Entries by paula@hcss-site

File aan Europese grenzen is terug

Als gevolg van de recente intensivering van de grenscontroles groeien de files aan de Europese binnengrenzen. Rond Duitsland en Oostenrijk wordt uitvoerig gecontroleerd op vluchtelingen, terwijl men in Frankrijk maatregelen heeft getroffen in reactie op toegenomen terroristische dreiging na de reeks aanslagen in onder meer Parijs, Magnanville en Nice. Grenscontroles als instrument in ‘de strijd […]

Poland takes aim at Putin’s pipe dreams

For years, Russia has sought to keep Europe dependent on its exports of energy, especially through natural gas pipelines. But Moscow is also desperate to cut out potentially meddlesome middlemen, like Ukraine, which sits smack between Russia’s natural gas fields and millions of European consumers. That gives Kiev the ability to interrupt Russian gas flows […]

Turkey, Russia pursue gas pipe dream as EU frets

Declarations by Russia and Turkey last week reviving plans for the TurkStream natural gas pipeline linking the two have worried EU diplomats who see it strengthening Moscow’s hand. EU officials fear that TurkStream will be expanded to bypass Ukraine as a transit route for supplies to Europe, increasing dependence on Russian gas export monopoly Gazprom […]

Russia and Turkey resume talks on Turkish Stream

Russia and Turkey have resumed talks on a the Turkish Stream pipeline, despite the current political upheaval in Turkey. Further civil unrest in Turkey poses significant risk to hydrocarbon transit through Turkish territory. Shelved approximately seven months ago after a Turkish jet shot down a Russian fighter plane, the pipeline has more things to worry […]

Russia and Iran will continue to block the construction of the Trans-Caspian pipeline

Turkmenistan is scheduled to hold a trilateral summit (Azerbaijan, Turkey and Turkmenistan) on the Trans-Caspian pipeline project by late 2016 where the prospects of the project will be discussed. The project, whose origins date back to the early 1990s, is marred by uncertainty about its implementation among others due to heavy objections from Russia and […]

The circular economy and developing countries

A transition towards a ‘circular economy’ – in which redundant consumer goods are viewed as input rather than waste – offers great potential for societies to reduce their environmental footprint. Once products reach the end of their lifespan new value can be generated by re-using valuable resources. In today’s globalized world, widely used (consumer) goods […]