CERES News Digest Issue #3
6
Country News Digest Issue #3 September 18 - September 24
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CERES News Digest is an overview of the 33 countries that are covered by the Center for Eurasian, Russian and East European Studies Center at Georgtown University's School of Foreign Service
Transcript of CERES News Digest Issue #3
Country News DigestIssue 3
September 18 - September 24
Country News DigestTensions between Azer-baijan and Armenia have increased since the formerrsquos
Azerbaijan
Georgia
Russiapardon of murderer Ramil Shavarov earlier this month In the past week Azerbaijan has conducted military drills on its own soil and Azerbaijanrsquos deputy speaker condemned Armeniarsquos plan to build an airport in the contested territory of Nagorno-Karabakh
Articles
On Tuesday the Kremlin issued a statement barring USAID activities in Russia and asking the organization to withdraw from the country by Oct 1 The regime has accused USAID of trying to influence Russian elections Cessation of funding from USAID will hurt groups such as human rights watcher Memorial and elections monitor GOLOS
Armenia
Moldova
Belarus
Ukraine
Turkey
Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski warned Ukraine that it must make a decision on where its future lies with the East or with the West Ukraine had sought EU ascension but the process has stalled over Tymoshenkorsquos incarceration Tymoshenko is currently fighting tax evasion and embezzlement charges that the West sees as politically motivated
Major opposition parties boycotted the Parliamentary elections on September 23rd because Lukashenkorsquos government refused to release political prisoners During a small protest to promote the boycott plain clothes policemen beat and arrested several opposition figures and journalists later releasing them
Representative of the Irish Chair-in-Office of the OSCE Lucinda Creighton is on a three-day visit to Moldova this week The visit is seen as important as Ireland will hold the EU chairmanship in 2013 when Moldova is scheduled to conclude the negotiations on the Association Agreement by the Eastern Partnership Summit
Riots broke out in Tbilisi this week in response to leaked videos of prison
guards abusing inmates Several of the perpetrators have been arrested and the minister in charge of the prison system has resigned Some speculate that this scandal will hurt President Saakashvilirsquos ruling party at the election on Oct 1
This week the CSTO held military exercises in Armenia for its Collective
Rapid Reaction Forces The Russian defense minister met with Armenian president Serzh Sargsyan to discuss military and security cooperation
Turkey has extended its mandate as part of the US-led military coalition in
Afghanistan for another year Turkey has around 1800 soldiers serving in Afghanistan
PanArmenian TrendAz
San Francisco Chronicle The Voice of AmericaArticles
ArticlesJamestown Newsam
ArticlesBusiness Recorder Euro NewsArticles
Moldovaorg All Moldova
ArticlesHuffington Post CBS News
ArticlesFinChannelcom The Guardian
ArticlesReuters The LA Times
Radio Free Europe
Country News DigestRussia and Kyrgyzstan signed a series of agreements this week regarding Kyrgyz
Kyrgyzstan
Kazakhstan
debt energy projects and the presence of Russian military bases on Kyrgyz soil Moscow has agreed to write off $500 million in Kyrgyz debt while Bishkek has agreed to a new 15-year lease for a Russian military base
The American-led military coalition has scaled back joint operations with Afghan security forces due to an increase in ldquogreen-on-bluerdquo attacks Joint operations ranging from joint patrols to hands-on training will now require approval of a two-star general
Mongolia
IranIran has acknowledged that two separate explosions targeted the power supply lines to its two main uranium enrichment facilities Iranian nuclear chief Fereydoon Abbas alleged that ldquoterrorists and saboteursrdquo may have infiltrated the IAEA which asked to visit the facilities the day after the explosions
Indiarsquos Communications Minister offered to help Turkmenistan improve its educational and information technology infrastructure during a visit this past week Suggestions included joint ventures satellites which would deliver lectures by Indian professors and a provision of inexpensive ldquoAakashrdquo tablets to Turkmen students
R u s s i a n - M o n g o l i a n military exercises will begin in Buryatia The Russian-Mongolian combined force will carry out an imaginary anti-terrorist operation The Selenga 2012 exercise the code name for the military operation involves about 250 Mongolian troops
Scientists examining the former Semipalatinsk nuclear test site say that
some areas may be suitable for agriculture The study has so far covered 4 out of 185 thousand square kilometers and found some areas to not pose considerable threats to agricultural production The project to identify the borders of the hazardous zone is set to be completed by 2020
Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon visited the G o r n o - B a d a k h s h a n
autonomous region this week The region has witnessed a recent surge in unrest and violence President Rakhmon promised amnesty for any rebels or warlords that voluntarily turn in their weapons but vowed that he would not negotiate with criminals
An Uzbek court ordered the seizure of all subsidiary holdings of Russian
mobile operator MTS in the country after charges of embezzlement and tax evasion were brought against four employees of the company MTS has denied all charges and declared the seizure illegal MTSrsquos holdings in Uzbekistan are believed to be valued at $700 million
