Ahto Lobjakas

Also by Ahto Lobjakas

• November 13, 2008

  EU Plan To Battle 'Vicious Cycle' Of Energy Dependency

  The European Commission has unveiled a legislative initiative it hopes will slow the bloc's runaway dependency on imported oil and gas. The initiative -- which the 27 EU member states are expected to endorse before the end of the year -- is a mixture of measures aimed mostly at diversifying supplies and cutting back on domestic consumption.

• November 08, 2008

  France Pulls Off Diplomatic Coup

  In a move which was partly an audacious bluff and partly a complex legalistic gambit, the French president faced down determined opposition from Lithuania and Poland to open the door to normalizing the EU-Russia relationship three months after the Georgian conflict.

• November 06, 2008

  NATO Concerned About Russia's Missiles

  NATO has expressed grave concern about the future of the global arms-control framework in the wake of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's announcement that Moscow intends to deploy missiles in Kaliningrad to "neutralize" a planned U.S. missile-defense system.

• November 05, 2008

  EU Hopes For Greater Equality With U.S.

  The European Union is hoping Barack Obama's election as U.S. president will usher in an era of greater equality in its relations with Washington. EU officials say their ambition is to stand "at eye level" with the new U.S. administration -- although they admit the bloc continues to struggle to speak in a single voice on important global issues.

• November 05, 2008

  EU Fights For Nabucco's Future

  The EU energy commissioner is set to visit Turkey and Azerbaijan to shore up support for the bloc's flagship Nabucco pipeline project. The EU hopes Nabucco will give it direct access to the huge natural-gas reserves around the Caspian Sea, which could eventually cover 10-15 percent of its total needs. But enticing advances from Russia are causing key potential suppliers such as Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan to waver, while vital transit hub Turkey is haggling for better terms.

• November 01, 2008

  EU To Meet Russia Halfway?

  The EU appears set to resume talks on an agreement with Russia it suspended to protest Moscow's invasion of Georgia. Britain has informed fellow members that it is dropping its opposition, and EU diplomats say France wants the resumption of talks to be the centerpiece of the upcoming EU-Russia summit.

• October 29, 2008

  Moscow's Nervous Neighbors

  Estonia's president has argued that Russia's recent invasion of Georgia shattered the paradigm that guided the former Soviet states' relations with their large neighbor. Must the Baltic states choose between being Russia's vassal or its enemy?

• October 22, 2008

  EU-Led Donors Pledge $4.5 Billion To Rebuild Georgia

  In his opening address, President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso said the international community had a "moral imperative" to help Georgia, and that the representatives at the conference want to show their solidarity with the Georgian people.

• October 22, 2008

  Values, Energy Compete As European Parliament Debates Russia Policy

  During a broad European Parliament debate in Strasbourg on October 21, senior EU officials said Russia's recent actions in Georgia cannot go unchallenged.

• October 16, 2008

  EU Summit Defers Decision Over Relations With Russia

  EU leaders have decided to delay until next month a decision on the future of the bloc's relations with Russia, which have hit an all-time low in the wake of the Russian-Georgian conflict. France, with the backing of most of Europe's old guard, had hoped to use a summit in Brussels to revive EU-Russia partnership talks suspended last month. But Britain, Sweden, and most of the bloc's newest members have argued that Moscow has not done enough to allay EU concerns in Georgia.

• October 15, 2008

  EU Summit Overshadowed By Banking Crisis

  The two-day EU summit opening in Brussels will be preoccupied by the financial crisis that has engulfed the world since mid-September. In recent weeks, various EU governments have announced rescue plans for the banking sector that the bloc is seeking to coordinate. Other summit highlights include Georgia and Russia issues, the EU's constitutional woes, and climate change.

• October 13, 2008

  Uzbek Visa Bans Ended

  In a bid to improve relations with Uzbekistan, the EU has lifted visa bans on eight top officials held responsible for the mass killing of demonstrators in Andijon in 2005. They cited improvements in the country's record in dropping the ban. However, officials privately concede that while real improvements are meager, the EU is increasingly interested in having influence in Central Asia.

• October 13, 2008

  EU Diplomats Defer Decision On Georgia Cease-Fire

  EU foreign ministers have put off a decision on whether Russia has complied with the terms of the Georgian cease-fire. EU foreign ministers have put off a decision on whether Russia has complied with the terms of the Georgian cease-fire.

• October 13, 2008

  Olive Branch For Minsk

  Reversing its long-held policy of attempting to isolate Belarus, the EU's foreign ministers have dropped a travel ban imposed on President Alyaksandr Lukashenka and other officials, and revived political contacts with Belarus's government.

• October 12, 2008

  The EU's New Clothes

  The European Union is poised to shelve its grievances over Georgia to return to business as usual with Russia.

• October 08, 2008

  Belarusian Opposition Endorses New EU Policy

  Two Belarusian opposition leaders have used a visit to Brussels to endorse an impending U-turn in EU policy toward Minsk. A nonbinding resolution set to be adopted by the European Parliament says the EU must seek contacts with Belarus and lift some of its sanctions.

• October 07, 2008

  Uneasy Alliance

  NATO's highest military commander has asked the allies for the authority to draw up full defense plans for Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. Could the move worsen NATO's already tense relations with Russia -- or open a rift between European allies?

• October 03, 2008

  Seeking More Influence In Belarus

  The European Union is beginning to realize that living next to Russia, it cannot do without a sphere of influence of its own. It is therefore seeking to improve its strained relations with Belarus, despite having just followed the OSCE and the United States in condemning the country's September 28 parliamentary elections as undemocratic.

• October 01, 2008

  The West's Two-Pronged Approach

  The South Caucasus is again the focus of intense diplomacy. The European Union is launching an observer mission on October 1 in a bid to oust the remaining Russian troops from Georgian territory outside Abkhazia and South Ossetia. The United States, meanwhile, has dispatched Deputy Undersecretary of State John Negroponte to Azerbaijan -- a vital link in the oil and gas transit that bypasses Russia.

• September 30, 2008

  Council Of Europe Showdown Expected Over Russia

  The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) is meeting this week to decide whether to impose sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Georgia last month.

Load more