European Union

Panic at the chancellery

This is not a quarrel. Nor is it just one of those frequent moments in the Franco-German relationship when everything seizes up because the president has not yet adapted to the new chancellor or vice […]

Ukraina, Kijevas
Central/Eastern Europe

Kojala about forgotten attention for Ukraine’s situation: this should concern us

Lithuanian representatives returned from the annual Munich Security Conference in a poor mood. China’s threat was emphasised, while the question of Russian aggression was either circumvented or sounded like calls to improve relations with Moscow. […]

Flag of Hungary
CORPORATE

Hungarian lessons for Lithuania and Europe

There is a good old English term illiberal democracy that does not have a precise translation into Lithuanian. It defines the regimes that come to power through democratic means, but their representatives apparently aim at the never-ending reign trampling on the fundamental European values of democracy, freedom of speech, and the rule of law. Let us call them anti-democrats, and let me share some insights about them. […]

Vladimir Putin
Opinion

Russian politics in Putin’s new term

Russian President Vladimir Putin is the great survivor of European politics. Western leaders come and go, but Putin has persisted. He has managed to hold on to power for nearly two decades, through three foreign wars, two economic crises, multiple presidential and parliamentary elections (of varying degrees of fairness), a series of leadership reshuffles, the rise and fall of oil prices, and successive waves of economic sanctions. […]

No Picture
CORPORATE

Identifying the biggest threats to the country, wanting to both punish and be friends

Which country do Lithuanians see as the friendliest and which – as the most hostile? What is the Lithuanian people’s perception of Donald Trump, Angela Merkel and Vladimir Putin? What leads to such choices? After asking this of Lithuanian citizens in a number of surveys, not only old truths surface, but also unexpected details. […]

Vytautas Sinica
CORPORATE

Vytautas Sinica. Euro federalism is eroding the European Union

Compared to Lithuania, no other state better understood the fact that membership in the EU and NATO – especially NATO – was (and still is) essential to the country’s long-term survival and the assurance of national interests. It was this goal of achieving the membership that motivated and led Lithuania forward during its first decade of independence. Lithuania always associated NATO with safety and EU with welfare and benefits – and, sadly, better governance as well. […]

Vytautas Keršanskas
CORPORATE

Vytautas Keršanskas. Let‘s stop talking about a European military

In recent months, we hear ever more intensive discussions on the creation of a European military. The topic has been covered by figures ranging from the heads of the largest European Union country heads of state to the presidential candidates in Lithuania. However, one must note that it is an equally impossible to even begin implementing idea as, say, an EU Olympic team or football team. […]

Arvydas Juozaitis
CORPORATE

Arvydas Juozaitis. Trump and the new world order

Major Lithuanian news media did not seriously review US President Donald Trump‘s September 26 speech at the UN General Assembly, which shook the world political community. Prominent analytics say that this dramatically changes the accents […]