Central Europe

Czech Republic Wary of Permanently Hosting NATO Troops

By Robert Muller, Reuters

The Czech Republic does not favor hosting foreign NATO troops as part of the alliance’s plans to boost its eastern wing over the Ukraine crisis, its Defense minister said, in sharp contrast to some of its regional peers.

Canadian Troops in Poland for Multinational Exercise

By CBC News

Prime Minister Stephen Harper says Canada will send soldiers to Poland to take part in NATO exercises amid growing concerns about Russian aggression toward Ukraine.

Defining a Strategy for Europe’s East

This special panel on Defining a Strategy for Europe’s East included national leaders from Lithuania, which hosted the last EU summit on the Eastern Partnership, and from Latvia, which will host the next Eastern Partnership summit in 2015.

France Sending Four Rafale Fighter Jets to Poland

By Michel Rose, Reuters

France will send four Rafale fighter jets to Poland next week as part of a show of NATO commitment to Central Europe and the Baltic states

Canada Sending Six Fighter Jets for NATO Operation in Eastern Europe

By Hannah Thibedeau, CBC News

Canada is sending six CF-18s and military personnel to assist NATO in operations in Eastern Europe.

The End of the Peace Dividend and the Future of Transatlantic Relations

The era of peace in Europe that has lasted 25 years is drawing to an end, according to Poland’s Minister of National Defense Tomasz Siemoniak. In a public speech at the Atlantic Council, Minister Siemoniak discussed the importance of NATO’s ability to react to the ongoing crisis on its eastern flank as the threat from […]

Waiting for the Great Gas Cutoff

By John Roberts

Russia-Ukraine Crisis Is Now Unlikely to Let Russian Gas Keep Flowing Smoothly to Europe  European countries from Germany and Poland to Italy and Turkey now need to ensure they have emergency plans in place to deal with a possible cut-off of Russian gas supplies. At risk are the roughly one-fifth of their supplies delivered via […]

Europe Awaits the Great Gas Cutoff

By New Atlanticist

Escalating Ukraine Crisis Is Unlikely to Let Russian Gas Flow Smoothly to Europe  “European countries from Germany and Poland to Italy and Turkey now need to ensure they have emergency plans in place to deal with a possible cut-off of Russian gas supplies,” Atlantic Council Senior Fellow John Roberts writes in an essay. As new violence […]

Report Criticizes Czech Contribution to NATO Defense

By CTK and NATO

From CTK:  According to yesterday’s daily Hospodarske noviny (HN), a highly critical NATO report concludes that the Czech Republic would not be useful for NATO if a real war broke out unless it adds money to the armed forces.

NATO Secretary General: Russian Forces Near Ukraine ‘Ready for Combat’

By Anders Fogh Rasmussen, NATO

For the first time since countries like the Czech Republic won their freedom, and the Cold War ended, we see one state trying to grab part of another’s territory at gunpoint.