Author: Alex Varga

The last four years have been marked by a significant increase in the activities of Russian intelligence services throughout Europe. The entire spectrum of hybrid operations is recorded, ranging from agent recruitment to critical infrastructure sabotage and cyber attack. These processes became especially noticeable after 2022, when the full-scale invasion...

While the “shadow” fleet is the backbone of Russian energy exports, its main customers are mainly India and China, and the EU itself is no longer a key buyer of Russian crude oil and petroleum products, although it should be emphasized that Russian oil still continues to enter the EU...

The activities of the Russian fleet, in particular the tanker one, have traditionally been at the epicenter of many expert studies, but its individual components are still out of focus, and first of all this concerns the provision of these vessels with crews, that is, crewing activities. The importance of...

In today’s world, the migration crisis has become an acute challenge due to the dramatic increase in refugees and illegal migrants, demanding comprehensive solutions from the international community. Migration can be triggered by economic factors, wars, natural disasters, and increasingly by environmental change. Traditionally, migration was seen as a humanitarian...

Three years into Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine, Europe faces an entirely new security reality. The war itself, Russia’s increasingly regular strikes on border regions of Eastern European countries, and the repeated incursions of drones into EU airspace have made defense and security the number-one priority. What used to be...

It has become almost axiomatic: behind every major corruption scandal in Europe, one inevitably finds a Russian trail. Moscow skillfully identifies unscrupulous players, offers them the chance to enrich themselves, and gradually ensnares them in a web of tainted money—erasing whatever moral compass they once had. In the process, funds...

The Republic of Serbia has held the status of an EU candidate country since 2012 and has been in membership negotiations since 2014, but the process remains far from completion. Meanwhile, authoritarian powers such as China and Russia are by no means “sitting idly by.” Both autocracies, each in their...

The city of Dubai (UAE) is not only located at the crossroads of trade routes and serves as a global financial center. For quite some time now, Dubai has also become a specific place of concentration for individuals from around the world accused of crime and corruption. Dubai enjoys a...

On July 19, 2023, the Defense Committee of the Parliament of the Kingdom of Sweden presented a new national security policy report entitled “Serious Times.”The report provided an overview of threats, critical situations, and conclusions regarding Sweden’s course toward strengthening the country’s defense capabilities. Among other things, the authors of...