Southern and Southeastern Europe

Obama to Participate in US-EU Summit and Meet with NATO Secretary General

By White House

As part of the United States’ ongoing consultations with our allies and partners in Europe and beyond, President Obama will travel to the Netherlands, Belgium, and Italy in March 2014.

Two Thousand Libyan Troops to Receive Training in Italy

By Libya Herald

The 340 Libyan soldiers currently being trained in Italy are the first to benefit from a bilateral agreement that will see up to 2,000 troops trained in 2014.

Libya Unrest Worries Italy

By AFP

Italy is seriously concerned over unrest in Libya and the government’s ability to rein in local militias, Defence Minister Mario Mauro said Monday during a visit to Washington.

Chinese Military Ship Will Help Guard Destruction of Syria’s Chemical Weapons

By New York Times, Reuters, & South China Morning Post

From Jane Perlez, New York Times:  The same day that Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel of the United States blasted the actions of a Chinese ship in the South China Sea as “irresponsible,” China announced that it would deploy a military ship to work with an American vessel involved in the destruction of Syria’s chemical weapons.

A Leadership Role for Greece

Roundtable discussion with Ambassador Anastasis Mitsialis, secretary-general of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Greece On January 1, Greece will assume the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union. The Atlantic Council’s Transatlantic Relations Program hosted Ambassador Anastasis Mitsialis, secretary-general of the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on Wednesday for a roundtable discussion on […]

A Conversation with Serbian Ambassador to the US, Vladimir Petrovic

On December 6, 2013, the Atlantic Council’s Transatlantic Relations Program had the honor of hosting Serbia’s Ambassador to the United States Vladimir Petrovic, on the occasion of the completion of his successful tenure as ambassador. Ambassador Petrovic spoke candidly to a select group of Balkans experts from the Washington policy community in an off-the-record roundtable […]

Anarchy at Door, West Starts to Rebuild Libyan Army

By Patrick Markey, Reuters

Turkey, Italy, and Britain are leading the way with promises to train around 8,000 troops and police in skills from infantry basics to forensics. Other recruits are graduating from programs in Jordan.

US Plan for New, Western-Trained Libyan Force Faces Obstacles

By Abigail Hauslohner and Karen DeYoung, Washington Post

At the request of Prime Minister Ali Zeidan, the United States, Britain and Italy have agreed to train 5,000 to 8,000 troops, many of whom will be drawn from existing militias.

Northrop Grumman Begins Building Drones for NATO’s AGS Program

By April M. Havens, Gulf Live

Many NATO countries have “a crying need” for the capabilities that will be provided by five unmanned aircraft being built by Northrop Grumman Corp., NATO’s Jim Edge said today.