Europe-East articles from April 2009

Europe-East archives from April 2009

EU/ALBANIA : ASSOCIATION AGREEMENT WITH TIRANA ENTERS INTO FORCE.(Brief article)
April 20, 2009... As of 1 April, the EU has an association and stabilisation agreement (ASA) with Albania. The text has entered into force nearly three years after its signature, in June 2006. The agreement creates a framework for political and economic...

AVIATION AGREEMENT WITH MONGOLIA.(Brief article)
April 20, 2009... The EU and the government of Mongolia signed, on 3 April, a horizontal aviation agreement that removes national restrictions in bilateral air services agreements between EU member states and this country. The horizontal agreement, which does...

EU/MEDITERRANEAN : COMMISSION LAUNCHES EUROMED-NEWS FOR ARABIC VIEWERS.(Conference news)
April 20, 2009... The EuroMed-News project will provide 'news' and not 'communication' on EU neighbourhood policies with the southern countries, say its partners. The project, launched on 15 April in Brussels with the financial support of the European...

EIB LOAN IN CROATIA.
April 20, 2009... The European Investment Bank (EIB) is lending 250 million to the Croatian Reconstruction and Development Bank (HBOR, Hrvatska Banka Za Obnovu i Razvitak) to finance the projects of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), mid-cap companies...

EU/RUSSIA : EP SETS CONDITIONS FOR PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT WITH MOSCOW.
April 20, 2009... The negotiations on a new cooperation agreement between the EU and Russia should be used as an opportunity to discuss the human rights situation in the country, improve the security of gas supplies from Russia and seek assurances that Moscow...

EU/MIDDLE EAST : EU AND BLAIR URGE NETANYAHU TO ACCEPT PALESTINIAN STATE.(Conference news)(Brief article)
April 20, 2009... On 1 April, the EU and the Quartet's special representative for the Middle East, Tony Blair, urged the new Israeli government to accept a two-state solution. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made no reference to the creation of a Palestinian...

ESDP/KOSOVO : EULEX MISSION RUNNING AT FULL STEAM.(Law overview)
April 20, 2009... EULEX, the EU's rule of law mission in Kosovo, has reached its total operating capacity and is virtually fully staffed. A ceremony was held, on 6 April, at EULEX headquarters in Pristina to mark the occasion. According to the latest count,...

EUROPOL COOPERATION WITH ISRAEL AND RUSSIA.(Conference news)(Brief article)
April 20, 2009... The EU's foreign ministers, meeting in Luxembourg on 6 April, adopted a decision authorising the director of Europol, the European police office, to begin negotiations with Israel for a cooperation agreement. In contrast, they merely exchanged...

EU/FYROM : EU WELCOMES SUCCESSFUL ELECTIONS, SAYS FURTHER REFORMS NEEDED.
April 20, 2009... The European Union has welcomed the "overall satisfactory conduct" of the second round of the presidential and municipal elections in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), held on 5 April. Praising the country for "this democratic...

EU/TURKEY : GUL: REFORM PROCESS TO KICK INTO HIGH GEAR AFTER ELECTIONS.(Conference news)
April 20, 2009... Visiting for the first time the European Commission in his capacity as Turkey's President, Abdullah Gul has pledged that his country would step up a gear in the EU-related reforms after the upcoming local elections, scheduled for end of March....

ENERGY COMMUNITY : LOAN SCHEMES TO BE LAUNCHED FOR WESTERN BALKANS RENEWABLES.
April 20, 2009... At a conference on investing in electricity generation and renewable energy, organised jointly by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the Energy Community, two new loan programmes will be launched. The Western...

FISHERIES : MEDITERRANEAN STRIDES FORWARD TO SUSTAINABLE FISHERIES.
April 20, 2009... In addition to a general 10% reduction in fishing effort throughout the Mediterranean, the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM), meeting from 23 to 27 March in Tunis, adopted a number of recommendations meant to promote...

MILLER: GAS DEAL "UNFEASIBLE".
April 20, 2009... Alexei Miller, CEO of the Russian gas giant Gazprom, said, on 3 April, that the preliminary agreement between Kiev and the European Union on renovation of the Ukrainian gas pipeline network was "unfeasible". "This document was put together...

