Gazprom Soldiers on With Nord Stream II

Poland has achieved a significant victory in its battle against German and Russian energy collaboration. Daunted by Polish regulations, five international giants in the natural gas industry announced Aug. 12 that they had pulled out of an agreement to join Russian state-owned gas company Gazprom in the Nord Stream II AG consortium. The consortium — which Gazprom currently owns in its entirety — will oversee the construction and operation of the controversial Nord Stream II pipeline, which is set to enter service in 2019. The pullout leaves Gazprom to move forward with the 55 billion-cubic-meter natural gas pipeline project, estimated to cost between $8 billion and $11 billion, by itself, and it could have serious consequences across Northern and Central Europe. Even so, Gazprom will persevere.

Russia Launches Naval Exercises in Black Sea Amid Escalating Standoff with Ukraine

One day after Russia accused Ukraine of attempted incursions across the de facto border into Crimea, the territory annexed by Moscow in 2014, Kiev put its military on high alert and the Kremlin announced the start of war games in the Black Sea, raising fnars of a return to open war in the country for the first time in more than a year.

The Limits of a Southern European Alliance

Forecast

• In the wake of the Brexit referendum, EU member states are searching for regional solutions to Continental problems, an approach that will make it more difficult for the bloc to reach a consensus.
• Although Southern European countries share similar views on Continental integration, domestic interests and constraints will keep them from forming a coherent group.
• Because of its status as both a Mediterranean and Northern European country, France will be trapped in the middle of conflicts between Europe's north and south, putting increasing strain on Paris' alliance with Berlin.

India’s ‘Rexit’: central bank uncertainty raises risk

Key messages

• India is a significant player in the global financial system, given its large and liquid markets. It is a concern at the present moment of global uncertainty because its macroeconomic policy leadership is in transition.

• Outgoing Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Rajan had started to address key challenges, such as inflation and non-performing loans in the Indian banking system. But there is more to do.

Iraq’s Deal With Oil Majors Could Crush OPEC’s Output Freeze Plans

Iraq and oil majors BP (NYSE:BP), Shell (NYSE:RDS.A) and Lukoil have agreed to resume investments in oil fields the foreign groups are developing, which is expected to raise the country’s crude output by 250,000-350,000 barrels per day in 2017, Reuters reported on Thursday, quoting Iraqi officials—a move that has the potential to aggravate the supply glut and muddy the waters of the additional OPEC meeting in September, which some were glass-half-fulling might end with a production cap of some sort.

Οι κανόνες του προσφυγικού: Η προσφυγική κρίση βάζει σε δοκιμασία την ενωμένη Ευρώπη

«Κανένας δεν αφήνει την πατρίδα του εκτός αν πατρίδα είναι το στόμα ενός καρχαρία» (Ουαρσάν Σάιρ)

Μια σκηνή στημένη στο παλιό αεροδρόμιο του Ελληνικού όπου πρόσφυγες και μετανάστες διαμένουν προσωρινά. 13 Ιουλίου 2016. . REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis

Το 2015 περισσότεροι από 1.000.000 πρόσφυγες εισήλθαν στην Ευρώπη πυροδοτώντας, σύμφωνα με τον ΟΗΕ, τη «χειρότερη προσφυγική κρίση μετά τον Δεύτερο Παγκόσμιο Πόλεμο» [1] και θέτοντας, τελικά, υπό αμφισβήτηση την ενότητα της Ευρωπαϊκής Ένωσης.
Σύμφωνα με τον Διεθνή Οργανισμό Μετανάστευσης, από το 2015 μέχρι σήμερα ο αριθμός των θαλάσσιων και χερσαίων αφίξεων προσφύγων στην Ευρώπη υπερβαίνει το 1,18 εκατομμύριο [2]. Κύρια πύλη εισόδου αποτελεί η Ελλάδα, αφού ο αριθμός των προσφύγων που καταφτάνει σε αυτή από την Τουρκία είναι εξαιρετικά υψηλός, ενώ δεύτερη ακολουθεί η Ιταλία, η οποία σημειώνει πολύ μικρότερο αριθμό αφίξεων. Από τους πρόσφυγες αυτούς οι περισσότεροι ζητούν άσυλο κυρίως στην Γερμανία, στην Αυστρία, στην Σουηδία και στην Ολλανδία [3].

The Quiet Tajik Refugee Crisis: A crackdown in Tajikistan has led to a little noticed surge in Tajik asylum seekers in Europe — particularly Poland.

While the refugee crisis triggered by the Syrian conflict has gotten wall-to-wall news coverage in Europe, Poland has been barely a blip on the migration radar. Unlike other EU border states such as Greece, Hungary, and Italy, Poland has not seen a major spike in asylum seekers from places like Syria, Afghanistan, and Eritrea, due to a large extent to its geographical location away from the main migration routes.

A Belarussian border guard opens the gate at a border crossing with Poland, near the village of Pererov, some 320 km (200 miles) southwest of Minsk (October 20, 2013).

Image Credit: REUTERS/Vasily Fedosenko

Yet the comparatively low numbers of Syrians and Afghans arriving in Poland mask a rather dramatic and largely obscured development: the increase in the number of asylum seekers from Tajikistan.

Impact of France’s evolving terrorist threat

The wave of terrorist attacks that hit France in the last 18 months underscores that the country is a primary target for radical Islamist militants, while also having a deep political and economic impact.

Two deadly terrorist attacks made July 2016 one of the bloodiest months so far in France’s modern history. A lone-wolf radical Islamist militant rammed his heavy lorry truck into crowds participating in Bastille Day events along the coastline of Nice, killing 85 people. The attack came only a day after President Hollande had hinted at a possible end to the state of emergency under which France has been since November 2015. The special legal measure has now been extended until January 2017.

Γιατί η Κίνα δεν μπορεί να λύσει το πρόβλημα του χρέους της

Για πολύ καιρό επιβίωνε ένα στερεότυπο για την οικονομία της Κίνας: πως εάν η ανάπτυξη επιβραδυνόταν σημαντικά οι συνετοί τεχνοκράτες του Πεκίνου θα μπορούσαν πάντα να τη στηρίζουν με δημοσιονομικά μέτρα και να κρατούν τα χρηματοπιστωτικά ιδρύματα της χώρας εν ζωή. Σε συνδυασμό με τα αισιόδοξα επίσημα στοιχεία για τα ελλείμματα, το επιχείρημα αυτό ακουγόταν για λίγο καιρό καθησυχαστικό.

Η Ρωσία βγάζει τον στόλο στην Μαύρη Θάλασσα - Συνεδρίασε το συμβούλιο ασφαλείας

Ο πρόεδρος Βλαντίμιρ Πούτιν κάλεσε σε σύσκεψη τους κυριότερους αξιωματούχους της χώρας για να συζητήσουν την ενίσχυση της ασφάλειας στην Κριμαία, όπου οι ρωσικές μυστικές υπηρεσίες ανακοίνωσαν ότι ματαίωσαν "επιθέσεις" που ετοίμαζε η Ουκρανία, ανέφερε σήμερα το Κρεμλίνο.