ArticlesRIA
ArticlesCaspionet
Articles Montreal Gazette
ArticlesTurkish Weekly
ArticlesZeeNews Mad Mongolia
ArticlesNewstrack FirstPost
Articles
ArticlesHurriyet New York TimesReuters
Tajikistan
Uzbekistan
Afghanistan
Businessweek
New York Times Los Angeles Times
Turkmenistan
Chicago Tribune
Country News DigestEstonia Latvia and Lithuania are committed to building a nuclear plant in
Estonia
Lithuania
Czech RepublicLithuania The Baltics want to cut their dependence on Russian energy sources There will be a referendum on October 14th to decide the future of the nuclear project
The Czech Republic has banned the sale of any liquor over 20 ABV after 19 people have died in recent weeks from contaminated bootleg liquor that was passed off to kiosks and sold as legitimate The liquor has contained methanol which in low doses can cause illness and in high doses blindness and death
Latvia
Romania
Hungary
Poland
After a similar move from Poland which also borders the Czech Republic Slovakia has banned all imports of Czech liquor the Slovak Health Minister announced this week This follows the hospitalization of ten people for methanol poisoning traced back to ldquoplum brandyrdquo originating from the Czech Republic
Opposition parties have staged a hunger strike against Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbanrsquos proposal to require voter registration ahead of upcoming elections saying that such a measure would have a detrimental effect on the fairness of elections MTI news service has estimated that registration could cut voter participation by 25
The Romanian Const Court ruled that an ordinance preventing the Court from hearing challenges to Parliamentary decisions was unconstitutional The decree was passed by PM Victor Ponta and the center-left Parliament during their unsuccessful attempt to impeach center-right President Traian Basescu this summer
Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius opened up an exhibit dedicated to the
children of the Holocaust The exhibit titled ldquoButterfliesrdquo is named such because the butterfly ldquosymbolizes childhood cut short abruptly for so many children by the Holocaust tragedy whose life was as short as that of a butterflyrdquo
Latvia still plans to join the Eurozone in 2014 despite the current euro
crisis Latvian Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis said next year his government will ask the European Central Bank and the European Commission for their assessment of Latviarsquos fitness to join the single currency and apply for membership
B o o t l e g g e d l i q u o r containing toxic levels of methanol from the Czech
Republic has killed five people in Poland Poland has since banned the imports of all Czech liquor The ban will last for one month giving the Czech government time to sort out the issue In the meantime the ban does not apply to Czech wine or beer
ArticlesBaltic Course Bloomberg
ArticlesLithuania Tribune Government site
ArticlesThe Guardian Leta
ArticlesChicago Tribune Fin Channel
ArticlesNew York Times Businessweek
ArticlesSlovak Spectator Prague Monitor
Wall Street Journal Washington Post
Wall Street Journal
Slovakia
Articles
NineOrsquoClockArticles
Country News DigestBulgariarsquos accession to the Schengen Zone has been delayed due to concerns
Bulgaria
Albania
Croatiaover neighboring Romania Dutch and German officials have so far opposed expansion of the Schengen Zone while they seek to determine if Romania is capable of fulfilling the requirements of membership following the recent political turmoil in the country
Slovenia is threatening Croatiarsquos ascension to the EU over a banking row worth at least euro160 million The dispute concerns the now defunct Ljubljana Bank and the break up of the former Yugoslavia
Serbia
Macedonia
T h e P a r l i a m e n t a r y campaign officially kicked off in Montenegro this week about a month before the official election day scheduled for October 14 The process will be monitored by the parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) and the Oranization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
The Deputy Prime Minister of Serbia has announced that a referendum might be held forcing citizens to choose whether to recognize Kosovo or join the EU Although the EU so far has only required Serbia to normalize relations with Kosovo Serbian officials speculate that the EU might stiffen requirements to full recognition
Leaders of Sloveniarsquos largest Union have signaled they are ready to negotiate with the government on proposed reforms The reform plans include raising the retirement age to 65 making it easier to hire and fire employees and setting up an agency that would take over the bad debts of state banks
Albania is in the process of turning Communist-
era bunkers into tourist attractions The government is planning to put beds in the bunkers then rent them out to tourists In one coastal town they are turning a bunker into a hostel that will allow residents to ldquosavor the countryside through the bunkerrsquos slitsrdquo
Serbia is creating programs to helped its impoverished Roma population The
country is setting aside 50-70 million euros in aid to the Roma people but they continue to live in destitution
Macedonia has officially descended into recession according to the State
Statistics service This past quarter marked the second consecutive quarter of negative growth and saw Macedonia suffering from a massive 31 unemployment rate according to estimates
