Poland Needs EU Support to Meet Climate Goals

Turów Power Station in Bogatynia, Poland, December 3, 2009 (Wikimedia Commons)

Poland will not be able to meet the EU’s 2050 zero-emissions target without additional funds. In an interview with the Financial Times, the country’s chief energy advisor, Piotr Naimski, argues that the European Union needs to take its particular circumstances into account.

Poland’s extreme reliance on coal makes the goal to reduce net emissions to zero a tall order. Coal generates about 80 percent of Poland’s electricity. It also curbs its reliance on Russian energy, which is of geopolitical significance.

There is a political consideration as well. Mining unions are still strong in Poland. The industry has long provided well-paying jobs with a high degree of stability. Miners enjoy special retirement provisions. This makes them a powerful voting bloc. Read more

Under New Government, Greece’s Economic Prospects Look Up

Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Portuguese Social Democratic Party party Rui Rio attend a meeting of European conservative party leaders in Brussels, March 21 (EPP)

For years, hardly any good news came out of Greece. Now it is one of the few places in Europe where the future looks bright. What happened? Read more

Germany Under Pressure to Spend

German chancellor Angela Merkel confers with her finance minister, Olaf Scholz, in parliament in Berlin, November 21, 2018 (Bundesregierung)

In the face of weakening economic growth, outgoing European Central Bank president Mario Draghi has called on the fiscally conservative governments of Germany and the Netherlands to spend more.

The Dutch are heeding his advice with plans for a long-term economic investment fund. Will the Germans follow suit? Read more

Germany Can’t Blame Trump for Its Slowing Economy

The port of Hamburg, Germany, May 27, 2008 (Flickr/dmytrok)

Germany may be heading into a recession. Its economy shrank .1 percent in the second quarter of this year.

Donald Trump’s trade war with China is partly to blame, but it has also exposed Germany’s home-grown vulnerabilities: an overreliance on exports and weak domestic demand. Read more

Serbia Needs to Break with Russia

Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia and Aleksandar Vučić of Serbia inspect an honor guard in Belgrade, January 17 (Presidential Press and Information Office)

Russia and Serbia share a rich history of religious tradition and support. Russia has stood by what it considers its little brother for centuries and it continues to do so today. Just last week, Serbia received ten armored patrol vehicles from Russia. Thirty T-72B3 tanks are underway.

Serbian president Aleksandar Vučić has thanked Vladimir Putin for beefing up the Serbian military, but he should be wary of the implications. If Serbia wants to join the EU, it must avoid playing with fire. Read more

Kosovo Must Come to Terms with Reality

President Hashim Thaçi of Kosovo visits Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, September 29, 2017 (US Army/Elizabeth Fraser)

Last month, the president of Kosovo, Hashim Thaçi, dropped a bombshell, calling for unification with Albania.

Kosovo is majority ethnic Albanian, but unification would actually hinder the progress of both countries. Here’s why. Read more

How Close Are Western Balkan States to Joining the EU?

French president Emmanuel Macron and German chancellor Angela Merkel chair a meeting with Balkan leaders in Berlin, April 29 (Elysée/Soazig de la Moissonniere)

Leaders of the six Western Balkan countries that remain outside the EU are meeting in Poland this week to discuss their possible accession to the bloc. Four — Albania, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia — are candidates to become member states.

Last year, a similar summit was held where the existing member states expressed their concerns about corruption, weak governance and unfree markets in the region. What has changed since then? Read more

Atlantic Sentinel

Nemanja Popović