Country News DigestIssue #9

10/27/12-11/02/12

Country News DigestWednesday, Azerbaijan’s state energy consortium, SOCAR, bought Georgian

Azerbaijan

Georgia

Russiagas supplier Itera-Georgia. The new arrangement will allow SOCAR to sell gas directly in Georgia and makes the Azerbaijani company the sole distributor everywhere but in Tbilisi.

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The Federation Council passed a new bill expanding the definition of treason on Wednesday, after the Duma approved the same proposal last week. Treason now includes giving information to international organizations which threaten Russia’s security, including NGOs. President Putin is expected to sign the bill into law next week.

Armenia

Moldova

Belarus

Ukraine

Turkey

After the Ukrainian election, Ukrainians are becoming more concerned about their currency. Official data showed that dollar purchases by Ukrainians were the highest in a year in September, in anticipation of a weaker currency after the ballot. Their concern follows Yanukovich’s party victory.

The authoritarian president of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko publicly went on a rant against the Sports Minister Oleg Kachan and Sports Deputy Igor Zaichkov before firing them this week. He blamed them for Belarus’ poor performance in the 2012 Summer Olympics. Belarus won only 12 medals in London this summer, compared to 19 in Beijing.

Moldovan Prime Minis-ter Vlad Filat and Turkish President Abdullah Gul held a meeting Thursday in Ankara. Turkey ranked sixth in terms of trade volume and ninth among Moldova’s ex-port partners. Turkish officials stated they are interested in investing in the Moldovan energy market. Currently there are 232 Turkish companies operating in various Moldovan markets.

Economic and cultural exchange between Russians and Georgians are being

planned, including British backing of student and activist exchanges and tours of Georgian artists in Russia. However, steps are expected to remain on the grass-roots level for now, as Georgia’s new Foreign Minister Maia Panjikidze stated this week that formal diplomatic relations are still out of the question.

Nato week was launched in Gyumri, Armenia on Thursday and will run

through the 8th of November. The goal is to inform Armenian society about the NATO-Armenian relationship. Armenia and NATO signed an Individual Partnership Action Plan (IPAP) in December 2005 and Armenian troops have participated in peacekeeping missions in Afghanistan and Kosovo.

After rumors circulated that President Abdullah Gul told Ankara’s governor

to allow the celebration of Republic Day to precede, Prime Minister Erdogan stated that the “double-headed rule” would not benefit the country, possibly signaling a growing rift between the two men. Recent polls suggest President Gul is the more popular of the two.

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Country News DigestRussia will write off nearly $500 million of Kyrgyz debt by 2026 under a new

Kyrgyzstan

Kazakhstan

agreement signed by both states. As part of the agreement RusHydro, Russia’s state-controlled hydroelectric power producer, will build four hydroelectric power stations in the Central Asian republic.

The Afghan Election Commission has set the presidential election date as April 5, 2014. The announcement has assuaged concerns that President Karzai, constitutionally barred from running for a third term, would seek to delay the elections. Provisional elections will be held on the same date, and parliamentary elections will be held in 2015.

Mongolia

IranIsraeli Defense MInister Ehud Barak told the British Daily Telegraph newspaper that a crisis was avoided earlier this year when Iran diverted three quarters of its enriched uranium to civilian purposes. Barak was quoted as saying the decision “allows contemplating delaying the moment of truth by eight to ten months.”

Turkmenistan is planning to launch its first national satellite in 2014, to be built by the Franco-Italian space technology company Thales Alenia and launched from a Chinese site. President Berdimukhamedov met with VP Michel Ricard on Wednesday to discuss the project’s progress.

Mongolian Central Bank is trying to raise $1.5 billion by selling government bonds in order to finance the development of the country’s infrastructure. This move comes as Mongolia, which is a resource-rich country, is trying to encourage more foreign investment.

Kazakhstan has enlisted the help of ranchers from North Dakota in an attempt

to revive its cattle industry. North Dakota cattle has been shipped to the former Soviet republic and Kazakh cowboys have been receiving instruction on raising cattle from North Dakota ranchers.

The WTO has said that it will likely accept Tajikistan’s application to join the

group later this year. Tajikistan has been trying to join the WTO since 2001. The Tajik government has vowed to undertake a series of reforms to tariffs and legislation limiting the import of goods.

The government controlled energy firm Uzbekenegro has hit the deadline

for repaying its nearly $20 million power bill to the Kazakhstan Electricity Grid Operating Company. Uzbekenegro was to pay off half of the debt by the end of September, which did not occur, and complete the payment by October 30.

