- “Russian groups targeted EU election with fake news, says European Commission. Analysis finds ‘continued and sustained disinformation activity. … aimed at undermining the EU's democratic legitimacy.”
- “Vene rühmitused korraldasid eurovalimiste ajal laiaulatusliku mõjukampaania.”
- “Estonia Speaks Out on Key Rules for Cyberspace.”
- “Euroskeptikud jätkavad uues parlamendis killustunult.”
- “What Is It Like To Be a Non-Permanent Member of The UN Security Council?”
__________
Remembering the victims of
the 1941 June deportations
__________
__________
Friday
14. June
__________
Vene rühmitused korraldasid eurovalimiste ajal laiaulatusliku mõjukampaania
(Postimees)
“Vene rühmitused korraldasid Euroopa Parlamendi valimiste ajal laiaulatusliku desinformatsioonikampaania, mille eesmärgiks oli mõjutada valimistulemusi, teatas Euroopa Komisjon täna.”
Arvamus: Jüri Ratas - peaminister EKRE valitsuses
Juhan Kivirähk - ERR
NATO and Russia: Maneuvers and countermaneuvers on the Baltic Sea
(Deutsche Welle)
“Moscow's reaction to BALTOPS is strongly reminiscent of the Cold War era. Soldiers from five NATO member countries practiced landing on the Estonian island of Saaremaa on Wednesday. On the same day, the Russian navy trained for the sinking of an "enemy" submarine in the Baltic Sea. In the neighboring Russian exclave Kaliningrad, a missile strike on "enemy" ships was also simulated.”
—
“It seems that the NATO military exercise is not only observed by Moscow, but also mirrored with a Russian exercise in turn. However, with seven warships on the Russian side, significantly fewer forces are involved.”
Amphibious beach landing at Kallaste Beach: BALTOPS 2019
(DVID)
“U.S. Marines with 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit and Romanian Marines with 307 Regiment secured the beach after disembarking from the mine layer/landing ship ORP Gnierzno during BALTOPS 2019.”
Saber Knight 2019 in Lithuania testing defense of Baltic states
(Baltic Times)
“The headquarters personnel of the 1st and 2nd infantry brigades of the Estonian defense forces and representatives of its subunits are participating in the command post exercise Saber Knight 2019 led by the NATO Multinational Division North (MND North) in Lithuania this and the coming week.”
Populism, the European elections, and the future of E.U. foreign policy
(War on the Rocks)
“Populism has never been so scrutinized, analyzed, and questioned. One aspect of populism, however, remains less studied: its impact on countries’ foreign policies and on their interstate relations in an international system in flux.”
Europe Alone: What Comes After the Transatlantic Alliance
(Foreign Affairs)
“The rift between the United States and Europe did not begin with Trump, nor will it end with him. Rather than giving in to nostalgia, U.S. and European leaders should start with an honest assessment of the path that led them to the current crisis—the first step to building a more mature and forward-looking transatlantic partnership.”
New Finnish PM visits Estonia - his 1st foreign visit
(Baltic Times)
“Finnish Prime Minister Antti Rinne of the Social Democratic Party is to make on Friday his first foreign visit as head of government to Estonia to meet with his Estonian counterpart, Juri Ratas.”
__________
Thursday
13. June
__________
Finnish EU presidency vows to increase pressure on Hungary
(Emerging Europe)
“Finland, whose government will take over the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union on July 1, will initiate a hearing regarding the abuse of the rule of law in Hungary, diplomatic sources told Euronews on June 11.”
US to move 1,000 of its troops from Germany to Poland
(Foreign Policy)
“This week, Polish President Andrzej Duda met with U.S. President Donald Trump in the White House. During the meeting, the two signed a new defense agreement that would see the United States move 1,000 of its troops from Germany to Poland. The meeting was not without controversy. Duda has won criticism for his apparent backsliding on democratic norms, and observers have warned that moving troops to Poland could antagonize Russia. But none of that was evident in the remarks from the two leaders, who promised ever closer cooperation.”
