict with Russia. European states are not able to use the annual natural gas quotas stipulated in the contracts with Russia‘s concern Gazprom. [...]
November 19, 2009 | Posted in
Energetics |
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One of the key functions of President of the Republic of Lithuania is consideration of basic issues of foreign policy (Article 84 of the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania). Today it is obvious that D. Grybauskaite‘s foreign policy strategy will differ from that pursued by the former President V. Adamkus. Will the new foreign [...]
November 16, 2009 | Posted in
Geopolitics |
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Despite the Baltic States‘ protests, the gas pipelineNord Stream project is gaining impetus. Several states have already permitted construction of the pipeline via their territorial waters. They were not frightened by warnings that Russia might impose its dictatorship in the Western Europe and that the pipeline was an environmental hazard. The first to admit the above project was Denmark, [...]
November 16, 2009 | Posted in
Geopolitics |
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