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Uzbekistan

Afghanistan

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Country News DigestEstonia’s unemployment level is slightly below that of the EU. The

Estonia

Lithuania

Czech RepublicEU’s unemployment rate is 10.6%, while Estonia’s unemployment rate is 10%, coming drastically down from 11.4%.

The ruling party of the Czech Republic, the Civic Democrats, has splintered over a bill that proposes raising taxes in order to reduce the budget deficit. Prime Minister Necas has delayed the vote, which he has linked with a vote of confidence, into next week in an effort to better his chances of winning.

Latvia

Romania

Hungary

Poland

A regional court in Slovakia has ruled that the segregation of Roma children in elementary schools constitutes discrimination, and the practice must be done away with. School officials argued that the separation of students was based not on ethnic background but was due to the children’s “socially disadvantaged” origins.

Hungary’s government announced a new plan to lower its debt and encourage investment in the country this week. Foreigners may acquire Hungarian citizenship if they agree to invest at least 250,000 euros in its economy by buying government bonds with five-year maturities.

Romania will conduct a €1.5 billion sale of 7-year Eurobonds. Romania last conducted a bond sale 16 months ago, and despite the recent commendation of the IMF the bonds are set to cost Romania roughly the equivalent of what Spain is paying for similarly matured bonds.

Chevron has entered Lithuania by acquiring a 50% stake in local

company LL Investicijos. The US-London company looks to invest in shale gas exploration. The Lithuanian government has set a goal for energy independence from Russia.

The Latvian Supreme Court has convicted businesswoman Inara

Vilkaste of complicity in bribing Riga City Council officials and has sentenced her to two years in prison. Vilkaste’s attorney said they would be appealing the case. The sentence for Raimonds Janita was reduced to the amount of time he has already spent in jail and was released in the courtroom.

Polish authorities have refuted reports that residue from explosives was found

on the wreckage of the plane that crashed in 2010, killing the Polish President Lech Kaczynski and many other important officials. Conspiracy theories have abounded after the tragedy, especially since Kaczynski’s twin brother Jaroslaw, has insisted that it was an assassination.

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Country News DigestPresident Rosen Plevneliev has threatened to veto the new Water Supply Act if

Bulgaria

Albania

Croatiamunicipalities do not move to consolidate water utilities. Bulgaria faces the potential of a serious water shortage and the current network supply system is estimated to waste 60-65%.

Serbian president Tomislav Nikolic says he is willing to meet his Croatian counterpart Ivo Josipovic. He then added: “I am ready to meet Josipovic once Croatia shows interest in two presidents to meeting.”

Serbia

Macedonia

Montenegro has made Lonely Planet’s list of the top ten destination countries of 2013. The Balkan country ranks second after Sri Lanka. The article cites beautiful beaches as well as great hiking country as reasons to visit Montenegro.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited Kosovo’s capital city of Pristina this week. She declared that Kosovo’s independence was “not up for discussion” and urged Kosovo and Serbia to improve relations, an act that she believes is possible without Serbia’s formal recognition of Kosovo.

Slovenian President Danilo Türk called on the government to withdraw or delay the enactment of the bad bank and sovereign holding acts after opposition party MPs submitted a request to hold a referendum on the two acts. Slovenians will likely vote down the bad bank acts, as it is estimated 56 percent of the population opposes them.

A former political prisoner in Albania who was seeking speedier government

compensation has died three weeks after he set himself on fire during a hunger strike, activists say.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged Serbs to accept that they cannot

change Kosovo’s borders, and pressed both countries to normalize relations. After meeting with Kosovo’s prime minister, Hashim Thaci, and Kosovo’s president, Atifete Jahjaga, she stated, “We oppose any discussion of territorial changes or reopening Kosovo’s independent status.”

A large protest against Nikola Gruevski and his VRMO DPMNE Party

took place in Skopje this week. Opposition leaders have accused his party of reducing freedom of speech and press, while also pursuing costly policies such as building hundreds of monuments throughout the capital that many have derided as “kitsch”.

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Montenegro

Kosovo

Slovenia

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Country News Digest

Bosnia & Herzegovina

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited the country this week and urged the country’s leaders to work together or risk falling behind their neighbors. Secretary Clinton had harsh remarks for the Bosnian Serb nationalist leaders as they continue to entertain the idea of dissolving the country.

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Email: ceres@georgetown.edu Tel.: (202) 687-6080 Fax: (202) 687-5829

The Center for Eurasian, Russian and East European Studies is a U.S. Department of Education Title VI-funded National Resource Center (NRC)

that strives to increase understanding and appreciation of the cultures and challenges of the region stretching from Central Europe to the Pacific and

from the Baltic to the Mediterranean, Black and Caspian Seas

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