“Trump Refuses To Criticize Russia During Joint Press Conference With Poland's President Andrzej Duda.”
KGB Revelations: Finlandization, Spies And The Blind Mirror
(UpNorth)
“In August 1997, a book written by the former KGB Colonel Oleg Gordievsky and journalist Inna Rogatchi titled “A Blind Mirror” (Sokea peili) was published in Finland. … The book explored the networks and methods of Soviet espionage and “active measures” in Finland as well as in Sweden and Norway during the Cold War and beyond.”
—
“A Blind Mirror” contains a lot of information about the methods and techniques of the KGB and GRU. In 1980 the KGB launched 350 “active measures”and Moscow received 600 secret or confidential cables from the KGB Residentura in Finland. The Soviet security organs had 216 Finnish agents and operatives in three categories: 88 recruited agents, 73 trusted collaborators and 15 case officers for the illegals. The Soviet military intelligence organization, GRU, had additional resources among its Finnish collaborators. …”
NATO’s Ukraine Challenge
(Lawfare)
“The Elephant in the Room: Russia.”
Young mothers get up to 85 weeks of paid time off in Estonia
(Deutsche Welle)
“The UN's children agency (UNICEF) looked at the length of full-pay parental leave for mothers and fathers and the availability of childcare for young children in 31 European countries …”
Euroskeptikud jätkavad uues parlamendis killustunult
(ERR)
“Uue parlamendifraktsiooni sünnile tuli kolmapäeva õhtul kaasa aitama Prantsusmaa Rahvusliku Liidu juht Marine le Pen. Sellesse gruppi kuulub 73 liiget 751-kohalises parlamendis, teiste hulgas ka Eesti Konservatiivse Rahvaerakonna poliitik Jaak Madison …”
Nationalism in the EU has a new name: 'Identity and Democracy’
(Euronews)
“Marine Le Pen and Matteo Salvini’s MEPs have teamed up with other nationalist parties across the EU to form the biggest far-right group in the European Parliament. The alliance unveiled its new name on Thursday: "Identity and Democracy" (ID).”
—
“It includes Le Pen's National Rally, Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini's League party and Germany's Alternative for Germany (AfD), along with nationalists from Austria, Finland and Denmark, among others.”
Being Protectionist: A Long View of the European Defense Fund
(War on the Rocks)
“E.U. leaders created the European Defense Fund to help implement the E.U. Global Strategy, which outlined the ambition of “strategic autonomy” for the Union — that is, the E.U.’s ability to act, with partners if possible, alone if necessary. The industrial dimension of strategic autonomy for some in Europe — France in particular, but also Spain, Belgium and Finland — entails establishing a European defense industrial base that can produce the equipment that European countries require to defend their territory and their interests. …”
(Not) Figuring out the Future of Europe’s Defence
by Julian Lindley-French
“… The hard truth is that Europeans still do not trust each other enough to pool sufficient forces and resources to become “more efficient and cooperative”. For many of European countries their armed forces are intrinsically tied-up with their sense of national identity. They also act as sources of labour represented by vested political interests that have real clout in many European countries. Europeans also suffer from their own version of ‘pork barrel politics’ with defence industries not only strongly-represented in the political class, but also a vital source of employment often in swing parliamentary constituencies. That latter imperative is why Britain’s two enormous and hugely-expensive new aircraft carriers really got built. It is also the reason why the fielding times and project costs of so much new European defence equipment is so often lamentable, bordering on the criminal.”
Experts: Spy used AI-generated face to connect with targets on LinkedIn
(AP)
“William Evanina, director of the U.S. National Counterintelligence and Security Center, said foreign spies routinely use fake social media profiles to home in on American targets — and accused China in particular of waging “mass scale” spying on LinkedIn.”