ArticlesEU Observer EuroPolitics
ArticlesFinancial Balkan Insight
ArticlesBusiness Week Balkan Insight
ArticlesReuters Slovinian TimesArticlesWashington Post Focus Info Agency
ArticlesTurkish Weekly Eurasia-Review
ArticlesTravel-News
ArticlesStandart Novinite
Montenegro
Kosovo
Slovenia
Balkan Insight
Country News Digest
Bosnia amp Herzegovina
Articles Balkan Insight Calgary Herald
The ICTY will give former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic three-hundred working hours for his defense The amount is the same that was given to the prosecution to prove Mr Karadzicrsquos guilt on charges of genocide war crimes and crimes against humanity Mr Karadzic had requested six-hundred hours but was denied The presentation of the defense is scheduled to begin October 16
Box 571031 ICC 111 Washington DC 20057-1031
Email ceresgeorgetownedu Tel (202) 687-6080 Fax (202) 687-5829
The Center for Eurasian Russian and East European Studies is a US Department of Education Title VI-funded National Resource Center (NRC)
that strives to increase understanding and appreciation of the cultures and challenges of the region stretching from Central Europe to the Pacific and
from the Baltic to the Mediterranean Black and Caspian Seas
Country News DigestTensions between Azer-baijan and Armenia have increased since the formerrsquos
Azerbaijan
Georgia
Russiapardon of murderer Ramil Shavarov earlier this month In the past week Azerbaijan has conducted military drills on its own soil and Azerbaijanrsquos deputy speaker condemned Armeniarsquos plan to build an airport in the contested territory of Nagorno-Karabakh
Articles
On Tuesday the Kremlin issued a statement barring USAID activities in Russia and asking the organization to withdraw from the country by Oct 1 The regime has accused USAID of trying to influence Russian elections Cessation of funding from USAID will hurt groups such as human rights watcher Memorial and elections monitor GOLOS
Armenia
Moldova
Belarus
Ukraine
Turkey
Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski warned Ukraine that it must make a decision on where its future lies with the East or with the West Ukraine had sought EU ascension but the process has stalled over Tymoshenkorsquos incarceration Tymoshenko is currently fighting tax evasion and embezzlement charges that the West sees as politically motivated
Major opposition parties boycotted the Parliamentary elections on September 23rd because Lukashenkorsquos government refused to release political prisoners During a small protest to promote the boycott plain clothes policemen beat and arrested several opposition figures and journalists later releasing them
Representative of the Irish Chair-in-Office of the OSCE Lucinda Creighton is on a three-day visit to Moldova this week The visit is seen as important as Ireland will hold the EU chairmanship in 2013 when Moldova is scheduled to conclude the negotiations on the Association Agreement by the Eastern Partnership Summit
Riots broke out in Tbilisi this week in response to leaked videos of prison
guards abusing inmates Several of the perpetrators have been arrested and the minister in charge of the prison system has resigned Some speculate that this scandal will hurt President Saakashvilirsquos ruling party at the election on Oct 1
This week the CSTO held military exercises in Armenia for its Collective
Rapid Reaction Forces The Russian defense minister met with Armenian president Serzh Sargsyan to discuss military and security cooperation
Turkey has extended its mandate as part of the US-led military coalition in
Afghanistan for another year Turkey has around 1800 soldiers serving in Afghanistan
PanArmenian TrendAz
San Francisco Chronicle The Voice of AmericaArticles
ArticlesJamestown Newsam
ArticlesBusiness Recorder Euro NewsArticles
Moldovaorg All Moldova
ArticlesHuffington Post CBS News
ArticlesFinChannelcom The Guardian
ArticlesReuters The LA Times
Radio Free Europe
Country News DigestRussia and Kyrgyzstan signed a series of agreements this week regarding Kyrgyz
Kyrgyzstan
Kazakhstan
debt energy projects and the presence of Russian military bases on Kyrgyz soil Moscow has agreed to write off $500 million in Kyrgyz debt while Bishkek has agreed to a new 15-year lease for a Russian military base
The American-led military coalition has scaled back joint operations with Afghan security forces due to an increase in ldquogreen-on-bluerdquo attacks Joint operations ranging from joint patrols to hands-on training will now require approval of a two-star general
Mongolia
IranIran has acknowledged that two separate explosions targeted the power supply lines to its two main uranium enrichment facilities Iranian nuclear chief Fereydoon Abbas alleged that ldquoterrorists and saboteursrdquo may have infiltrated the IAEA which asked to visit the facilities the day after the explosions
Indiarsquos Communications Minister offered to help Turkmenistan improve its educational and information technology infrastructure during a visit this past week Suggestions included joint ventures satellites which would deliver lectures by Indian professors and a provision of inexpensive ldquoAakashrdquo tablets to Turkmen students
R u s s i a n - M o n g o l i a n military exercises will begin in Buryatia The Russian-Mongolian combined force will carry out an imaginary anti-terrorist operation The Selenga 2012 exercise the code name for the military operation involves about 250 Mongolian troops
Scientists examining the former Semipalatinsk nuclear test site say that
