Europe-East articles from April 2005

Europe-East archives from April 2005

KYRGYZSTAN - ANOTHER WAKE-UP CALL FOR THE EU.
April 11, 2005... The political changes in Eastern Europe and Central Asia are providing many Europeans with a crash course in geography and presenting the European Union with new challenges rather faster than it can find solutions. Just a couple of weeks...

EU AND UKRAINE DISCUSS OVERHAUL OF BILATERAL OPEN SKY PACTS.(Brief Article)
April 11, 2005... Kiev and the European Commission are negotiating the revision of the bilateral air agreements between Ukraine and individual EU member states. Aviation experts from the two sides got together in Brussels on April 4 and 5 to consider such...

EBRD FINANCES MODERNISATION OF TIRANA AIRPORT.(European Bank for Reconstruction and Development )(Brief Article)
April 11, 2005... The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is lending Euro 21 million to Tirana Airport Partners Sh.p.k., a consortium led by Germanys Hochtief AirPort GmbH, concessionaire of the oMother Teresao International Airport, to modernise...

EIB LENDS EURO 30 MILLION FOR WASTEWATER INFRASTRUCTURE IN TURKEY.(European Investment Bank )(Brief Article)
April 11, 2005... The EIB said on March 21 it was extending a loan of Euro 30 million for the supply of potable water and wastewater infrastructure of the city of Samsun. The Banks loan is intended to part-finance the construction of a new wastewater treatment...

NEWS IN BRIEF.
April 11, 2005... EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner said after the March 16 meeting of EU Foreign Ministers in Brussels that she hoped that EU member states would agree in April to launch negotiations on European Neighbourhood Policy...

ARMS: EU NON-PROLIFERATION FIGHT FACING FINANCING SHORTFALLS.(Brief article)
April 11, 2005... Ms Giannella was speaking at a March 17 hearing held by the European Parliament Foreign Affairs Committee's sub-committee on security and defence on "The non-proliferation of WMD: a role for the European Parliament". Ms Giannella made...

TRADE: NO AGREEMENT ON NEW GENERALISED SYSTEM OF PREFERENCES.(European Commission's proposal)
April 11, 2005... The textile sector and its implications for EU trade with India proved to be the principal barrier to an agreement, more specifically the "graduation threshold", i.e. the percentage above which a country loses GSP benefits. The Commission...

TRADE: SIMPLER RULES OF ORIGIN FOR DEVELOPING COUNTRIES.(European Commission's proposed trade reform)
April 11, 2005... Under the current rules, in order to benefit from preferential tariffs, goods from a given country must originate entirely from that country, or where this is not the case, have been the object of sufficient transformation in that country....

EUROPEAN COUNCIL: EU LEADERS AGREE ON IMPORTANCE OF GROWTH AS A ROUTE TO SOCIAL COHESION.(Council of the European Union)
April 11, 2005... The text agreed stated that "there is a high price to pay for delayed or incomplete reforms", using as evidence of this the large gap between Europe's growth potential at the moment and that of its economic partners. "We must re-launch the...

COMPETITIVENESS: TARGETING THE LISBON STRATEGY - FIVE YEARS OF FUDGE.
April 11, 2005... The new Lisbon targets, reduced to their simplest form, appear in the box below. As is instantly apparent, there are plenty of them. And as is equally evident, their scope ranges widely, from measures or actions designed to boost Europes...

SERVICES DIRECTIVE: EUROPEAN COUNCIL INSISTS ON PRESERVING EUROPEAN SOCIAL MODEL.
April 11, 2005... No social dumping. A compromise text, agreed by EU leaders on the evening of March 22, indicated that, whilst the EU supports a complete opening up of the market for services, the European social model must be protected. The...

EU BUDGET: EP'S DRAFTSMAN CALLS FOR 5% CUT IN MEDIUM-TERM FINANCING.
April 11, 2005... Mr Boge presented a draft version of his resolution to MEPs on March 30. While the document outlined the areas where he feels savings could be made, mainly in the section called "competitiveness for growth and employment", it did not contain...

