Central Europe

What’s at stake in Trump’s plans to withdraw troops from Germany

By Katherine Golden

On June 15, US President Donald J. Trump confirmed press reports that he is planning to pull 9,500 US troops out of Germany, leaving 25,000 in the country. Here’s how the Atlantic Council’s experts are assessing the decision and its significance.

Ukraine needs EU rules to avoid global gas imbalances

By Aura Sabadus

More than 50 European companies may be barred from exporting gas to Ukraine during the peak storage season if the Ukrainian and Slovak gas transmission system operators fail to reach a solution for an alternative transport route during an unplanned pipeline outage this summer.

In Central Europe, a nationalist bullet dodged

By Daniel Fried

Many in the region expected the 100th anniversary of Trianon to be a blow up. It could be yet. But around the actual anniversary, it was a dog that did not bark: the significance was in what wasn’t said, in nationalist pandering avoided and confrontation dodged, and positive gestures recognized.

Poland divided over elections and COVID restrictions

By Tomasz Zalewski

Poland has begun to ease its COVID lockdown, but Poles remain unsure if the benefits of reopening outwweigh the potential costs.

US accuses Russia of “falsifying WWII history”

By Peter Dickinson

A strongly-worded new US joint statement issued together with foreign ministers from across Central and Eastern Europe takes aim at Russian attempts to rewrite history and sanitize the Soviet role in WWII.

Building Virtual Communities: The Power of Technology to Connect People

Today’s technology has become the connective tissue of our physically distant lives and positioned us to quickly learn about and respond to COVID-19.

Life in Hungary during COVID-19

By Bálint Ablonczy

It remains to be seen what effect the coronavirus will yet have on the Hungarian people. So far, it seems, Hungary is far from the worst that was thought possible.

Why strongmen love the coronavirus

By Atlantic Council Eurasia Center

As the COVID-19 pandemic sweeps across the globe, autocratic governments are finding the crisis to be a useful pretext for strengthening their rule and tightening their grips.