some areas may be suitable for agriculture The study has so far covered 4 out of 185 thousand square kilometers and found some areas to not pose considerable threats to agricultural production The project to identify the borders of the hazardous zone is set to be completed by 2020
Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon visited the G o r n o - B a d a k h s h a n
autonomous region this week The region has witnessed a recent surge in unrest and violence President Rakhmon promised amnesty for any rebels or warlords that voluntarily turn in their weapons but vowed that he would not negotiate with criminals
An Uzbek court ordered the seizure of all subsidiary holdings of Russian
mobile operator MTS in the country after charges of embezzlement and tax evasion were brought against four employees of the company MTS has denied all charges and declared the seizure illegal MTSrsquos holdings in Uzbekistan are believed to be valued at $700 million
ArticlesRIA
ArticlesCaspionet
Articles Montreal Gazette
ArticlesTurkish Weekly
ArticlesZeeNews Mad Mongolia
ArticlesNewstrack FirstPost
Articles
ArticlesHurriyet New York TimesReuters
Tajikistan
Uzbekistan
Afghanistan
Businessweek
New York Times Los Angeles Times
Turkmenistan
Chicago Tribune
Country News DigestEstonia Latvia and Lithuania are committed to building a nuclear plant in
Estonia
Lithuania
Czech RepublicLithuania The Baltics want to cut their dependence on Russian energy sources There will be a referendum on October 14th to decide the future of the nuclear project
The Czech Republic has banned the sale of any liquor over 20 ABV after 19 people have died in recent weeks from contaminated bootleg liquor that was passed off to kiosks and sold as legitimate The liquor has contained methanol which in low doses can cause illness and in high doses blindness and death
Latvia
Romania
Hungary
Poland
After a similar move from Poland which also borders the Czech Republic Slovakia has banned all imports of Czech liquor the Slovak Health Minister announced this week This follows the hospitalization of ten people for methanol poisoning traced back to ldquoplum brandyrdquo originating from the Czech Republic
Opposition parties have staged a hunger strike against Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbanrsquos proposal to require voter registration ahead of upcoming elections saying that such a measure would have a detrimental effect on the fairness of elections MTI news service has estimated that registration could cut voter participation by 25
The Romanian Const Court ruled that an ordinance preventing the Court from hearing challenges to Parliamentary decisions was unconstitutional The decree was passed by PM Victor Ponta and the center-left Parliament during their unsuccessful attempt to impeach center-right President Traian Basescu this summer
Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius opened up an exhibit dedicated to the
children of the Holocaust The exhibit titled ldquoButterfliesrdquo is named such because the butterfly ldquosymbolizes childhood cut short abruptly for so many children by the Holocaust tragedy whose life was as short as that of a butterflyrdquo
Latvia still plans to join the Eurozone in 2014 despite the current euro
crisis Latvian Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis said next year his government will ask the European Central Bank and the European Commission for their assessment of Latviarsquos fitness to join the single currency and apply for membership
B o o t l e g g e d l i q u o r containing toxic levels of methanol from the Czech
Republic has killed five people in Poland Poland has since banned the imports of all Czech liquor The ban will last for one month giving the Czech government time to sort out the issue In the meantime the ban does not apply to Czech wine or beer
ArticlesBaltic Course Bloomberg
ArticlesLithuania Tribune Government site
ArticlesThe Guardian Leta
ArticlesChicago Tribune Fin Channel
ArticlesNew York Times Businessweek
ArticlesSlovak Spectator Prague Monitor
Wall Street Journal Washington Post
Wall Street Journal
Slovakia
Articles
NineOrsquoClockArticles
Country News DigestBulgariarsquos accession to the Schengen Zone has been delayed due to concerns
Bulgaria
Albania
Croatiaover neighboring Romania Dutch and German officials have so far opposed expansion of the Schengen Zone while they seek to determine if Romania is capable of fulfilling the requirements of membership following the recent political turmoil in the country
Slovenia is threatening Croatiarsquos ascension to the EU over a banking row worth at least euro160 million The dispute concerns the now defunct Ljubljana Bank and the break up of the former Yugoslavia
Serbia
Macedonia
T h e P a r l i a m e n t a r y campaign officially kicked off in Montenegro this week about a month before the official election day scheduled for October 14 The process will be monitored by the parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) and the Oranization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
The Deputy Prime Minister of Serbia has announced that a referendum might be held forcing citizens to choose whether to recognize Kosovo or join the EU Although the EU so far has only required Serbia to normalize relations with Kosovo Serbian officials speculate that the EU might stiffen requirements to full recognition
Leaders of Sloveniarsquos largest Union have signaled they are ready to negotiate with the government on proposed reforms The reform plans include raising the retirement age to 65 making it easier to hire and fire employees and setting up an agency that would take over the bad debts of state banks