EU/US/TURKEY : OBAMA URGES EU TO OPEN DOOR TO ANKARA.(Conference news)
April 20, 2009... At his first high-level meeting with the 27 EU leaders meant to re-launch and breathe fresh energy into the transatlantic ties, US President Barack Obama urged the EU to move forward with Ankara's accession talks in an attempt to "firmly anchor...

ENLARGEMENT : OBSTACLES ABOUND ON BALKANS' ROAD TO EU.(Conference news)
April 20, 2009... The Balkan countries have their place in the EU, but they will need to be (very) patient. Meeting on 28-29 March in Hluboka nad Vltavou (south Bohemian region of the Czech Republic), the EU's foreign affairs ministers certainly reiterated the...

EASTERN PARTNERSHIP : PRAGUE TO HOST SUMMIT ON REGIONAL INITIATIVE.(Conference news)
April 20, 2009... The Czech EU Presidency has confirmed that the special summit on the Eastern Partnership will take place on 7 May in Prague and not in Brussels as scheduled earlier. It also admitted that a question mark still hangs over the participation of...

EU/CROATIA/SLOVENIA : PRESIDENCY TRIO BACKS REHN'S MEDIATION EFFORTS.(Conference news)
April 20, 2009... Following the strong support received from March informal meeting of the EU's foreign ministers in the Czech Republic for his initiative to mediate in the border dispute between Croatia and Slovenia, Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn has now...

ENLARGEMENT : SUPPORTERS OF ENLARGEMENT SPEAK UP AT GYMNICH MEETING.(Conference news)(Brief article)
April 20, 2009... Following German Chancellor Angela Merkel's call for a "pause" in EU enlargement after Croatia, supporters of accession of the Balkan states spoke up, on 27 March, at the informal (Gymnich) meeting of foreign ministers at Hluboka nad Vltavou,...

TURKEY TO JOIN EUPOL COPPS.(European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo )(Brief article)
April 20, 2009... Turkey may soon be taking part in the European Union mission to train police in the Palestinian Territories (EUPOL COPPS). The Political and Security Committee (PSC) has just approved Ankara's participation. The Turks will propose the...

EU/CROATIA : ZAGREB FAILS TO RESPOND TO REHN'S BORDER DISPUTE PROPOSAL.(Conference news)(Brief article)
April 20, 2009... To date, only Slovenia has replied to the European Commission's latest proposal on the modalities of mediation to solve Ljubljana's ongoing border dispute with Croatia. A day after the expected arrival of Zagreb's answer, Croatia's Foreign...

EU/MEDITERRANEAN : ATTEMPT TO REKINDLE UNION FOR MEDITERRANEAN.(Conference notes)
April 28, 2009... The European Union's High Representative for Foreign Policy Javier Solana will try to rekindle the Union for the Mediterranean, which has been at a standstill since the war in Gaza, by hosting a meeting of the representatives of the 43 UFM...

ELECTRICITY : BALTIC STATES FINALLY AGREE ON INTERCONNECTION.(Brief article)
April 28, 2009... Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs has welcomed an agreement reached between Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia on the route of a new electricity interconnection linking their isolated electricity markets to Sweden. On 27 April, the prime ministers...

BELGIUM AND DENMARK OPEN LABOUR MARKETS.(Report)(Brief article)
April 28, 2009... The decision by the Belgian and Danish governments to open their labour markets to workers from eight EU Central and Eastern European member states as of 1 May 2009 has been "warmly welcomed" by the European Commission. Germany and Austria have...

NEIGHBOURHOOD POLICY : COMMISSION FROWNS ON SLOWDOWN IN REFORMS.
April 28, 2009... "Disappointing" is how the European Commission sums up the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) with the 12 participating countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Egypt, Georgia, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Moldova, the occupied Palestinian...

EU/MONTENEGRO/ALBANIA : COMMISSION TO START ASSESSING PODGORICA'S MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION.(Brief article)
April 28, 2009... The European Commission will now be able to prepare its opinion on Montenegro's EU membership application following the scheduled handover, on 23 April, by the member states of the dossier that they have been sitting on since the application...

EU/ICELAND : DEBATE ON UNION MEMBERSHIP TO RESUME IN REYKJAVIK.(Brief article)
April 28, 2009... After the elections on 26 April in Iceland, the centre-left coalition voted into office without the Independence Party, which moves into the opposition, will start negotiating the government's programme right away, with a possible application...

