On Friday, March 11, 2011, the Atlantic Council’s Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center hosted a roundtable discussion with Ambassador Tacan Ildem, the Director General for International Security Affairs in the Turkish Foreign Ministry.

In the latest Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center Issue Brief, “Turkey’s Three Transformations,” Ambassador Ross Wilson, the Center’s Director, analyzes the mutually-reinforcing trends in migration, economics and politics that have reshaped Turkey and will continue to do so.  

On February 4, the Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center hosted a group of leading European and American voices for a private discussion about priorities and opportunities in the South Caucasus.

The recent discovery of the Leviathan natural gas field off the coast of Israel, though not a game changer like shale in terms of global gas supplies, promises to have major implications for the country's energy security and even the energy balance of the region at large, while setting off competition over other finds in the Mediterranean basin.

In a recent article in Newsweek, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄŸan branded the EU “geriatric” and “comatose.” This reflects not only Ankara’s frustrations with the EU accession process, but also the global transformations of the early 21st century.

The mounting pro-democracy protests in Egypt against the 30-year tyranny of Hosni Mubarak are an encouraging development in the wake of Tunisia’s ousting of its own long-time autocrat, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, earlier this month. It is tempting, indeed altogether proper, to hope for “people power” changes of governance across the autocratic Arab world.

On January 26, the Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center held a discussion with BP Azerbaijan's Vice President for Shah Deniz Development Al Cook on realizing gas from Azerbaijan’s Shah Deniz project, on which critical decisions and developments are expected in coming months.

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso was in Turkmenistan last week negotiating ways the Caspian country's vast natural gas reserves might ameliorate European dependence on Russian resources through the so-called Southern Energy Corridor.

On Wednesday, January 19th, the Atlantic Council’s Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center hosted former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Matthew Bryza for a strategic briefing prior to his departure to Baku, where he will take up duties as U.S. ambassador.

After a along period of political neglect the EU is finally responding to its critics by sending the President of the EU Commission, Mr. Barroso on a Caspian tour. The choice of countries is especially important – Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan. Clearly, energy is at the forefront of Mr. Barroso’s agenda.