Albania is in the process of turning Communist-
era bunkers into tourist attractions The government is planning to put beds in the bunkers then rent them out to tourists In one coastal town they are turning a bunker into a hostel that will allow residents to ldquosavor the countryside through the bunkerrsquos slitsrdquo
Serbia is creating programs to helped its impoverished Roma population The
country is setting aside 50-70 million euros in aid to the Roma people but they continue to live in destitution
Macedonia has officially descended into recession according to the State
Statistics service This past quarter marked the second consecutive quarter of negative growth and saw Macedonia suffering from a massive 31 unemployment rate according to estimates
ArticlesEU Observer EuroPolitics
ArticlesFinancial Balkan Insight
ArticlesBusiness Week Balkan Insight
ArticlesReuters Slovinian TimesArticlesWashington Post Focus Info Agency
ArticlesTurkish Weekly Eurasia-Review
ArticlesTravel-News
ArticlesStandart Novinite
Montenegro
Kosovo
Slovenia
Balkan Insight
Country News Digest
Bosnia amp Herzegovina
Articles Balkan Insight Calgary Herald
The ICTY will give former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic three-hundred working hours for his defense The amount is the same that was given to the prosecution to prove Mr Karadzicrsquos guilt on charges of genocide war crimes and crimes against humanity Mr Karadzic had requested six-hundred hours but was denied The presentation of the defense is scheduled to begin October 16
Box 571031 ICC 111 Washington DC 20057-1031
Email ceresgeorgetownedu Tel (202) 687-6080 Fax (202) 687-5829
The Center for Eurasian Russian and East European Studies is a US Department of Education Title VI-funded National Resource Center (NRC)
that strives to increase understanding and appreciation of the cultures and challenges of the region stretching from Central Europe to the Pacific and
from the Baltic to the Mediterranean Black and Caspian Seas
Country News DigestRussia and Kyrgyzstan signed a series of agreements this week regarding Kyrgyz
Kyrgyzstan
Kazakhstan
debt energy projects and the presence of Russian military bases on Kyrgyz soil Moscow has agreed to write off $500 million in Kyrgyz debt while Bishkek has agreed to a new 15-year lease for a Russian military base
The American-led military coalition has scaled back joint operations with Afghan security forces due to an increase in ldquogreen-on-bluerdquo attacks Joint operations ranging from joint patrols to hands-on training will now require approval of a two-star general
Mongolia
IranIran has acknowledged that two separate explosions targeted the power supply lines to its two main uranium enrichment facilities Iranian nuclear chief Fereydoon Abbas alleged that ldquoterrorists and saboteursrdquo may have infiltrated the IAEA which asked to visit the facilities the day after the explosions
Indiarsquos Communications Minister offered to help Turkmenistan improve its educational and information technology infrastructure during a visit this past week Suggestions included joint ventures satellites which would deliver lectures by Indian professors and a provision of inexpensive ldquoAakashrdquo tablets to Turkmen students
R u s s i a n - M o n g o l i a n military exercises will begin in Buryatia The Russian-Mongolian combined force will carry out an imaginary anti-terrorist operation The Selenga 2012 exercise the code name for the military operation involves about 250 Mongolian troops
Scientists examining the former Semipalatinsk nuclear test site say that
some areas may be suitable for agriculture The study has so far covered 4 out of 185 thousand square kilometers and found some areas to not pose considerable threats to agricultural production The project to identify the borders of the hazardous zone is set to be completed by 2020
Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon visited the G o r n o - B a d a k h s h a n
autonomous region this week The region has witnessed a recent surge in unrest and violence President Rakhmon promised amnesty for any rebels or warlords that voluntarily turn in their weapons but vowed that he would not negotiate with criminals
An Uzbek court ordered the seizure of all subsidiary holdings of Russian
mobile operator MTS in the country after charges of embezzlement and tax evasion were brought against four employees of the company MTS has denied all charges and declared the seizure illegal MTSrsquos holdings in Uzbekistan are believed to be valued at $700 million
ArticlesRIA
ArticlesCaspionet
Articles Montreal Gazette
ArticlesTurkish Weekly
ArticlesZeeNews Mad Mongolia
ArticlesNewstrack FirstPost
Articles
ArticlesHurriyet New York TimesReuters
Tajikistan
Uzbekistan
Afghanistan
Businessweek
New York Times Los Angeles Times
Turkmenistan
Chicago Tribune
Country News DigestEstonia Latvia and Lithuania are committed to building a nuclear plant in
Estonia
Lithuania
Czech RepublicLithuania The Baltics want to cut their dependence on Russian energy sources There will be a referendum on October 14th to decide the future of the nuclear project
The Czech Republic has banned the sale of any liquor over 20 ABV after 19 people have died in recent weeks from contaminated bootleg liquor that was passed off to kiosks and sold as legitimate The liquor has contained methanol which in low doses can cause illness and in high doses blindness and death
Latvia
Romania
