On 7 May the Eastern Partnership initiative will be launched at a summit held in Prague under the auspices of the Czech EU Council Presidency. In addition to the twenty-seven EU heads of state and government, political leaders from Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan have...

The opposition leader Viktor Yanukovych obtained a clear if narrow victory (49 percent versus 45.5 percent for then Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko) and has been sworn in as Ukraine's president for the next five years. He first faces the challenge of acquiring a majority in parliament and...

When Viktor Yanukovych won the Ukrainian presidential election in February 2010, there was consensus among most analysts on his probable foreign policy course. It was believed that he would reduce the emphasis on the West and return to a more balanced »multi-vectoral« policy which would...

The EU's current policy towards Russia assumes that the Kremlin is interested in a comprehensive national modernisation programme and has the power to put this into practice. But what if this assumption turns out to be incorrect? Numerous structural obstacles give grounds for scepticism that...

Ukraine is currently experiencing its worst crisis since obtaining independence in 1991. Violent escalation in Kyiv costing dozens of lives, separatist endeavours in Crimea and instability in the eastern provinces result not only from Russia's irresponsible great-power politics, but also from an...

Since the Maidan protests erupted at the end of 2013 Ukrainian society has witnessed a deep transformation, in which polarising as well as consolidating tendencies can be identified. The "Revolution of Dignity" and Russia's violation of the country's territorial integrity have strengthened...

Ukraine's Euromaidan protest movement, which brought about the fall of President Yanukovych in 2014, has led to a comprehensive process of reforms. However, this process is being hampered and delayed by a large number of internal and external hurdles. There are particularly significant obstacles...