Europe

Slovakia

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Politics

Slovakia's parliament approved fast-tracked reforms softening punishments for a series of financial crimes and abolishing a special prosecution office dealing with high-level corruption cases, despite ongoing public demonstrations in the country and criticism from the European Commission, Reuters reported on Feb. 8.

Slovakia: Controversial Judicial Reform Paves Way for Rule-of-Law Dispute With EU

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Latvia

Czech Republic

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Bulgaria

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Poland

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Environment, Science & Technology

Science & Technology

The European Commission recommended reducing the European Union's net greenhouse gas emissions by 90% by 2040 compared with 1990 levels, Reuters reported Feb. 6. 

EU: Brussels to Exclude Agriculture from 90% Emissions Reduction Target for 2040

Ukraine

Russia-Ukraine Conflict

European Union member states unanimously agreed to a 50 billion euro ($54 billion) financial support package for Ukraine as part of their joint budget through 2027, for which Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban lifted his veto on the initiative, Reuters reported Feb. 1.

EU, Ukraine: EU Leaders Unanimously Agree to New 50 Billion Euro Aid Package for Kyiv

Military & Security

Slovakia's parliament approved an amendment to the so-called competence law that will allow the Defense Ministry to approve arms exports, paving the way for private and state-owned arms companies to continue exporting goods to Ukraine, Politico reported on Jan. 16.

Slovakia, Ukraine: Slovakia's Parliament Enables Arms Exports to Ukraine

Negotiators from EU member states and the European Parliament reached a preliminary agreement to overhaul the bloc's asylum and migration rules, Reuters reported on Dec. 20.

EU: Bloc's Institutions Reach Agreements on New Asylum and Migration Rules

The European Union is "unlikely" or "very unlikely" to meet most of its 2030 green objectives, according to the latest report by the European Environment Agency (EEA) published Dec. 18.

EU: Bloc to Miss Most of its 2030 Climate Goals

Georgia

The European Council voted to grant EU candidate status to Georgia, and both government officials and opposition politicians in Georgia praised the decision, Civil Georgia reported on Dec. 14. 

Georgia: European Commission Recommends Georgia for EU Candidate Status

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

Snapshots

United States

China

United Kingdom

Members of the European Parliament take part in voting on the Artificial Intelligence Act during a plenary session at the European Parliament.

Cyber

The EU's recently negotiated Artificial Intelligence Act will bolster the European Union's dominance as a regulatory heavyweight in emerging technologies, yet anticipated enforcement challenges and stringent stipulations with the Act risk impeding AI innovation within the bloc.

EU Lawmakers Clinch Agreement on Artificial Intelligence Act 

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

Turkey

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

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 

Russia

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

Energy

The Politics of Pipelines

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

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

SITUATION REPORTS

Slovakia: Controversial Judicial Reform Paves Way for Rule-of-Law Dispute With EU

EU: Brussels to Exclude Agriculture from 90% Emissions Reduction Target for 2040

EU, Ukraine: EU Leaders Unanimously Agree to New 50 Billion Euro Aid Package for Kyiv

Slovakia, Ukraine: Slovakia's Parliament Enables Arms Exports to Ukraine

EU: Bloc's Institutions Reach Agreements on New Asylum and Migration Rules

EU: Bloc to Miss Most of its 2030 Climate Goals

Georgia: European Commission Recommends Georgia for EU Candidate Status

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

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