Hungary
Poland
After a similar move from Poland which also borders the Czech Republic Slovakia has banned all imports of Czech liquor the Slovak Health Minister announced this week This follows the hospitalization of ten people for methanol poisoning traced back to ldquoplum brandyrdquo originating from the Czech Republic
Opposition parties have staged a hunger strike against Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbanrsquos proposal to require voter registration ahead of upcoming elections saying that such a measure would have a detrimental effect on the fairness of elections MTI news service has estimated that registration could cut voter participation by 25
The Romanian Const Court ruled that an ordinance preventing the Court from hearing challenges to Parliamentary decisions was unconstitutional The decree was passed by PM Victor Ponta and the center-left Parliament during their unsuccessful attempt to impeach center-right President Traian Basescu this summer
Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius opened up an exhibit dedicated to the
children of the Holocaust The exhibit titled ldquoButterfliesrdquo is named such because the butterfly ldquosymbolizes childhood cut short abruptly for so many children by the Holocaust tragedy whose life was as short as that of a butterflyrdquo
Latvia still plans to join the Eurozone in 2014 despite the current euro
crisis Latvian Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis said next year his government will ask the European Central Bank and the European Commission for their assessment of Latviarsquos fitness to join the single currency and apply for membership
B o o t l e g g e d l i q u o r containing toxic levels of methanol from the Czech
Republic has killed five people in Poland Poland has since banned the imports of all Czech liquor The ban will last for one month giving the Czech government time to sort out the issue In the meantime the ban does not apply to Czech wine or beer
ArticlesBaltic Course Bloomberg
ArticlesLithuania Tribune Government site
ArticlesThe Guardian Leta
ArticlesChicago Tribune Fin Channel
ArticlesNew York Times Businessweek
ArticlesSlovak Spectator Prague Monitor
Wall Street Journal Washington Post
Wall Street Journal
Slovakia
Articles
NineOrsquoClockArticles
Country News DigestBulgariarsquos accession to the Schengen Zone has been delayed due to concerns
Bulgaria
Albania
Croatiaover neighboring Romania Dutch and German officials have so far opposed expansion of the Schengen Zone while they seek to determine if Romania is capable of fulfilling the requirements of membership following the recent political turmoil in the country
Slovenia is threatening Croatiarsquos ascension to the EU over a banking row worth at least euro160 million The dispute concerns the now defunct Ljubljana Bank and the break up of the former Yugoslavia
Serbia
Macedonia
T h e P a r l i a m e n t a r y campaign officially kicked off in Montenegro this week about a month before the official election day scheduled for October 14 The process will be monitored by the parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) and the Oranization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
The Deputy Prime Minister of Serbia has announced that a referendum might be held forcing citizens to choose whether to recognize Kosovo or join the EU Although the EU so far has only required Serbia to normalize relations with Kosovo Serbian officials speculate that the EU might stiffen requirements to full recognition
Leaders of Sloveniarsquos largest Union have signaled they are ready to negotiate with the government on proposed reforms The reform plans include raising the retirement age to 65 making it easier to hire and fire employees and setting up an agency that would take over the bad debts of state banks
Albania is in the process of turning Communist-
era bunkers into tourist attractions The government is planning to put beds in the bunkers then rent them out to tourists In one coastal town they are turning a bunker into a hostel that will allow residents to ldquosavor the countryside through the bunkerrsquos slitsrdquo
Serbia is creating programs to helped its impoverished Roma population The
country is setting aside 50-70 million euros in aid to the Roma people but they continue to live in destitution
Macedonia has officially descended into recession according to the State
Statistics service This past quarter marked the second consecutive quarter of negative growth and saw Macedonia suffering from a massive 31 unemployment rate according to estimates
ArticlesEU Observer EuroPolitics
ArticlesFinancial Balkan Insight
ArticlesBusiness Week Balkan Insight
ArticlesReuters Slovinian TimesArticlesWashington Post Focus Info Agency
ArticlesTurkish Weekly Eurasia-Review
ArticlesTravel-News
ArticlesStandart Novinite
Montenegro
Kosovo
Slovenia
Balkan Insight
Country News Digest
Bosnia amp Herzegovina
Articles Balkan Insight Calgary Herald
The ICTY will give former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic three-hundred working hours for his defense The amount is the same that was given to the prosecution to prove Mr Karadzicrsquos guilt on charges of genocide war crimes and crimes against humanity Mr Karadzic had requested six-hundred hours but was denied The presentation of the defense is scheduled to begin October 16
Box 571031 ICC 111 Washington DC 20057-1031
Email ceresgeorgetownedu Tel (202) 687-6080 Fax (202) 687-5829
The Center for Eurasian Russian and East European Studies is a US Department of Education Title VI-funded National Resource Center (NRC)