—
“British , French and German officials have all issued warnings over the past few years detailing how thousands of people had been contacted by foreign spies over LinkedIn.”
__________
Wednesday
12. June
__________
Riigikogu otsus: Valgesse saali Euroopa Liidu lippe ei tule
(ERR)
“Riigikogu esimees Henn Põlluaas (EKRE) korraldas hääletuse ja mille tulemuste järgi toetas 32 riigikogu liiget Reformierakonna ettepanekut tuua EL-i lipud Valgesse saali tagasi, 34 olid sellele aga vastu. Hääletusel ei osalenud 27 saadikut.”
Putin Copying Anti-Utopia of Orwell’s ‘1984’ with ‘Scrupulous Precision’
by Paul Goble - Window on Eurasia
“Orwell wasn’t describing some completely made-up country but rather extrapolating from what Stalin had put in place.
—
“Consequently, “the treatment offered by Orwell became a cold shower and shock” to those Western intellectuals who thought that the Soviet Union was something positive largely because of its role as an ally in the war against Hitler. Orwell’s book “tore off the rose-colored glasses through which intellectuals of that time viewed the Soviet Union.”
‘1984’ Eesti Keeles
Elias Treemani tõlge
(Rahva Raamat)
Opinion: Kremlin friends an isolated group at European Parliament
By Urmas Paet - ERR
“… the "Kremlin friends club" in the new European parliament's composition will remain modest … The emergence of a united and formidable anti-Europe faction in the European parliament has also failed to materialize.”
Is Latvia Going to Be the Next to Seek Autocephaly for Orthodox Church?
(Window on Eurasia)
“The Orthodox church in Latvia has 370,000 parishioners, 118 parishes, and 79 priests. Most of its followers are ethnic Russians, but there is a sizeable component of ethnic Latvians as well. That makes any change there much less fraught than the case in Ukraine, but in the current environment, Moscow civil and religious is certain to react with hostility to any challenge.”
Number of violations on Latvia’s eastern border down to single-digits after fence erected
(Latvian Broadcasting)
“… decreased from 202 in the first five months of 2018 to just seven by the end of May in 2019.”
__________
‘Deepfake’ Videos
(Multiple sources)
__________
The Liberation of Journalist Ivan Golunov Felt Like a Burst of Freedom in Russia, But Not For Long
by Anna Nemtsova - Daily Beast
“The day the Interior Ministry decided to close the criminal investigation against journalist Ivan Golunov of the independent Meduza news organization will be remembered as a moment of freedom for every Russian.”
—
“But what felt like a fresh wind of a positive reform disappeared on Wednesday, which was Russia Day, a national holiday. Moscow police detained more than 400 peaceful demonstrators who joined the non-sanctioned march on Wednesday calling for punishment of Golunov’s investigators. …”
Golunov’s Release Highlights Arbitrariness of Putin Regime, Not Weakness or Opposition’s Strength
by Paul Goble - Window on Eurasia
“Golunov’s release was just as arbitrary as his arrest.”
“Opposition politician Alexei Navalny was among hundreds arrested at protest over Golunov's ‘framing’."
‘Icebreaker Diplomacy’: Russia’s New-Old Strategy to Dominate the Arctic
(Jamestown Org.)
“Russia’s Baltic Shipyard (St. Petersburg) held a grand ceremony, on May 25, to celebrate the launching of the nuclear-powered Project 22220 (LK-60Ya) icebreaker Ural … The development of this and other classes of icebreakers is seen by Moscow as a crucial step toward ensuring that the Northeast Passage (NEP) can be turned into a source of wealth and sustainable economic growth for Russia as well as preserving Russia’s status as a main stakeholder in the Arctic.”
