Europe-East articles from April 2007

Europe-East archives from April 2007

DOHA ROUND : COMMISSION HOPES FOR BREAKTHROUGH BETWEEN MAY AND JULY.
April 23, 2007... The European Commission is hoping that consultations to revive the Doha Round of international trade talks - which have been stepped up in the past few weeks - will conclude with an agreement with all World Trade Organisation members by early...

EP REPORT ON CROATIA.(Brief article)
April 23, 2007... On 27 March, the European Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee adopted by an overwhelming majority a report on Croatia's progress towards EU integration in 2006. The report, drawn up by Austrian Socialist Hannes Swoboda, praises Croatia's...

PUTIN: RUSSIA WILL NOT SEEK EU MEMBERSHIP.(Vladimir Putin)(Brief article)
April 23, 2007... Russian President Vladimir Putin marked the EU's celebrations of its 50th anniversary by publishing on 25 March an article on Russian-EU relations in several newspapers. He argued that Russia is Europe's natural ally and added that "the Russian...

RESHUFFLE OF REHN'S CABINET.
April 23, 2007... Maria Asenius has been nominated deputy head of Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn's cabinet. Her previous portfolio (Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina) has been taken over by Nina Hyvarinen. Miriam Verger has replaced Jean-Christophe Filori...

SOFIA BACKS TURKEY'S EU BID.
April 23, 2007... Bulgaria, the newest EU member state and Turkey's European neighbour, supports Turkey's aspirations to join the Union. That was the message sent by Bulgarian Foreign Minister Ivailo Kalfin to Ali Babacan, Turkey's chief EU negotiator, who...

ENLARGEMENT : TURKEY IRKED AT EXCLUSION FROM BERLIN BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS.
April 23, 2007... Turkey expressed its disappointment on 20 March about Germany's decision to exclude candidate countries (Turkey, Croatia and Macedonia) from the European Union's 50th birthday celebrations in Berlin on 24-25 March, saying it was a missed...

EU/UKRAINE : BARROSO: UKRAINE'S DEMOCRACY IS STABLE ENOUGH TO SOLVE CRISIS.(Manuel Barroso)
April 23, 2007... "A political solution and new elections are the only way forward for Ukraine." That was the main message sent by Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko during his one-day visit to the EU institutions on 17 April. "The European Commission's...

EU/RUSSIA : COMMISSION DECLINES TO CONDEMN RUSSIA OVER OPPOSITION CRACKDOWN.(Brief article)
April 23, 2007... The European Commission has expressed its concern at the Russian police action against anti-Putin protesters peacefully demonstrating in Moscow and Saint Petersburg on 14 and 15 April. "Freedom of expression and freedom of assembly are very...

INTERVIEW WITHaANA LOVRIN, CROATIAN MINISTER OF JUSTICE : CROATIA CATCHING UP ON JUDICIARY SYSTEM REFORM.(Interview)
April 23, 2007... Croatia has been criticised recently by the EU for the lack of progress in reforming its judiciary system and combating corruption. In a bid to inform the EU about the recent efforts undertaken by Zagreb in these two fields, Croatian Minister...

IMMIGRATION : EP COMMITTEEaADVOCATES RAPID REACTION TEAMS.
April 23, 2007... Expert rapid reaction teams should be formed to provide technical and operational help at times of big influxes of illegal migrants over the external borders of any EU member state, according to a report approved by the Civil Liberties...

EU/TURKEY : ERDOGAN VENTS FRUSTRATION OVER GERMAN PRESIDENCY'S "LACK OF EFFORTS".(Angela Merkel)(European Union)
April 23, 2007... Following Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's strong criticism of Germany's "lack of efforts" to advance EU accession talks with Ankara, Chancellor Angela Merkel has indicated that two more negotiation chapters can be opened with...

EU/UKRAINE : EU CALLS FOR CALM AND RESPONSIBILITY IN UKRAINE.(European Union)
April 23, 2007... "The European Union is concerned about the current political crisis in Ukraine," runs the German Presidency's statement released on behalf of the EU on 3 April, a day after Ukraine'saPresident Viktor Yushchenko decreed the dissolution of...

