IES Commentaries | Institute of Central Europe

Baltic Team

IEŚ Commentaries 1533

25 February 2026

Michał Paszkowski - Baltic Team

Hungary and Slovakia in the Face of a Disruption to Crude Oil Supplies via the Druzhba Pipeline

The Druzhba pipeline constitutes a critical component of Central Europe’s energy infrastructure, supplying Russian crude oil to refineries in Slovakia and Hungary. Following the suspension of deliveries through the southern branch on 27 January 2026, both countries found themselves facing a serious threat to energy security, as they remain among the last EU member states still...

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Eastern Team

IEŚ Commentaries 1528

16 February 2026

Jakub Olchowski - Eastern Team

Veterans in Ukrainian politics – what’s next for Valerii Zaluzhnyi?

Amidst the prolonged war, growing corruption scandals, and declining trust in traditional elites, the military and veterans have gained significant social capital. General Valerii Zaluzhnyi’s dismissal and “exile” to the UK have not weakened his position—on the contrary, they have strengthened his image as an independent leader, remaining outside the current party...

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Baltic Team

IEŚ Commentaries 1524

12 February 2026

Jakub Bornio - Baltic Team

The Impact of the Expiration of the New START Treaty on the Security of Central and Eastern Europe

On 5 February 2026, the Treaty on Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms (New START), concluded in 2010 by the United States and Russia, expired. Although the treaty did not cover the systems used by Russia for nuclear coercion against the states of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), its termination has global implications and therefore...

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Baltic Team

IEŚ Commentaries 1522

10 February 2026

Aleksandra Kuczyńska-Zonik - Baltic Team

A “Military Schengen Area” in the Baltic States

On 30 January 2026, the Ministers of Defence of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia signed a Declaration of Intent on the establishment of the Baltic Military Mobility Area (BMMA). The objective is to streamline procedures and facilitate the expeditious movement of troops and equipment across the three nations, particularly in crisis situations. The initiative aims to increase the...

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Baltic Team

IEŚ Commentaries 1523

10 February 2026

Michał Paszkowski - Baltic Team

The Price of Security: Moldova’s Electricity Market in 2025

The year 2025 proved to be a breakthrough year for Moldova in terms of energy security, yet it was also exceptionally challenging due to rising electricity prices. Following the suspension of natural gas deliveries to the MGRES power plant (located in Transnistria) via Ukrainian territory – a facility that for many years served as a pillar of the national power system –...

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Collective Memory Team

IEŚ Commentaries 1518

2 February 2026

Robert Rajczyk | Łukasz Lewkowicz - Collective Memory Team

Beneš Decrees: an unresolved problem in Hungarian-Slovak relations

The political instrumentalisation of the amendment to the criminal code, which penalises the questioning of the so-called Beneš Decrees, is common to the Slovak opposition party Progressive Slovakia (Progresívne Slovensko, PS) and the Hungarian opposition group Respect and Freedom (Tisztelet és Szabadság, TISZA), which enjoys the greatest poll support. Both parties,...

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Civic Studies Team

IEŚ Commentaries 1517

30 January 2026

Jędrzej Jander - Civic Studies Team

The Outlook for This Year’s Elections to the State Duma in Russia

In September 2026, elections to the State Duma—the lower chamber of the Federal Assembly—will take place in the Russian Federation. Although Russia’s system of power is built primarily around the prerogatives and authority of the president, the Duma remains one of the most important institutions of this formally democratic federation. Over more than two and a half decades of...

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Baltic Team

IEŚ Commentaries 1516

30 January 2026

Aleksandra Kuczyńska-Zonik - Baltic Team

Where Is the Center of the Belarusian Opposition Today? The Relocation of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s Office

Since the 2020 presidential election, Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya has resided in Lithuania due to fears of political repression in Belarus. In mid-January 2026, she announced that she and her office would relocate to Warsaw. The main reason for this decision was the Lithuanian authorities’ decision to downgrade Tsikhanouskaya’s protective status,...

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Baltic Team

IEŚ Commentaries 1515

28 January 2026

Jakub Bornio - Baltic Team

The United States National Defense Strategy and the Security of Central and Eastern Europe

The United States National Defense Strategy, published by the Department of War, operationalises and further specifies the assumptions of U.S. foreign policy articulated in the National Security Strategy. The Pentagon’s vision of the international environment assumes that U.S. policy will be guided by a doctrine of “practical realism”, the prioritisation of the Indo-Pacific...

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Collective Memory Team

IEŚ Commentaries 1514

28 January 2026

Agata Tatarenko - Collective Memory Team

The Powerless in Davos: Central European Motifs in Mark Carney’s Speech

The speech delivered by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney at the Davos forum offered a contemporary interpretation of Václav Havel’s thought, particularly as articulated in the essay The Power of the Powerless. In diagnosing changes in the global order, Carney drew on Havel’s critique of life lived in pretense and conformity. From this perspective, the Canadian prime...

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