A variety of elections and events in the energy, labor, environmental and agricultural sectors shaped and changed the landscape of Eastern Europe and Russia in 2007.

Elections and Other Political Events

Ukraine's tension-filled September Parliamentary election produced an interesting result. Incumbent Party of Regions won the election, but lost power due to a new democratic alliance between the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc and President Viktor Yushchenko's Our Ukraine People's Self-Defense Bloc. The new "Orange" alliance holds a razor-thin majority in the Verkhovna Rada, and will need to set aside internal differences to maintain power and effect much-needed change throughout the country.

Several months after Ukraine’s election, Parliament finally met and appointed Yulia Tymoshenko as the country’s new Prime Minister. Typical of everything in Ukrainian politics, Tymoshenko's nomination was controversial. The appointment required two Parliamentary votes and included accusations of tampering with automated voting machines following the first vote.

Poland's October Parliamentary election saw the liberal Civic Platform Party score a stunning victory over President Lech Kaczynski's incumbent Law and Justice Party. The win allowed Donald Tusk to assume the role of Prime Minister, succeeding President Kaczynski's twin brother Jaroslaw.

Amid charges of fraud, bribery and voter intimidation, President Vladimir Putin's United Russia Party won Russia’s December State Duma election with over 64% of the vote. Only three other parties earned enough votes to win seats in Parliament. Opposition leader Garry Kasparov declared the vote to be "the dirtiest in the whole history of modern Russia."

Energy Issues

Early in the year, Russia renewed regional fears by diverting oil supplies around Belarus following a dispute over natural gas supplies. While other nations became deeply concerned about the stability of Russian energy supplies, Russia itself feared dependency on other countries for transportation of its energy resources. Attempting to lessen that burden, Putin approved the construction of additional pipelines to provide direct supplies to various areas of Europe.

Russia also wants to take advantage of worldwide energy needs and increasing pressure for clean energy. Therefore, Putin announced the expansion of the country’s nuclear power program. The plan includes construction of 26 new nuclear stations across Russia, and an additional 60 nuclear power plants for foreign export over the next 20 years.

Romania, with desires to become a major energy supplier, announced an overhaul and privatization of its energy sector. The government hopes this plan will allow Romania to become a key exporter of electricity to the European Union by 2020. The country also plans to increase its use of renewable energy sources in the next several years to account for 33% of all domestic power consumption.

Agricultural Crisis

During the spring and summer, tiny Moldova endured a severe drought that crippled its agricultural sector. Drought conditions forced the government to alter several policies dealing with subsidies to compensate farmers for their losses, and the import of needed grains from other countries.

Environmental Concerns

The European Union assigned tight quotas to Estonia for carbon dioxide emissions, prompting the country to file a lawsuit. Estonia is currently seeking alternative energy sources, though it is still highly dependent on combustible shale to meet its energy needs. Within ten years, the country plans to phase out their shale oil plants, but needs time to implement necessary changes.

Labor Shortages

Workers continued an existing trend of leaving Eastern Europe for better job opportunities in the West. The region is in the midst of a manufacturing boom, but workers are no longer willing to deal with long hours and low pay. Laborers from India and China are being recruited to replace the losses.

References

For complete references, please see the original articles, available at Suite101.com.