Baltic Team

IEŚ Commentaries 1563

18 March 2026

Jakub Bornio - Baltic Team

The Impact of the Crisis in the Strait of Hormuz on Transatlantic Cohesion

Since 14 March 2026, Donald Trump has been urging European NATO allies to engage in efforts to restore freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz. The coercive tone employed by the President of the United States in his appeal to NATO member states, coupled with the unequivocal rejection of his proposal by European leaders, constitutes yet another manifestation of tensions...

More →

Baltic Team, Eastern Team

IEŚ Commentaries 1544

4 March 2026

Michał Paszkowski | Marlena Gołębiowska - Baltic Team, Eastern Team

The U.S.–Israel–Iran Conflict and the Energy and Economic Situation of Central European Countries

The armed conflict between the United States, Israel, and Iran—encompassing both strikes on targets inside Iran and Iranian retaliatory attacks on energy infrastructure in the Persian Gulf—together with the effective suspension of maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, has triggered the most severe shock to global energy markets since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in...

More →

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...

More →

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...

More →

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...

More →

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 –...

More →

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,...

More →

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...

More →

Baltic Team

IEŚ Commentaries 1513

28 January 2026

Michał Paszkowski - Baltic Team

The Central European Natural Gas Market in 2026

The Central European natural gas market will play a crucial role in ensuring the region’s overall energy security in 2026. Following the supply shock triggered by Russia’s full‑scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, countries in the region have gradually adapted their supply models to the new geopolitical realities. A key element of this transformation has been liquefied natural...

More →

Baltic Team

IEŚ Commentaries 1509

26 January 2026

Marlena Gołębiowska | Aleksandra Kuczyńska-Zonik - Baltic Team

Small Languages, Big Models. Baltic States’ Strategies in the Fight for Digital Sovereignty in the Age of AI

The development of generative artificial intelligence depends on the quality and scale of the corpora on which models are trained. For countries with limited linguistic data resources in the digital space, low representation in global datasets poses a risk of technological marginalisation. To counter this threat, the Baltic states are implementing a range of strategies to...

More →