EU BUDGET: STRAW VOWS TO USE VETO ON BRITISH REBATE.
April 11, 2005... The UK has come under pressure from EU partners to compromise over its unique rebate from EU coffers. The rebate, secured by the then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in 1984, was justified because the UK was such a large agricultural importing...

EMU: MORE FLEXIBLE RULES FOR STABILITY PACT.
April 11, 2005... The agreement was rubber-stamped by the March 22-23 European Council on the basis of the Council's report entitled "improving implementation of the stability and growth pact", outlining the principal modifications accepted by ministers. "The...

JUSTICE AND HOME AFFAIRS: MEPS FLEX THEIR MUSCLES ON BORDER CONTROLS.(members of parliament)
April 11, 2005... Since January 1, 2005, the European Parliament has powers of co-decision over border control, visa and illegal immigration policy, following a Council Decision to extend co-decision to these areas. This hearing gave MEPs a chance to get to...

REGIONAL POLICY: COMMISSION PROPOSES ADAPTING EU SOLIDARITY FUND.(European Commission propose changes in payment rules)
April 11, 2005... The EU solidarity fund, set up following the serious flooding that affected many parts of Europe in summer 2002, enables the EU to provide financial support to the member states and candidate countries following major natural disasters. The...

EU BUDGET: BALTICS PROTEST AGAINST THREAT OF LOWER REGIONAL FUNDS.(foreign economic assistance)
April 11, 2005... Calculating the cap. In reference to the cap of 4% of gross domestic product on the amount of funds a country can receive from the cohesion policy, the paper argues that the method and data used to calculate the ceiling would leave the...

DEFENCE: SOLANA URGES MINISTERS TO SPEED UP EU DECISION-MAKING PROCESS.(Javier Solana)
April 11, 2005... Rapid response. Javier Solana presented the report requested by Ministers on the EU's early response capacity in crisis situations. The High Representative proposed that the EU should be able to decide to dispatch a military mission within...

EU/TURKEY: EUROPEAN COMMISSION KEEPING AN EYE ON PENAL CODE REFORM.(European Union)
April 11, 2005... The Islamic, conservative Justice and Development Party in office since 2003 has been plagued by desertions and is the target of criticism not only from the opposition benches, but also from the media over reform of the press. Turkish...

BENEFITS OF ECONOMIC COOPERATION UNDERLINED AT EUROCHAMBRES-ERDOGAN MEETING.(Brief article)
April 11, 2005... Economic cooperation is of mutual advantage for Europe and Turkey and should be further strengthened in future, Eurochambres President Christoph Leitl said as he met the Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, on April 1 in Istanbul. "The...

BUCHAREST APPROVES JUDICIAL REFORM AND ANTI-CORRUPTION PLANS.(Romania)(Brief article)
April 11, 2005... The Romanian government approved on March 30 strategies and action plans dealing with the fight against corruption and reform of the judicial system, as required of its bid to stay on course to join the EU in January 2007. Romanian Minister of...

NEW TASK FORCE TO ASSESS ZAGREB'S COOPERATION ON WAR CRIMINALS.(European Union to set up a task force, Croatia)(Brief article)
April 11, 2005... EU Foreign Ministers decided at the March 23 European Council in Brussels to set up a new task force to assess how well the Croatian authorities have been cooperating on the arrest of war criminals. German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder confirmed...

REHN VISIT TO BULGARIA EXAMINES OUSTANDING ACCESSION TASKS.(European Union's Olli Rehn)(Brief article)
April 11, 2005... Bulgaria's remaining preparations for European Union membership - in reform of the judiciary and public administration and legislation ensuring full participation in the EU internal market were discussed when EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli...

EU/BULGARIA-ROMANIA: MEPS PAVE WAY FOR SIGNING OF ACCESSION TREATY WITH BULGARIA AND ROMANIA.(members of the parliament)
April 11, 2005... EP role. The Accession Treaty with Bulgaria and Romania is due to be signed on April 25. Before that, the European Parliament is to vote on whether to give its assent to the move during its April 11-14 plenary session (prospectively on...