that strives to increase understanding and appreciation of the cultures and challenges of the region stretching from Central Europe to the Pacific and
from the Baltic to the Mediterranean Black and Caspian Seas
Country News DigestEstonia Latvia and Lithuania are committed to building a nuclear plant in
Estonia
Lithuania
Czech RepublicLithuania The Baltics want to cut their dependence on Russian energy sources There will be a referendum on October 14th to decide the future of the nuclear project
The Czech Republic has banned the sale of any liquor over 20 ABV after 19 people have died in recent weeks from contaminated bootleg liquor that was passed off to kiosks and sold as legitimate The liquor has contained methanol which in low doses can cause illness and in high doses blindness and death
Latvia
Romania
Hungary
Poland
After a similar move from Poland which also borders the Czech Republic Slovakia has banned all imports of Czech liquor the Slovak Health Minister announced this week This follows the hospitalization of ten people for methanol poisoning traced back to ldquoplum brandyrdquo originating from the Czech Republic
Opposition parties have staged a hunger strike against Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbanrsquos proposal to require voter registration ahead of upcoming elections saying that such a measure would have a detrimental effect on the fairness of elections MTI news service has estimated that registration could cut voter participation by 25
The Romanian Const Court ruled that an ordinance preventing the Court from hearing challenges to Parliamentary decisions was unconstitutional The decree was passed by PM Victor Ponta and the center-left Parliament during their unsuccessful attempt to impeach center-right President Traian Basescu this summer
Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius opened up an exhibit dedicated to the
children of the Holocaust The exhibit titled ldquoButterfliesrdquo is named such because the butterfly ldquosymbolizes childhood cut short abruptly for so many children by the Holocaust tragedy whose life was as short as that of a butterflyrdquo
Latvia still plans to join the Eurozone in 2014 despite the current euro
crisis Latvian Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis said next year his government will ask the European Central Bank and the European Commission for their assessment of Latviarsquos fitness to join the single currency and apply for membership
B o o t l e g g e d l i q u o r containing toxic levels of methanol from the Czech
Republic has killed five people in Poland Poland has since banned the imports of all Czech liquor The ban will last for one month giving the Czech government time to sort out the issue In the meantime the ban does not apply to Czech wine or beer
ArticlesBaltic Course Bloomberg
ArticlesLithuania Tribune Government site
ArticlesThe Guardian Leta
ArticlesChicago Tribune Fin Channel
ArticlesNew York Times Businessweek
ArticlesSlovak Spectator Prague Monitor
Wall Street Journal Washington Post
Wall Street Journal
Slovakia
Articles
NineOrsquoClockArticles
Country News DigestBulgariarsquos accession to the Schengen Zone has been delayed due to concerns
Bulgaria
Albania
Croatiaover neighboring Romania Dutch and German officials have so far opposed expansion of the Schengen Zone while they seek to determine if Romania is capable of fulfilling the requirements of membership following the recent political turmoil in the country
Slovenia is threatening Croatiarsquos ascension to the EU over a banking row worth at least euro160 million The dispute concerns the now defunct Ljubljana Bank and the break up of the former Yugoslavia
Serbia
Macedonia
T h e P a r l i a m e n t a r y campaign officially kicked off in Montenegro this week about a month before the official election day scheduled for October 14 The process will be monitored by the parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) and the Oranization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
The Deputy Prime Minister of Serbia has announced that a referendum might be held forcing citizens to choose whether to recognize Kosovo or join the EU Although the EU so far has only required Serbia to normalize relations with Kosovo Serbian officials speculate that the EU might stiffen requirements to full recognition
Leaders of Sloveniarsquos largest Union have signaled they are ready to negotiate with the government on proposed reforms The reform plans include raising the retirement age to 65 making it easier to hire and fire employees and setting up an agency that would take over the bad debts of state banks
Albania is in the process of turning Communist-
era bunkers into tourist attractions The government is planning to put beds in the bunkers then rent them out to tourists In one coastal town they are turning a bunker into a hostel that will allow residents to ldquosavor the countryside through the bunkerrsquos slitsrdquo
Serbia is creating programs to helped its impoverished Roma population The
country is setting aside 50-70 million euros in aid to the Roma people but they continue to live in destitution
Macedonia has officially descended into recession according to the State
Statistics service This past quarter marked the second consecutive quarter of negative growth and saw Macedonia suffering from a massive 31 unemployment rate according to estimates
ArticlesEU Observer EuroPolitics
ArticlesFinancial Balkan Insight
ArticlesBusiness Week Balkan Insight
