Central Europe

New President Wants Poland to be a Leader in Regional Security

By Jan Cienski, Politico Europe

Barely a week into his term, Poland’s new president is moving to realize a hallmark campaign promise: To pivot central Europe’s most important country to closer security ties with its immediate eastern neighbors.

NATO Treats Poland Like a Buffer State, Says New President

By Henry Foy, Financial Times

Polish president Andrzej Duda has criticised Nato for treating Poland like a “buffer zone” rather than a fully fledged member facing a resurgent Russia and urged the alliance to place permanent bases in the former Soviet bloc country.

Infographic: Data Disproves Russian Lies about NATO Military Expansion

By Jorge Benitez and Lucas Della Ventura

Russian leaders have been promoting the myth of NATO military expansion as part of their justification for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and annexation of Crimea.

New Polish President Makes NATO Bases in Central Europe a Priority for Warsaw Summit

By Guardian, AP, and Irish Times

From Guardian:  The Conservative politician Andrzej Duda has been sworn in as Poland’s new president, immediately calling for a stronger Nato presence in his country to counter a perceived military threat from Russia.

What Ukraine Can Learn From Poland

By Oksana Khomei

When the Soviet Union crumbled in 1991, both Poland and Ukraine were poor. Since then, the Polish economy has boomed, while Ukrainians are poorer than they were twenty-four years ago. Poland got its reforms right in the 1990s, and now plays a significant role in Ukraine’s reform process. This is evident in the close relations […]

Slovak Intelligence: Russian Spies Increase Activities in EU, NATO

By AP

Slovakia’s spy agency [SIS] says Russian agents have significantly increased their activities in Slovakia and all other NATO and European Union countries in connection with the crisis in Ukraine.

From Chile to the Czech Republic: Diplomats Debate the Future of the Nation-State

By Larry Luxner

Five Washington-based foreign ambassadors shared the stage with US officials June 29 to discuss the 2015 Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review (QDDR)—a report that deals with complex issues such as the rise of non-state actors. Thomas Perriello, QDDR Special Representative since his February 2014 appointment by Secretary of State John Kerry, unveiled the study at […]

Poland’s Sikorski Urges Tougher NATO Stance Against Russia

Two days after resigning as the Speaker of Poland’s Parliament following an eavesdropping scandal, veteran Polish politician Radosław Sikorski said his country and the United States must jointly stand up to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s provocations in Ukraine. Speaking June 12 at the Atlantic Council’s Wrocław Global Forum 2015, Sikorski thanked the US government for […]

Poland Says Next NATO Summit Should Invite Macedonia, Montenegro to Join

By Wiktor Szary, Reuters

The former Yugoslav republics of Macedonia and Montenegro should be invited to join NATO when it holds its next summit in Warsaw in 2016, Polish Defense Minister Tomasz Siemoniak said on Friday.