EU EXTENDS BELARUSaSANCTIONS.(European Union)(Brief article)
April 23, 2007... The EU has decided to extend for a further year, until 10 April 2008, the travel restrictions and freezing of financial assets imposed for the first time in 2004 against high-profile Belarusian officials. The decision was adopted by the EU...

EU/WESTERN BALKANS : EU INITIALLED VISA AND READMISSION DEALS WITH THREE BALKAN STATES.(European union)
April 23, 2007... The citizens of Albania, Montenegro and Bosnia-Herzegovina will soon be able to travel more easily to European Union countries. The first step to achieve this aim was made on 13 April, when the EU and ministers of the interior for Albania,...

EU/TURKEY : EU OPENS SECOND CHAPTER FOR NEGOTIATIONS WITH TURKEY.(European Union)
April 23, 2007... After a long, ten-month break, the EU has decided to open the next chapter for negotiations with Turkey. The decision on opening the enterprise and industrial policies chapter (20) was officially endorsed at the EU-Turkey Intergovernmental...

EU/BELARUS : EU SENDS MESSAGE OF SUPPORT TO BELARUSIAN OPPOSITION.(European Union)
April 23, 2007... While EU leaders were celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome on 25 March in Berlin, Belarus's opposition protesters were taking to the streets of the country's capital Minsk, in one of the largest demonstrations ever against...

EU/BLACK SEA REGION : EU SET TO STEP UP COOPERATION WITH THE BLACK SEA REGION.(European Union)
April 23, 2007... A new strategy on the Black Sea region, put forward by the European Commission on 11 April, aims to increase the EU's involvement in the area through enhanced regional cooperation. In a bid to better coordinate its current engagement in the...

EU/ENLARGEMENT : EU SPEEDS UP NEGOTIATIONS WITH ZAGREB.
April 23, 2007... The EU has opened a sixth chapter in Croatia's EU accession negotiations. The decision to start talks on the chapter on intellectual property law (chapter 7) was formally announced at a conference on 29 March in Brussels. Since last...

EU/KOSOVO : EU STILL NOT FULLY UNITED OVER KOSOVO.
April 23, 2007... An informal meeting of foreign ministers of the EU in Bremen has showed that the position of the EU as a whole on the solution of the Kosovo issue is much more complex than it looks at first sight. Despite considerable efforts and loud appeals...

EU/UKRAINE : FERRERO-WALDNER: EU SHOULD NOT INTERVENE IN UKRAINE'S CRISIS NOW.
April 23, 2007... Although the situation in Ukraine is "difficult," the EU does not intend to undertake any intermediary efforts at this point, External Relations and European Neighbourhood Policy Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner told members of the European...

ENERGY : GAS EXPORTERS MULL ENHANCING FORUM BUT CARTEL STILL DISTANT.
April 23, 2007... European Commissioner for Energy Andris Piebalgs took note of the decisions taken during the 6th meeting of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) on 9 April in Doha aiming to further examine such issues as GECF performance, future...

EU/CENTRAL ASIA : GERMAN PRESIDENCY PRESENTS DRAFT EU STRATEGY ON CENTRAL ASIA.
April 23, 2007... The EU is seeking to step up its cooperation with the energy-rich region of Central Asia. "EU enlargement has brought us closer to Central Asia and the time is ripe for a more intensive engagement with the Central Asian countries," said EU...

HOPES FOR EU-RUSSIA AGREEMENT.(Brief article)
April 23, 2007... Poland has 'shown signs' that it might be willing to waive its veto of the past four months on the negotiation of a partnership agreement with Moscow, said the European Commission's spokesman on 4 April. He nevertheless added that Polish...

EU/RUSSIA : KYPRIANIOU REMINDS EU HEALTH MINISTERS OF THEIR DUTIES.(Brief article)
April 23, 2007... The European Health Commissioner, Markos Kyprianou, during the Agriculture Council on 19 March, called on the EU member states to impose tighter health checks on foodstuffs. Currently engaged in negotiations with Russia hoping to avoid the...

NATO ENLARGEMENT.(Brief article)
April 23, 2007... The path for Ukraine, Georgia, Albania, Croatia and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) to join NATO has been cleared - at least on the US side. President George Bush on 9 April signed into law the NATO Freedom Consolidation Act,...