EU/TURKEY: DISCRIMINATION AGAINST TURKISH WOMEN CONDEMNED AT EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT.(European Union)
April 11, 2005... Organised by the Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality, this hearing aimed to contribute to an own-initiative report by Emine Bozkurt (PES, Netherlands), which is due to be voted on by the Committee on May 26. According to experts...

EU/TURKEY: ANKARA PLEDGES TO SIGN CUSTOMS UNION EXTENSION "WHEN THE TIME IS RIGHT".
April 11, 2005... Diplomatic manoeuvring. "I can't give you a firm date for when we will sign, but I can tell you that our experts are working on it. As soon as they have finished we will then be able to proceed to the signing", said Recep Tayyip Erdogan,...

CLOSER EU/ALBANIA TIES TO HINGE ON ELECTIONS AND RULE OF LAW.(Brief article)
April 11, 2005... Closer relations between Albania and the EU will depend in particular on the potential candidate country respecting international norms during June 2005 legislative elections and consolidating the rule of law. That was the message from...

EU VERDICT ON STARTING TALKS WITH SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO SET FOR MID-APRIL.(Brief article)
April 11, 2005... The European Commission is due on April 12 to give its verdict on whether the European Union should open negotiations on a Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) with Serbia and Montenegro. Concluding an SAA with the EU is seen as a...

EU/SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO: WAR CRIMES SURRENDER "GOOD NEWS" BUT WORK STILL TO DO, SAYS COMMISSION.
April 11, 2005... ICTY confirmed in a statement that Mr Lukic had been transferred to its detention unit from Serbia, having been at large for a year and a half. A spokeswoman for EU Enlargement/Western Balkans Commissioner Olli Rehn told Europe Information that...

EU/SERBIA: TEXTILES TRADE AGREEMENT SIGNED.(Brief article)
April 11, 2005... Milan Paridovic, Serbia's Minister for international economic relations, said that the agreement was of great economic importance for Serbia. The textiles sector represents 7% of Serbian industry and some 2,000 companies. And 70% of Serbia's...

EU/RUSSIA: CONTINUED CONFIDENCE ABOUT COMMON SPACES.
April 11, 2005... Luxembourg's Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn declared that the sides had had "the occasion to note with great satisfaction that general progress has been accomplished in the work on the four common road maps". He added that the April 1...

EU/RUSSIA: PUTIN AND SOLANA EYE SUCCESSFUL SUMMIT.(Brief article)
April 11, 2005... How to cooperate in the EU and Russia's near abroad, how to ease visa requirements, and Russian charges on European airlines flying over Siberia have been among the main issues discussed in the EU-Russia talks to find blueprints for the 'common...

EU/UKRAINE: KIEV INTRODUCES VISA-FREE TRAVEL REGIME.(Brief article)
April 11, 2005... The statement said that the decree "aims at ensuring a true openness of the Ukrainian society, realisation of Ukraines strategic course of European integration, establishment of an adequate investment climate, active development of human...

EU/UKRAINE: MINISTERS SET WHEELS IN MOTION FOR STRONGER TIES.
April 11, 2005... Relations and reforms. Luxembourg's Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn - who led the EU delegation* - expressed his admiration for the recent "peaceful revolution" in Ukraine, saying the country was now well on the way to becoming a stable,...

EU'S INCOHERENCE AND KREMLIN'S COURSE CRITICISED IN EP REPORT ON RUSSIA.(Brief article)
April 11, 2005... The European Union is still not acting coherently enough towards Russia, while prospects for boosting EU-Russia ties are at risk because Russia's commitment to democracy is weakening. These are among the messages in a draft European Parliament...

EU/BELARUS: INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP TO LOOK AT HOW TO PROMOTE DEMOCRACY.
April 11, 2005... The Commission said on March 17 that, after consultations to identify the needs and possibilities for strengthened support, it was preparing to increase its assistance to Belarus from around Euro 10 million annually to some Euro 12 million each...

NEW AVIATION ACCORDS WITH RUSSIA AND CHINA ON A WING AND A PRAYER.(Brief article)
April 11, 2005... European airlines are questioning the need for "open sky" accords with China and Russia. In a recent press release, they criticised a Communication on the EU's external aviation policy, published by the European Commission on March 11, which...