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ArticlesTurkish Weekly Eurasia-Review
ArticlesTravel-News
ArticlesStandart Novinite
Montenegro
Kosovo
Slovenia
Balkan Insight
Country News Digest
Bosnia amp Herzegovina
Articles Balkan Insight Calgary Herald
The ICTY will give former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic three-hundred working hours for his defense The amount is the same that was given to the prosecution to prove Mr Karadzicrsquos guilt on charges of genocide war crimes and crimes against humanity Mr Karadzic had requested six-hundred hours but was denied The presentation of the defense is scheduled to begin October 16
Box 571031 ICC 111 Washington DC 20057-1031
Email ceresgeorgetownedu Tel (202) 687-6080 Fax (202) 687-5829
The Center for Eurasian Russian and East European Studies is a US Department of Education Title VI-funded National Resource Center (NRC)
that strives to increase understanding and appreciation of the cultures and challenges of the region stretching from Central Europe to the Pacific and
from the Baltic to the Mediterranean Black and Caspian Seas
Country News DigestBulgariarsquos accession to the Schengen Zone has been delayed due to concerns
Bulgaria
Albania
Croatiaover neighboring Romania Dutch and German officials have so far opposed expansion of the Schengen Zone while they seek to determine if Romania is capable of fulfilling the requirements of membership following the recent political turmoil in the country
Slovenia is threatening Croatiarsquos ascension to the EU over a banking row worth at least euro160 million The dispute concerns the now defunct Ljubljana Bank and the break up of the former Yugoslavia
Serbia
Macedonia
T h e P a r l i a m e n t a r y campaign officially kicked off in Montenegro this week about a month before the official election day scheduled for October 14 The process will be monitored by the parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) and the Oranization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
The Deputy Prime Minister of Serbia has announced that a referendum might be held forcing citizens to choose whether to recognize Kosovo or join the EU Although the EU so far has only required Serbia to normalize relations with Kosovo Serbian officials speculate that the EU might stiffen requirements to full recognition
Leaders of Sloveniarsquos largest Union have signaled they are ready to negotiate with the government on proposed reforms The reform plans include raising the retirement age to 65 making it easier to hire and fire employees and setting up an agency that would take over the bad debts of state banks
Albania is in the process of turning Communist-
era bunkers into tourist attractions The government is planning to put beds in the bunkers then rent them out to tourists In one coastal town they are turning a bunker into a hostel that will allow residents to ldquosavor the countryside through the bunkerrsquos slitsrdquo
Serbia is creating programs to helped its impoverished Roma population The
country is setting aside 50-70 million euros in aid to the Roma people but they continue to live in destitution
Macedonia has officially descended into recession according to the State
Statistics service This past quarter marked the second consecutive quarter of negative growth and saw Macedonia suffering from a massive 31 unemployment rate according to estimates
ArticlesEU Observer EuroPolitics
ArticlesFinancial Balkan Insight
ArticlesBusiness Week Balkan Insight
ArticlesReuters Slovinian TimesArticlesWashington Post Focus Info Agency
ArticlesTurkish Weekly Eurasia-Review
ArticlesTravel-News
ArticlesStandart Novinite
Montenegro
Kosovo
Slovenia
Balkan Insight
Country News Digest
Bosnia amp Herzegovina
Articles Balkan Insight Calgary Herald
The ICTY will give former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic three-hundred working hours for his defense The amount is the same that was given to the prosecution to prove Mr Karadzicrsquos guilt on charges of genocide war crimes and crimes against humanity Mr Karadzic had requested six-hundred hours but was denied The presentation of the defense is scheduled to begin October 16
Box 571031 ICC 111 Washington DC 20057-1031
Email ceresgeorgetownedu Tel (202) 687-6080 Fax (202) 687-5829
The Center for Eurasian Russian and East European Studies is a US Department of Education Title VI-funded National Resource Center (NRC)
that strives to increase understanding and appreciation of the cultures and challenges of the region stretching from Central Europe to the Pacific and
from the Baltic to the Mediterranean Black and Caspian Seas
Country News Digest
Bosnia amp Herzegovina
Articles Balkan Insight Calgary Herald
The ICTY will give former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic three-hundred working hours for his defense The amount is the same that was given to the prosecution to prove Mr Karadzicrsquos guilt on charges of genocide war crimes and crimes against humanity Mr Karadzic had requested six-hundred hours but was denied The presentation of the defense is scheduled to begin October 16
Box 571031 ICC 111 Washington DC 20057-1031
Email ceresgeorgetownedu Tel (202) 687-6080 Fax (202) 687-5829
The Center for Eurasian Russian and East European Studies is a US Department of Education Title VI-funded National Resource Center (NRC)
that strives to increase understanding and appreciation of the cultures and challenges of the region stretching from Central Europe to the Pacific and
from the Baltic to the Mediterranean Black and Caspian Seas
