BALKAN STUDIES

by Maria Polizoidou
(Reporter, broadcast journalist, and consultant on international and foreign affairs, is based in Greece. She has a post-graduate degree in "Geopolitics and Security Issues in the Islamic complex of Turkey and Middle East" from the University of Athens)

Copyright: https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/11438/greece-terrorism - December 3, 2017.

European democracies in the Mediterranean are in danger of being swept away by a tsunami of uncontrolled immigration. We cannot allow this. Our societies cannot stand it. The European Union itself cannot stand it... [More than] one million 'foreigners' passed then [2015] through Greece and ended up in various countries of the European Union, mainly in Northern and Central Europe. Some of them were real refugees, from Syria and Iraq. But most of them were illegal immigrants from other countries of the world. Today it is estimated that the true refugees that are still coming are 20% of the total or fewer. The rest are illegal immigrants." Read more

Dr. Ian Hope
(Col Dr Ian Hope is a Researcher at the NATO Defense College. His research interests include Strategy, Military Planning, Military Theory and the History of War, as well as Balkans and European Security Issues. The views expressed in this paper are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the NATO Defense College or the North Atlantic Treaty Organization)

Copyright: Copyright: http://www.ndc.nato.int - Research Division –NATO Defense College, Rome, Italy, No. 142, November 2017.

The Warsaw Summit affirmed Alliance interest in and commitment to many geographic regions and nations, without stating priorities. The Western Balkans drew attention, with Serbia, Kosovo and Montenegro receiving specific mention in the Summit Communiqué.2 However, the Summit promoted a continuance of current NATO activity in this region, not a shift or amelioration. Implicit in this is that the status quo, a small NATO force in Kosovo to enhance security and several liaison offices to monitor partnership activity and the application of the Membership Action Plan in the other Western Balkans states, is sufficient. This paper will argue that such efforts are too small and disjointed to meet the growing challenges in the region, especially given NATO’s obligation to conflict prevention in the wake of its significant and successful interventions there in 1996 and 1999. Read more

BY ASHISH KUMAR SEN
(Deputy director of communications at the Atlantic Council, USA)

Copyright: http://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/new-atlanticist/here-s-why-us-commitment-to-the-western-balkans-matters Publication date on RIEAS web site (www.rieas.gr) on 3 December 2017.

The United States and the European Union (EU) must deepen their engagement with the Western Balkans, a region where Russia, Turkey, and wealthy Arab Gulf states have extended their influence and that is considered integral to realizing the idea of a Europe that is whole, free, and at peace, speakers and panelists said at the Atlantic Council on November 29. Read more

Max Hess
(Senior political risk analyst with the London-based AEK international, specializing in Europe and Eurasia).

Copyright: Research Institute for European and American Studies (www.rieas.gr) Publication date: 21 October 2017

Note: The article reflects the opinion of the author and not necessarily the views of the Re-search Institute for European and American Studies (RIEAS).

Sebastian Kurz, 31, is likely to become Austria’s new Chancellor following the 15 October election. He would be the youngest-ever head of government in the European Union and many of his supporters will be seen as a bold new face ready to lead Europe through and past the ongoing crises over migration, integration, fiscal authority, and identity that have dominated European politics, within and without the EU, in recent years. A new leader of Europe’s populist right is likely on the horizon, yet he has received little international attention compared with candidates such as Marine Le Pen or Nigel Farage who were always long shots...Read more

United States Department of the Treasury August 18, 2017

Copyright: https://www.treasury.gov/ - Publication date: (www.rieas.gr) on 10 September 2017

Introduction

This report provides an assessment of the likelihood that a precautionary International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan to Greece, approved in principle in July 2017, will be repaid in full. For the program to become effective – and thus for any potential disbursement of IMF financing to occur – the IMF Executive Board must take a second decision confirming that Greece remains on track with policy reforms under the program, and that there are credible and specific commitments from Greece’s European partners to provide requisite debt relief so that public debt becomes sustainable under the IMF’s analysis. Read more

Cameron Munter
(Board of Contributors)

Copyright:https://worldview.stratfor.com/article/crisis-brews-balkans-west-looks Publication date at RIEAS web site: 1 September 2017

Insight, analysis and commentary from Stratfor’s Board of Contributors and guest contributors who are distinguished leaders in their fields of expertise.
In the first six months of U.S. President Donald Trump's administration, five foreign policy challenges have dominated the national and international spotlight. China's expanding economic and military role, Russia's tenuous relations with Europe and the Middle East, ongoing wars in Afghanistan and Syria, threats stemming from North Korea and Venezuela, and Europe's future amid rising populist movements in the United Kingdom and France have taken center stage among the world's policymakers. .. Read more