Europe

Brussels has signaled aspiring EU members in the Balkans that they had best listen to EU demands to reform, possibly freezing $1.6 billion in funds meant for Bulgaria. [more]

Two gigantic French energy companies -- publicly owned Gaz de France and private Suez –- have agreed to merge into a single energy titan. [more]

In the midst of France's struggles with immigration policies regarding Muslims, one of the highest-ranking Muslim women in France has voiced support for a court ruling denying citizenship to a woman who wears the burqa. [more]

A German economic indicator fell to a record low, indicating bleak times ahead for Germany -- and for Europe. (With Stratfor map) [more]

Stratfor examines the potential Russian military response to U.S. ballistic missile defense sites in Europe. (With Stratfor map) [more]

Russia began decreasing the amount of oil delivered to the Czech Republic the same day Prague signed an agreement with Washington related to the United States' ballistic missile defense system. [more]

The following are internal Stratfor documents produced to provide high-level guidance to our analysts. These documents are not forecasts, but rather a series of guidelines for understanding and evaluating events, as well as suggestions on areas for focus. [more]

French President Nicolas Sarkozy is preparing to launch his pet project -– the Union for the Mediterranean. [more]

Russian natural gas giant Gazprom will have to pay much higher prices for natural gas from Central Asia -- and will pass the costs on to its European customers. [more]

Price hikes in natural gas coming from Central Asia will hit European economies hard but will give Central Asian states large amounts of their own cash for the first time. (With Stratfor map) [more]

Slovakia will become the 16th member of the eurozone on Jan. 1, 2009 -- a development that almost guarantees it faster and more stable growth rates. [more]

Two major developments on the geopolitical landscape -- the adoption of a new pro-Western government in Serbia and a U.S./Czech deal to establish a ballistic missile defense system -- may have taken the wind out of Russian sails but the political powerhouse is not without options. [more]

Serbia's new government officially took power July 8. [more]

An unusually active third quarter awaits France, the new president of the European Union, and a season of recuperation lies ahead for Russia, as it gathers strength to deal with new economic tensions. A podcast series examining key issues in Stratfor’s third-quarter forecast continues with Eurasia analyst Lauren Goodrich. [more]

The G-8 -- the United States, Japan, Germany, Britain, France, Canada, Italy and Russia -- gathered Monday for a summit that will seek to discuss and reach agreements on topics such as climate change and high oil and food prices. [more]

The following are internal Stratfor documents produced to provide high-level guidance to our analysts. These documents are not forecasts, but rather a series of guidelines for understanding and evaluating events, as well as suggestions on areas for focus. [more]

Poland and the United States have reached an agreement on the U.S. missile base to be deployed in the former Eastern Bloc country. [more]

Jean-Pierre Bemba was reportedly transferred July 3 to the International Criminal Court (ICC) at The Hague, where he is expected to face war crimes charges. [more]

Cypriot President Demetris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat met July 1 and agreed to a single Cypriot citizenship and a single sovereign entity. [more]

The threat of nuclear terrorism has become a fact of life in the nuclear age, brought home by the 9/11 attacks and the prospect of a nonstate actor getting hold of a deliverable nuke. [more]