OBSERVERS POINT TO RENEWED SHORTCOMINGS IN FYROM LOCAL ELECTIONS.(former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia )(Brief article)
April 11, 2005... The March 27 second round of municipal elections in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) was well-conducted generally across most of the country, but again failed to meet some key international standards for elections, neither...

EU/KYRGYZSTAN: EUROPEAN UNION LOOKS FOR STABILITY IN WAKE OF "TULIP REVOLUTION".(Brief article)
April 11, 2005... The EU had already issued a declaration on March 25 urging the newly-appointed leaders to restore law and order as quickly as possible, to take all necessary measures to ensure security and stability in the country, to pursue a dialogue with...

KIEV HINTS AT POSSIBLE MEMBERSHIP BID THIS YEAR.(Brief article)
April 11, 2005... Ukraine may apply for EU membership this year, according to the country's Vice Premier responsible for Euro-integration, Oleh Rybachuk, Ukrinform has reported. The comments came after a March 25 meeting of the Ukrainian part of the EU-Ukraine...

EU/GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL: EU AND GULF STATES SEEK CLOSER TIES ON POLITICO-ECONOMIC QUESTIONS.
April 11, 2005... The two parties emphasised the importance of speeding up negotiations on a free trade agreement, notably in the area of services, customs duties, industrial products and public procurement. They also affirmed the importance of reaching a rapid...

COMMISSION SUPPORTS UNDP CALL FOR DEMOCRATIC REFORMS IN ARAB WORLD.(United Nations Development Programme)(Brief article)
April 11, 2005... The United Nations Development Programme's "report on human development in the Arab world" which recommends speeding up democratic reforms in the region, was welcomed by the European Commission on the day of its publication. External Relations...

OIL PRODUCERS AND CONSUMERS ADMIT THEY ARE POWERLESS VIS-A-VIS MARKETS.(Brief article)
April 11, 2005... Oil markets are in the hands of speculators and lack transparency, according to EU Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs, a view shared by Kuwait's Energy Minister Sheik Ahmad Fahad Al Ahmad Al Sabah, who is also chairing the OPEC Conference for...

EU/MEDITERRANEAN STATES: CALL FOR CIVIL SOCIETY TO PLAY BIGGER ROLE IN EUROMED PARTNERSHIP.(Euro-Mediterranean Partnership)
April 11, 2005... The final declaration adopted by members of the Euromed Civil Forum says: "It is urgent that civil society should contribute through its analysis and proposals to a deepening of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership, the results of which are at...

RABAT CALLS FOR GENUINE SOCIAL PARTNERSHIP WITH EUROPE.(Brief article)
April 11, 2005... Morocco's junior Minister with responsibility for the Moroccan diaspora, Nouzha Chekrouni, was in Brussels on April 5 to seek EU support in helping Morocco tackle the delicate problem of illegal immigration. At a meeting with Employment, Social...

EU/SYRIA: SHOULD ASSOCIATION AGREEMENT BE CONDITIONAL ON PROGRESS ON HUMAN RIGHTS?
April 11, 2005... A "catastrophic" situation. Aktham Naisse, who travelled specially from Syria for the hearing in spite of the risks, painted an uncompromising picture of the human rights situation in his country. He explained that he had hoped to see...

EU/IRAN: NUCLEAR TALKS SET TO CONTINUE.
April 11, 2005... IAEA chief appeals to US. Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Mohamed ElBaradei has meanwhile called on the United States to join the EU/Iran talks and to give Tehran security assurances. On the fringes of a...

EU/MIDDLE EAST:EU AID NOT DIVERTED TO FUND TERRORISM, ACCORDING TO OLAF.(Brief article)
April 11, 2005... After extensive investigations, OLAF has concluded that EU aid has been used to alleviate the poverty of Palestinian populations suffering as a result of the Israeli blockade. OLAF inspectors point out that EU payments are subject to very...

SUMMITEERS STRESS IMPORTANCE OF FREE AND FAIR ELECTIONS IN LEBANON.(Brief article)
April 11, 2005... EU heads of state and government gathered for the European Council in Brussels on March 23 endorsed the conclusions concerning Lebanon adopted by Foreign Ministers at their March 16 Council session. The European Council reaffirmed its...

