Slovakia

Politics

Slovakia's election-winner Direction-Social Democracy (Smer) party signed an agreement with the center-left Voice-Social Democracy (Hlas) and the right-wing Slovak National Party (SNS) parties to form a coalition government with Smer's leader Robert Fico as prime minister, Pravda reported on Oct. 11.

Slovakia: Nationalist-Populist Smer Party Signs Deal to Form Coalition Government

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Environment, Science & Technology

Science & Technology

The European Parliament voted in favor of the EU Nature Restoration Law, the European Commission's proposal to restore degraded land and biodiversity within the bloc, with supporters of the law narrowly defeating an attempt by conservative groups to sink it, Euractiv reported on July 12.

EU: European Parliament Backs EU Nature Restoration Law by Narrow Margin

Economics

European Union (EU) member states clashed over how to reform the bloc’s fiscal framework, known as the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP), during a meeting of EU finance ministers in Luxembourg, Reuters reported on June 16.

EU: Member States Divided Over Bloc's Fiscal and Debt Rules Reform

Malta

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Social Issues

European Union ministers agreed on a deal to overhaul the bloc's migration and asylum policies for the first time in years, Reuters reported on June 8.

EU: EU Members Strike Major Deal on Migration and Asylum Rules

Ukraine

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Military & Security

The governments of Poland and Hungary announced bans on grain and other food imports from Ukraine to protect local producers on April 15, the Financial Times reported April 16.

Europe: Poland and Hungary Announce Bans on Ukrainian Agri-Food Exports, Bulgaria and Slovakia to Follow

Russia-Ukraine Conflict

Slovakia will send its entire fleet of Soviet-era fighter jets, consisting of 13 MiG-29s, to Ukraine, Bloomberg reported on March 17.

Ukraine: Slovakia and Poland Pledge Soviet-Era Jets for Ukraine

Energy

The Politics of Pipelines

Slovak deputy economy minister Karol Galek said Slovakia has not activated accounts at Gazprombank that Russia set up to enable Slovakia to pay for Russian natural gas using rubles, Bloomberg reported April 29.

Slovakia: Government Has Not Activated Gazprombank Accounts for Natural Gas

The Czech Republic has sent more than a dozen modernized Soviet-built T-72 tanks to Ukraine, marking the first time that Ukraine has received tanks from a foreign country since Russia invaded in February, The Wall Street Journal reported April 5.

Ukraine: Czech Republic, Slovakia Boost Military Support for Kyiv

Snapshots

Former Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico waits to meet the country's president in Bratislava on Oct. 2, 2023, following his Smer party's victory in Slovakia's Sept. 30 snap election. 

Upcoming coalition talks will likely yield a more Eurosceptic government that could reduce the country's political and military aid to Kyiv.

What Slovakia's Election Results Mean for Its Political Future and Support for Ukraine

Assessments

United States

Turkey

Europe

Armenia

Azerbaijan

The U.S. Capitol on Dec. 22, 2022, in Washington.

A look at what the coming week will bring -- and a list of recommended RANE articles from the week that was.

The Weekly Rundown: Turkey's Parliamentary Session, a U.S. Government Shutdown

Finland

Cyprus

Rail cars loaded with steel sit at the ThyssenKrupp Schwelgern steel plant on May 30, 2018 in Duisburg, Germany. 

The European Union and the United States will increase efforts to deconflict their trade and climate policies ahead of the upcoming U.S. presidential and EU parliamentary elections, but lingering disagreements will not allow for a complete respite of Trump-era tariffs on EU steel and aluminum.

EU-U.S. Steel and Aluminum Negotiations Make Limited Headway

Robert Fico (left), Slovakia's former prime minister and leader of the populist Smer party, and then-Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini attend a press conference in Bratislava, Slovakia, on March 1, 2020. 

The Sept. 30 vote may yield a government that reduces the country's alignment with the EU and NATO, but drastic anti-Western moves remain unlikely.

Previewing Slovakia's Parliamentary Elections

German Minister of State for European Affairs Michael Roth speaks on the screen during a virtual EU press conference in Brussels, Belgium, on Nov. 17, 2020. 

COVID-19

EU: Regional Blocs

The Fate of the Eurozone

European Disintegration

Hungary and Poland’s move to veto an EU spending package could delay the disbursement of much-needed funds to the bloc’s struggling economies. 

A Rule of Law Dispute Threatens Europe’s Economic Recovery 

China

Croatia

Romania

A satellite image shows Europe at night.

Security

The New Silk Road

Divided EU Foreign Policies

The U.S. and the Balance of Power

The move shows the White House remains committed to its security and economic engagements in the region, with an eye on countering China and Russia. 

The U.S. Ramps Up Financial Support to Central and Eastern Europe

Serbia

Albania

Many of Eastern Europe's governments are lurching away from democracy, provoking pushback from civil society.

As governments in EU members like the Czech Republic, Romania and others run roughshod over the bloc's values, civil society groups are fighting to uphold the rule of law.

Eastern Europe Witnesses a Quiet Revolution

The Fight for Russia’s Borderlands

If passed, a measure would give Germany some negotiating power over the key pipeline project to deliver Russian natural gas directly to the EU.

EU: Germany Might Take the Lead in Negotiations With Russia on Nord Stream 2

The increasing unwillingness of eastern members to heed the EU's demands threatens to deepen the divide between the bloc's west and east.

Quarrels between the European Union's new member states and their more established neighbors are disrupting the search for harmony on the Continent.

In the EU, East and West Are Falling Out of Tune

Reflections

French President Emmanuel Macron will soon focus on Central and Eastern Europe, meeting with the leaders of Austria, the Czech Republic and Slovakia in Salzburg on Aug. 23, and then visiting Romania on Aug. 24 and Bulgaria on Aug. 25. The official goal of these meetings is to discuss the situation of Eastern European nationals working in Western Europe. But France is also playing a more subtle political game. 

As the European Union deliberates its future, French President Emmanuel Macron will use his tour of Central and Eastern Europe to try to shape the role they have in it.

The Subtle Game France Is Playing in Central Europe

Bosnia and Herzegovina

North Macedonia

United Kingdom

Supply Chains

China in Transition

Despite its goal to foster integration throughout Eurasia, Beijing has so far emphasized bilateral or subregional agreements with its Belt and Road projects in Europe, an approach that has raised the suspicions of the bloc's central powers.

For China, All Roads (and Belts) Lead to Europe

China's Belt and Road Initiative

Syria

The EU Wrestles With a Response to Russia

Even if the bloc can agree that Moscow's Syrian involvement merits further sanctions, they are likely to remain minor.

SITUATION REPORTS

Slovakia: Nationalist-Populist Smer Party Signs Deal to Form Coalition Government

EU: European Parliament Backs EU Nature Restoration Law by Narrow Margin

EU: Member States Divided Over Bloc's Fiscal and Debt Rules Reform

EU: EU Members Strike Major Deal on Migration and Asylum Rules

Europe: Poland and Hungary Announce Bans on Ukrainian Agri-Food Exports, Bulgaria and Slovakia to Follow

Ukraine: Slovakia and Poland Pledge Soviet-Era Jets for Ukraine

Slovakia: Government Has Not Activated Gazprombank Accounts for Natural Gas

Ukraine: Czech Republic, Slovakia Boost Military Support for Kyiv

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