Politics & Diplomacy

New Railroad Agreement a National Security Milestone for Baltic Allies, Poland, EU, and NATO

By Olevs Nikers, Jamestown Foundation

Earlier this month (October 2016), the governments of the Baltic States and Poland finally reached all the necessary political, financial and technical agreements to implement one of the most ambitious projects inside the European Union—linking Finland, the Baltic States and Poland with the unified Trans-European Transport Network

EU Source: EU-Canada trade talks in crisis

By Future Europe Initiative

THIS WEEK’S KEY TAKE-AWAYS Belgian region of Wallonia holding tight in CETA dispute “Normandy Four” meeting sets path for Minsk implementation EU Council Summit discusses Russia and migration

TTIP&TRADE in Action – October 19, 2016

By Global Business & Economics Program

EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström has had a busy week: talking about CETA in Luxembourg with the EU ministers for Foreign Affairs and Trade, making the case for TTIP in Brussels with the Board of theEurocommerce, and debating the benefits of TTIP at the Hungarian National Assembly.

A new strategy for US-Iran relations in transition

By Ellen Laipson

Framing a sustainable and achievable strategy toward Iran will be a high priority for the next administration. In the sixth Atlantic Council Strategy Paper, A New Strategy for US-Iran Relations in Transition, Ellen Laipson presents a new strategy to reduce prospects for a military confrontation with Iran; improve the regional security environment by working with trusted partners and with Iran; and, eventually, enable Iran and the United States to build cooperation in diverse areas of shared concern.

Europe Funds Russian Aggression in Ukraine, Syria, and Beyond

By Mykhailo Gonchar and Hanna Hopko

Three-Fourths of Russian Oil Sold to Europe On October 20, the Council of the European Union will consider its strategy toward the Russian Federation. Following the resolution of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Europe faces a genuine challenge: to recognize Russian aggression against Ukraine for what it is, and to provide truly […]

Russia Seen Guiding the Illiberal Turn in Central and Eastern Europe

Russia is financing far-right political parties and critics of the European Union as part of a broader Kremlin strategy to sow disinformation and mistrust on the Continent, according to a member of the European Parliament (MEP). Ivan Stefanec, an MEP from Slovakia, contended that Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico is now more closely aligned with […]

EU Leaders to Hold Talks on Russia’s Interference in European Domestic Politics

By Arthur Beesley, Financial Times

EU leaders are to discuss covert Russian funding of far-right and fringe parties in Europe in light of intelligence findings that show that Moscow is interfering in European domestic politics.

EU Source: Mixed signals for EU-Canada trade deal

By Future Europe Initiative

THIS WEEK’S KEY TAKE-AWAYS EU to fast track adoption of new derivative rules Mixed signals for EU-Canada trade deal ratification  EU privacy concerns loom over global services trade deal

The Rise of the Strongman

By Ashish Kumar Sen

US official cites challenges to making the case for internationalism, free trade, open borders In the prevailing atmosphere of growing nativism and xenophobia, the phenomenon of the strongman is on the rise across the globe, said a senior US official, and this will be the case as long as people believe that the world will […]

The illiberal turn: Reasserting democratic values in Central and Eastern Europe

By Susan Haigh, Amelie Rausing

On October 13, 2016, the Atlantic Council’s Future Europe Initiative and Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center hosted a public conference “The Illiberal Turn?: Reasserting Democratic Values in Central and Eastern Europe.” This conference was organized in partnership with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), the International Republican Institute (IRI), and the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE), […]