Eastern Europe

September 17, 2009 -- WASHINGTON – Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin, D-Mich., said the following today regarding President Obama’s European missile defense announcement:

President Obama has made a sound choice that will improve our security. The President’s decision focuses on fielding effective capabilities to defend our forward deployed force and allies in Europe against the real and existing missile threat from Iran, which consists of short- and medium-range missiles, rather than only against a potential future long-range threat.    » read more »

Calls on DOD to review impact on GMD at Fort Greely

September 17, 2009 -- The Obama administration's decision to cancel deployment of a European-based missile defense system makes full deployment of Alaska's ground-based midcourse defense (GMD) system even more vital for the nation's defense, Senator Mark Begich said today.

A member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Begich said America's defense against missiles launched by nations such as North Korea and Iran will now largely rely on the missile defense system at Fort Greely.    » read more »

Statement by David Wright, co-director of UCS's Global Security Program

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (September 17, 2009) — President Obama's announcement today that his administration is scrapping plans to deploy a missile defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic was seen as a "victory for common sense" by experts at the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS). As noted by leading scientists in a letter to the president in July, the missile defense system slated for Eastern Europe "has not been proven and does not merit deployment. It would offer little or no defensive capability, even in principle."

Below is a statement by Dr. David Wright, a physicist and co-director of UCS's Global Security Program:    » read more »

Study urges countries to further cut red tape and barriers to entrepreneurs

BRUSSELS, May 14, 2008 — Big gains in the productivity of workers in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union during the past decade have helped boost growth and living standards, but more must be done to eliminate red tape and barriers to enable firms to become more productive in a rapidly globalizing world, says a new World Bank report.    » read more »

Rising Food Prices May Require Stepped Up Social Assistance to Help Poor

WASHINGTON, April 9, 2008 — World Bank officials today warned that the countries of Eastern Europe, Central Europe, and Central Asia face slower economic growth as a result of the economic downturn in the U.S. and Western Europe, and should step up their efforts to protect poor and vulnerable people from the effect of higher food and energy prices.

Rice-fields in a valley near Lao Cai, northern Vietnam: Photo by Tran Thi Hoa / World Bank (CC)    » read more »

New research shows small and medium businesses in the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland are ready to embrace new technologies

BUDAPEST, Hungary; PRAGUE, Czech Rep. & WARSAW, Poland - April 3, 2008 - Advanced information and communications technology is a key differentiator that can help small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) grow their business, become more competitive and operate more efficiently within international supply chains. As part of Cisco's continued commitment to Central and Eastern Europe, Cisco CapitalTM today announced the availability of its EasyLease financing program through local finance organisations in the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland.    » read more »

BUCHAREST, Romania, April 3, 2008 – NATO formally offered membership today to two of the three Balkan nations President Bush had strongly advocated for acceptance.

Albania and Croatia were accepted by the 26 other NATO members to begin the accession process after hours-long discussions of the North Atlantic Council, NATO’s principal decision-making body, this morning.    » read more »

April 2, 2008 -- Neptun, Romania -- PRESIDENT BASESCU: Mr. President, you will be the first.

PRESIDENT BUSH: Well, thank you very much. Bună ziua. Mr. President, thank you very much for your warm hospitality. Laura and I are thrilled to be with you and your lovely wife. I can't think of a better place to meet. It's such a beautiful setting, and you're awfully kind to have invited us to be here. After all, that's what friends do, though. And our relationship is very strong and it's very friendly.

The Bushes are greeted by the President and First Lady of Romania: Photo by Eric Draper    » read more »

Governments Should Change Laws

New York, January 24, 2008 – The European Court of Human Rights’ ruling that a lesbian woman can embark on the process of adopting a child means European states should ensure equality in the right to found a family, Human Rights Watch said today.    » read more »

Only Urgent Reforms Can Help Mitigate Long-Term Fiscal Problems

WASHINGTON, June 20, 2007— By 2025, many countries in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union will have populations that are among the oldest in the world, posing a threat to the region’s recent economic success if pension and health care reforms are not adequately tackled and policies are not put in place to promote productivity growth.    » read more »

MOSCOW, April 23, 2007 – The United States intends to be prepared for future threats and is inviting Russia to become a partner in a defensive endeavor, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said here today.

“We now face new threats that require new strategy for both deterrence and defense,” Gates told U.S. and Russian reporters. “Moreover, the ever-increasing pace of technological innovation, combined with the proliferation of mass destruction and delivery systems, means the threats we face now may be much more ominous in 10 to 20 years.    » read more »

MOSCOW, April 23, 2007 – The United States and Russia will form a working group of experts to discuss the proposed U.S. plan to base missile defenses in Eastern Europe, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates announced here today.

“The key to this is cooperation,” the secretary said. “We would like to have the Russians as partners in this process. We would like to share information with them. We’re prepared to collocate radars with them. We think there are some real opportunities here for both sides.”    » read more »

MOSCOW, April 23, 2007 – Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates arrived here yesterday to meet with President Vladimir Putin and other top Russian security officials to discuss U.S. plans to base missile defense assets in Eastern Europe.

The United States, Europe and Russia face a common threat posed by such rogue nations as Iran and need to act cooperatively, a senior administration official traveling with the secretary said on background. Russian officials, however, have downplayed the threat from Iran and have expressed opposition to the plan, he noted.    » read more »