Section: Emerging Europe (UK)
Belarus Refinery Boss Upbeat Despite Challenges
The most important oil refinery in Belarus, Naftan, is currently struggling with increasing oil prices and decreasing wages, while the whole country has been affected by the economic crisis, and protests against an unpopular new tax are on the increase. “In 2017, as compared to 2016, we saw a general improvement of the spread between world price...
EU May Offer Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine Customs Union and Schengen Access
Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine may soon join the European customs union and Schengen area, gaining increased access to the single market. The European Parliament passed a resolution on November 15 calling for deeper integration with the three emerging Europe states as they implement more reforms, potentially paving the way for them becoming...
Ukraine’s Economic Recovery: Good, But Slow
The Ukrainian economic crisis of 2014-15 was caused by a number of factors, each one coinciding and reinforcing the other. Today, the country’s economy is recovering, but it remains highly dependent on the speed and the ultimate success of several key reforms, of which judiciary reform is the most important. The previous political regime...
Does the Sceptre of Separatism Haunt Emerging Europe?
There is much talk in Europe at the moment about the potential spread of separatist movements, a consequence of Catalonia’s referendum on independence. A number of maps have appeared on the internet pointing to various regions which may be next in line. The spectre of disintegrating states haunts some European Union states and is perceived...
e-Estonia: Believe the Hype
Since leaving office Toomas Ilves, president of Estonia from 2006-16 and driver of the Baltic state’s world-leading initiatives in e-government and cyber security, has become a roving advocate for digital government. Early in November he told the 2017 edition of the Microsoft Summit that those countries wanting to emulate Estonia need to...
Lviv Region in Double Logistics Boost
A major new logistics center is to be built in the Lviv region of Ukraine close to the border with Poland, offering huge advantages for both countries. “Each participant has much to gain,” Roman Matys at the Lviv Regional State Administration tells Emerging Europe. “Cargo from the EU will be able to enter Ukraine without hindrance, without...
Georgia is Returning to its Place at the European Table
When the Soviet Union dissolved on New Year’s Eve, 1991, it was replaced by 15 newly-independent countries with vastly different cultures and levels of development. One of those countries, Georgia, emerged with the determination to shed its Soviet baggage and return to Europe as a modern, functioning nation-state. For this country,...
Emerging Europe Back on Track to Convergence
Twice a year, The Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies (wiiw) publishes its macroeconomic forecasts for 22 countries of Central, East and Southeast Europe (CESEE). The main conclusions of the current wiiw Forecast Reports in a nutshell: GDP forecasts for 2017 have been revised upwards for all Central and East European EU Member...
‘Traditional Values’: A Potent Weapon Against LGBT Rights
In April, news broke of a widespread anti-gay purge in Chechnya; in September, gay men and transgender women were rounded up in Azerbaijan; and in October reports emerged that a registry of gay men and lesbians was being compiled by the authorities in Tajikistan. How might we understand these disparate events as part of a trend in these three...
Why Was Zapad-2017 So Important?
The strategic joint military exercise Zapad-2017 took place from September 14-20 at several training grounds in Russia and Belarus. According to official statements, the total number of troops participating in this military drill was 13,000. However, the real figures could well have been significantly higher. The official scenario of Zapad-2017...