DEVELOPMENT: NGOS DEMAND "OPEN AND DEMOCRATIC" DEBATE ON FUTURE EU POLICY.
April 11, 2005... "We do not regard Internet consultation as the appropriate means for discussing future development policy and urge all stakeholders to launch a serious debate on the future declaration at government, parliamentary and civil society level",...

TERRORISM: FRATTINI URGES EXTENSION OF INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT MANDATE.(Franco Frattini)
April 11, 2005... Frattini on ICC. The mandate of the ICC based in The Hague - is currently confined to war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. Mr Frattini said he personally wanted terrorism to fall within its jurisdiction but that the...

UNHCR CONDEMNS ITALY'S EXPULSION OF MIGRANTS TO LIBYA.
April 11, 2005... With the European Commission still drafting a Directive on procedures for expelling illegal immigrants, the United Nations refugee agency has slammed Italy's deportation on March 17 of 180 people from the island of Lampedusa to Libya. "It is...

HUMAN RIGHTS: MEPS SEEKS TOUGHER APPROACH.(members of parliament)
April 11, 2005... The report calls on EU governments and the Commission to use the human rights dialogue with China oas a real opportunity to bring about changes in the internal policies of China, where major human rights concerns continue to exist". It stresses...

CAIRNS GROUP ATTACKS EU, US FARM SUBSIDIES.(agricultural economies)(Brief article)
April 11, 2005... The Cairns group of agricultural exporting countries has called for heavily protected agricultural economies like the European Union, the United States and Japan to scrap their subsidies. The Cairns Group made the call at a meeting of...

JUSTICE AND HOME AFFAIRS: ASYLUM PROCEDURES DIRECTIVE THREATENS INTERNATIONAL LAW, SAYS UNHCR.(Office of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees)
April 11, 2005... Grave concerns. This is not the first time the UNHCR has voiced its concerns: throughout 2004 as the finishing touches were being put on the Directive in the EU Council of Ministers, the UN refugee agency was sounding the alarm bells. Its...

EU/WORLD BANK: WOLFOWITZ LISTENS TO EUROPEANS BUT MAKES NO PROMISES.(Paul Wolfowitz)
April 11, 2005... Jean-Claude Juncker, President-in-office of the European Council, stated during the meeting that the EU expected guarantees concerning European representation in the World Bank as well as implementation of the United Nations Millennium...

MIGRATION: DIVERGENT POLICIES AND TRENDS REVEALED IN OECD REPORT.(Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development )
April 11, 2005... No EU framework. There is no EU policy on legal migration so national governments are free to do as they choose in this domain. This could change soon because the European Commission published a Green Paper on economic migration in...

AVIATION: EU CONTINUES LEGAL ACTION AGAINST BILATERAL OPEN SKY AGREEMENTS.(Brief article)
April 11, 2005... Reasoned opinions have now been sent to four member states: France, Greece, Italy and Portugal. Letters of formal notice have been sent to seven countries: Spain, Ireland, Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, the Slovak Republic and Malta. In...

NETWORK FOR SHARING ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION DATA APPROVED.(network)(Brief article)
April 11, 2005... A web-based network for sharing data between member states on illegal immigration was approved by the EU Council of Ministers on March 16. The network will be used to inform each other about people-smuggling networks, immigration liaison...

BORDER CONTROLS: UK ASKS COURT OF JUSTICE TO OVERTURN ITS EXCLUSION FROM EU BORDER AGENCY.
April 11, 2005... The Border Management Agency was set up by a Regulation passed on October 26, 2004 but the UK on February 17, 2005 demanded it be annulled, claiming an essential procedural requirement was infringed when adopting it. The agency, due to become...

JUSTICE AND HOME AFFAIRS: EUROPEAN JUDICIAL NETWORK SEEKS TO RAISE PROFILE.
April 11, 2005... Raising awareness. The evaluation, which covers the period 2002-2004, was carried out by the former Dutch EU presidency on the basis of contributions received from the 25 EU member states plus Romania, Turkey, Iceland and Switzerland. The...