PAN-EUROPEAN OIL PIPELINE.
April 23, 2007... During an energy forum on 3 April in Zagreb, EU Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs has signed a ministerial declaration on the next steps to build a pipeline that will bring oil directly from the Black Sea to central European markets. "The so...

EU/KOSOVO : REHN PLEADS FOR UNITY OVER KOSOVO STATUS PROCESS.(Olli Rehn)
April 23, 2007... With the Kosovo status process reaching a critical stage, Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn appealed to the EU's member states to unite over the issue. "European unity and leadership lies at the heart of the decision on Kosovo's future...

EU/MACEDONIA/SERBIA : REHN URGES POLITICAL DIALOGUE IN MACEDONIA AND SERBIA.
April 23, 2007... The European Commission urges the Macedonian government to intensify dialogue with opposition leaders to strengthen the functioning of the country's key institutions and to promote the speedy adoption of laws related to the reforms. "I...

EU/WTO : RISING OPTIMISM THAT DOHA ROUND MAY BE SAVED.(World Trade Organization)(European Union)
April 23, 2007... The process is back on track and the meeting went better than some predicted. Such is the reaction of European Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson after a meeting in New Delhi on 12 and 13 April in an attempt to find a way to move forward with...

EU/POLAND/RUSSIA : RUSSIA PROPOSES EU JOINT CHECK OF POLISH MEAT.
April 23, 2007... The Russian Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Oversight (Rossielchoznadzor) has passed on to the European Commission an explanatory letter on the results of the recent veterinary checks in the Polish meat processing facilities...

EU/RUSSIA/KOSOVO : RUSSIA RAISES THE TEMPERATURE OF DISCUSSIONS OVER KOSOVO.
April 23, 2007... Following a series of rather cautious statements, Russia unexpectedly upped its rhetoric on the issue of Kosovo's status. Russia's UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin firmly stated at the recent UN Security Council session that Russia opposes...

EU/KOSOVO/RUSSIA : RUSSIA SEEKS TO DELAY UN DECISION ON KOSOVO STATUS.
April 23, 2007... A day after the UN envoy Martti Ahtisaari's plan for resolving the Kosovo status issue was presented to the UN Security Council, Russia's UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin asked the Security Council for a fundamental re-examination of the process...

EU/US/RUSSIA : SOLANA CALLS FOR EU DEBATE ON US ANTI-MISSILE SHIELD.
April 23, 2007... Faced with the growing controversy surrounding the possible deployment of a US anti-missile shield in Poland and the Czech Republic, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana thinks that the EU should debate the issue. Addressing the European...

EU/RUSSIA : SWEDEN PROPOSES BILATERAL ACTION ON STEEL ANTI-DUMPING DUTIES.
April 23, 2007... Russian anti-dumping duties were one of the main issues discussed by the Council's specialist trade committee on steel, at its March meeting. A duty has been imposed by the Russian government on all rolled stainless steel products from the...

EU/GEORGIA : TBILISI URGES EUROPE TO BACK NABUCCO PIPELINE.
April 23, 2007... The chairwoman of the Georgian parliament has urged the EU to bolster its support for the proposed Nabucco gas pipeline in the face of reported Russian efforts to undermine it. "If Europe allows Russia to stop this, it will be contributing to...

JUSTICE AND HOME AFFAIRS : THREAT POSED BY TERRORISM TO EUROPE IS MORE SERIOUS THAN EVER.
April 23, 2007... The first EU Terrorism Situation and Trend Report (TE-SAT 2007), published by Europol,aindicates that 498 attacks were carried out by Islamist, separatist, left-wing and anarchist terrorist groups in eleven EU member states in 2006. A total of...

TURKEY ANNOUNCES EU REFORM AGENDA.(Brief article)
April 23, 2007... Turkey unveiled on 17 April a 400-page timetable for technical reforms to be implemented until 2013 to bring the country in line with the European Union's laws and standards. Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul explained that Ankara was...

EU/UKRAINE : YANUKOVYCH: NEW AGREEMENT WITH EU OF VAST IMPORTANCE TO KIEV.
April 23, 2007... Following the meeting with Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso on 27 March in Brussels, Ukraine's Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych emphasised "that the new agreement [between the EU and Ukraine] is of significant importance for both...