__________
Tuesday
11. June
__________
Arvamus: Julgeolekunõukogu järel peab olema siht Arktika
(Postimees)
“Eesti peaks lõpuks Arktika Nõukogus vaatlejastaatust taotlema, sest sealsed muutused nii looduskeskkonnas, julgeolekupildis kui kaubateede arengus mõjutavad päris otseselt ka Eestit, kirjutab Euroopa Parlamendi Arktika-poliitika raportöör Urmas Paet.”
Estonia leads in EU’s Digital Economy and Society Index
(Emerging Europe)
“Over the past year, all EU countries improved their digital performance. Finland, Sweden, the Netherlands, and Denmark scored the highest ratings in DESI 2019 and are among the global leaders in digitalisation. In emerging Europe, by far the highest scorer is Estonia, which ranks eighth out of the 28 EU member states. No other country in emerging Europe scores above the EU average.”
EU’s next big challenge
(Vox Europe)
“Chinese investments in Europe have reached dizzying heights in the last two decades but, while it poses an appealing opportunity for economic growth to some countries, it is seen as a direct threat by some of the continent’s wealthier states.”
Misrule Of Law: How The Kremlin Uses Western Institutions To Undermine The West
(NPR | Free Russia)
“Russia has spent years exploiting institutions and legal systems in the West to target critics, invalidate court decisions and roll back sanctions, according to allegations in a new report. … (it) describes the lengths to which it says the Kremlin has gone to undermine the West using international law and accounting firms, foreign officials, think tanks and nongovernmental organizations from New York to Latvia.”
The Report:
Russian Elites have Lost Sense of Self-Preservation
(Window on Eurasia)
“Over the last few years Russian elites “have completely lost a sense of self-preservation” and not tried to reduce popular dissatisfaction but rather taken steps to provoke more of it, have failed to outline a new program for the future, and have “demonstratively refused” to think about a change in the leadership of the country. … Putin apparently sincerely believes that the economy can shift to growth and his ‘close circle’ isn’t capable of sacrificing its current financial interests in the name of longer-term stability. …”
__________
Monday
10. June
__________
Estonia Speaks Out on Key Rules for Cyberspace
(Just Security)
“The debate as to whether international law applies in cyberspace is fading away, for widespread agreement now exists that the rights, obligations and limitations of international law govern cyber activities. … Attention is accordingly turning to the more difficult question of how international law’s existing rules should be interpreted in the cyber context.”
—
“Speaking at the 2019 CyCon Conference, President Kersti Kaljulaid reaffirmed the applicability of international law in cyberspace before observing that “[s]overeignty entails not only rights, but also obligations.” She emphasized, drawing on the law of State responsibility, that States are responsible in law for “internationally wrongful cyber operations… whether or not such acts are carried out by state organs or by non-state actors supported or controlled by the state.” President Kaljulaid also powerfully stressed that “[i]f a cyber operation violates international law, this needs to be called out.” Doing so is crucial, for if interpretive efforts are to advance, States have to not only condemn other States for conducting hostile cyber operations, but also label them as violations of international law and specify the precise rule of law that they breached. Only with such specificity will condemnation yield meaningful normative value.”
The Trump Administration Has a New Problem With Europe
(Slate)
“Throughout his presidency, and even before, Trump has been browbeating the NATO allies to boost their defense budgets, even threatening to leave the alliance if they didn’t pony up. Now that they’re doing so in a politically viable way—by investing in their own companies—top U.S. officials are complaining.”
—
“Michael J. Murphy, a top official in the State Department’s Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, … told the EU ambassadors that their plan to build up their own defense industries, even just a little, would “create a new irritant in trans-Atlantic relations.” This is, at best, baffling. The European plan amounts to fairly normal industrial policy; certainly, it’s a step toward the sort of European unity that most presidents have welcomed and that even Trump has said he wants. As usual, Trump’s sharp protest is the only irritant.”
NATO: Turkey is a Problem
(Modern War Institute)
“President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s new authoritarian vision for Turkey has left the country’s relations with the united States and NATO at their lowest point since Turkey’s accession to NATO in 1952.”
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