WESTERN BALKANS POST TRADE GROWTH WITH EU.(international trade)(Brief article)
April 11, 2005... Western Balkans countries' trade with the EU-25 grew strongly between 1999 and 2003, although growth rates slowed over that period, according to new figures released by the EU's statistics office Eurostat*. The EU-25 is named the number one...

MCCREEVY WELCOMES CITY OF LONDON REPRESENTATION IN BRUSSELS.(Brief article)
April 11, 2005... EU Internal Market Commissioner Charlie McCreevy has welcomed the formal launching of the Brussels office of the City of London, which represents the largest financial centre in Europe and one of the biggest in the world. Speaking on April 5,...

SECURITIES MARKETS: NEW CONSULTATION SHOWS MAJORITY FAVOURS STOCK TRADING LEGISLATION.(Brief article)
April 11, 2005... But the Commissioner cautioned that he would not be rushing into any legislation. "Any proposal will first be tested by a fully-fledged, comprehensive impact assessment", he said. "Any decision on the content, nature and scope of a Directive...

ECONOMIC FORECASTS: SHARP DOWNWARD REVISION OF GROWTH FORECASTS FOR 2005.
April 11, 2005... Further rises in oil prices, uncoordinated exchange rate adjustments and a further drop in consumer confidence are among the principal risks weighing on the spring forecasts. The basic hypothesis used by the Commission puts oil prices at 50.9...

UK REGULATORS TO REPORT ON LSE TAKEOVER BIDS BY SEPTEMBER.(Brief article)
April 11, 2005... The UK's specialist merger regulator, the Competition Commission, will launch a full investigation into the two planned bids for the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and issue a report by September 12. The probe freezes rival plans by the German...

EU CLEARS BANKS TO BUY BUDAPEST BOURSE.(Budapest Stock Exchange, HVB Bank Hungary, Oesterreichische Kontrollbank, Raiffeisen Zentralbank and Erste Bank)(Brief article)
April 11, 2005... The sale of the Budapest bourse to a group of Austrian and Hungarian financial services firms would be good for competition, the European Commission said on March 22. EU regulators approved the sale of the Hungarian Budapest Stock Exchange, the...

BLACK SEA BLUES CLOUD ANOTHER STEP FOR EUROPE.
April 21, 2005... The EU is at last about to unite the Baltic with the Black Sea, fulfilling years of hype about enlargement. But this momentous event - the signature of the EU Accession Treaty with Bulgaria and Romania - is to take place in the cloistered...

ITALY IS FIRST FOUNDING MEMBER TO RATIFY EU CONSTITUTION.(Brief article)
April 21, 2005... After being endorsed by the Italian parliament on January 25, the EU Constitutional Treaty was approved by the senate, making Italy the first of the founding members of the European Community to ratify the Constitution, much to the satisfaction...

BUDGET: SUPPORT GROWING FOR SQUEEZING FARM SPENDING.
April 21, 2005... The meeting of EU member states' permanent representatives was discussing the Luxembourg Presidency's "negotiating box" or outline compromise paper for the 2007-13 financial perspective. While the discussion focused on general remarks about the...

EU/BULGARIA/ROMANIA: PARLIAMENT BACKS ACCESSION AMID INTER-INSTITUTIONAL MANOEUVRING.
April 21, 2005... Vote. MEPs backed Bulgarian and Romanian accession by a resounding margin. But that was only after the assembly heard calls to postpone the vote from German member Daniel Cohn-Bendit, for the 42-strong Greens/European Free Alliance. He...

EU/ROMANIA: PRIME MINISTER REACTS TO EP VOTE.
April 21, 2005... Romania's senior political figures have reacted rapidly to the European Parliament positive - but qualified - vote on their country's accession to the EU. Prime minister Calin Popescu-Tariceanu told Europe Information on April 15: "In...

EU/ROMANIA: PARLIAMENTARIANS BACK 2007 MEMBERSHIP, OUTLINE PRIORITIES.
April 21, 2005... Given further efforts to prepare for entry Romania will become a European Union member on January 1, 2007, according to EU and Romanian parliamentarians. They said they believed this was the case in a declaration and set of recommendations...

EU/ROMANIA: BUCHAREST CLEARED TO TAKE PART IN CONSUMER ALERT SYSTEM.(Brief article)
April 21, 2005... European Union member states have paved the way for Romania's participation in the EU rapid alert system for dangerous consumer products. They adopted without debate at the April 18 EU Competitiveness Council a decision envisaging approval of...

ENLARGEMENT/EMU: VARYING PREDICTIONS FOR ROMANIAN EURO ENTRY, BULGARIA TARGETS 2009.
April 21, 2005... Romania. The earliest that Romania could adopt the euro is theoretically 2009 if it enters the EU on January 1, 2007. A country is obliged to spend two years in the Exchange Rate Mechanism II (ERM II) 'waiting room' following accession to...

EU/BULGARIA: IRISH MEP SAYS LAX CONTROLS MAKE SOFIA A MONEY-LAUNDERING HAVEN.(Jim Allister)(Brief article)
April 21, 2005... With rumours abound that the Irish Republican Army (IRA) is trying to launder funds by buying a bank in Bulgaria, Irish MEP Jim Allister (non-attached) has labelled Bulgaria "a ready-made haven for laundering operations". The IRA is alleged to...

EU/TURKEY: ANKARA URGED TO IMPLICITLY RECOGNISE THE REPUBLIC OF CYPRUS.
April 21, 2005... On the issue of the extension of the EU/Turkey customs union agreement to the ten new member states, Joost Langendijk explained to Turkish officials that "beginning to deal with the representatives of a country signifies beginning to recognise...

EU/TURKEY: PRESSURE FROM ARMENIA TO FORCE ANKARA TO ACKNOWLEDGE GENOCIDE.
April 21, 2005... At the European Parliament meeting, Taner Akcam, a historian and former Turkish-dissident, denounced "Turkey's efforts to falsify and invent archives" and refuted "alleged inconsistencies between these and Western archives". Etyen Mahcupyan, a...

EU/SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO: LET TALKS ON NEW AGREEMENT BEGIN, SAYS COMMISSION.
April 21, 2005... Progress made... Speaking in Strasbourg, EU Enlargement/Western Balkans Commissioner Olli Rehn explained that Serbia and Montenegro was now sufficiently prepared for SAA talks. He said that since the fall of the regime of ex-Yugoslav...

EU/SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO: CONSTITUTIONAL DEADLOCK OVERCOME ON EVE OF COMMISSION VERDICT.
April 21, 2005... Deadlock broken... The state union of Serbia and Montenegro had been in institutional deadlock since the expiry earlier this year of the mandates of the deputies in the republics' joint parliament. Until April 7, there had been no...

EU/FYROM/SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO/KOSOVO: FUNDING FOR 2005 UNVEILED.
April 21, 2005... European Union funding for 2005 for the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (euro 34.5 million), Serbia and Montenegro (euro 184 million) and UN-administered Kosovo (euro 54 million) was unveiled by the European Commission on April 11 under...

EU/WESTERN BALKANS: MEPs CALL FOR INDEPENDENT KOSOVO.(Brief article)
April 21, 2005... The final status of Kosovo must exclude any constitutional ties with Serbia-Montenegro or Albania or any partition of the province, according to a resolution on the Western Balkans adopted by the European Parliament on April 14 in Strasbourg....

EU/KOSOVO: PROVINCE'S ECONOMIC WOES STILL PERTURB.
April 21, 2005... The UN administration in Kosovo has an EU-funded 'pillar' (pillar IV) dealing with economic reconstruction, recovery and development. But nearly six years after NATO forced Serbian troops to withdraw from the area, Kosovo is still in a parlous...

BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA'S LEGISLATIVE PROGRESS PRAISED BY LUXEMBOURG PREMIER.(Brief article)
April 21, 2005... Bosnia and Herzegovina's (BiH's) progress on tasks needed to bring it closer to the EU, "especially in legislative matters", was welcomed by Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker as he met BiH counterpart Adnan Terzic on April 7 in...