EIB FINANCING IN SERBIA.(European Union. European Investment Bank)(Brief article)
April 28, 2009... The European Investment Bank (EIB) has launched a programme for 2009 in Serbia aimed at combating the financial crisis and bringing the country closer to the European Union. On 11 May, a first loan of 250 million for small and medium-sized...

EIB LOAN FOR ENERGY IN TURKEY.(Rotor Elektrik Uretim AS)(European Union. European Investment Bank)(Brief article)
April 28, 2009... The European Investment Bank (EIB) is helping to finance the construction of a 135 megawatt wind farm by Rotor Elektrik Uretim AS in the Eastern Turkish region of Osmaniye. The project will help Turkey curb electricity supply shortages using...

EU/MOLDOVA : EU ANALYSES MOLDOVA'S VISA REQUIREMENTS FOR ROMANIANS.
April 28, 2009... In addition to voicing concerns over the violence that followed the disputed legislative elections of 5 April in Moldova, the EU has raised the issue of the possible violation of the visa facilitation agreement between the Union and the former...

EU ELECTION MISSION IN LEBANON.(Brief article)
April 28, 2009... The EU will be sending an election observation mission to Lebanon for the legislative elections on 7 June. The mission will consist of around 90 observers led by Spanish MEP Jose Ignacio Salafranca (EPP). The mission's core group, made up of...

EASTERN PARTNERSHIP : EURONEST LAUNCH SET FOR SEPTEMBER 2009.(Conference news)(Brief article)
April 28, 2009... A joint assembly of members of the European Parliament and MPs from six former Soviet republics, Euronest, will soon become a reality. The centre-right EPP-ED group that launched the idea confirmed, on 29 April in Warsaw, that the assembly...

INTERVIEW WITH ENLARGEMENT COMMISSIONER OLLI REHN : NO CONTRADICTION BETWEEN ENLARGEMENT AND INTEGRATION.(Interview)
April 28, 2009... Talking to Europolitics New Neighbours, Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn defended the "success story" of the big bang' enlargement of 2004 and advocated a progressive enlargement of the EU to the Western Balkans in parallel with a deepening...

EU/MOLDOVA : PARLIAMENT CONDEMNS MOLDOVAN GOVERNMENT.(Brief article)
April 28, 2009... The European Parliament condemned, on 6 May, "the massive campaign of harassment, grave violations of human rights and all other illegal actions carried out by the Moldovan government in the aftermath of the parliamentary elections, on 5...

EU/TURKEY : PRESIDENCY TO OPEN "AT LEAST ONE CHAPTER" IN JUNE.(Conference notes)
April 28, 2009... The Czech EU Presidency hopes to open "at least one new chapter" - that on taxation - in accession negotiations with Turkey during the ministerial conference planned for the end of June. "This should be within our possibilities," declared...

PREVIOUS WAVES LEAVE QUESTIONABLE LEGACY.
April 28, 2009... The EU's enlargement policy has arrived at a crossroads following the failure to achieve full ratification of the Lisbon Treaty and after the eruption of what is seen by experts as the worst financial crisis in EU history. These two problems...

PROSPECTS GLOOMY FOR FUTURE EXPANSION.
April 28, 2009... Five years after the EU's historic May 2004 big bang' enlargement, which brought ten new member states into the Union, and over two years after the January 2007 accession of Bulgaria and Romania, there is little enthusiasm in most European...

EU/ICELAND : REYKJAVIK TO APPLY FOR EU MEMBERSHIP BY JULY.(Brief article)(Conference notes)
April 28, 2009... The new government of Iceland has decided to launch the process of applying for EU membership and will be taking the matter to parliament in the coming days. The issue will be addressed "within days of the inaugural session," on 15 May, said...

EU/CROATIA/SLOVENIA : SLOVENIA SEEKS CHANGES TO REHN PROPOSAL.(Brief article)(Conference notes)
April 28, 2009... Ljubljana plans to request changes to the European Commission's proposal aimed at settling Slovenia's border dispute with Croatia, which is holding up Zagreb's EU membership process. "If our amendments, which are crucial for Slovenia's vital...

EU/ALBANIA : TIRANA EMBARKS ON AMBITIOUS PATH TOWARDS ACCESSION.
April 28, 2009... By filing its EU membership application, on 28 April, Albania started a process that risks being a very long one. It must get through a whole series of stages, have its candidate status recognised, respect the accession criteria and get...

VISA FACILITATION WITH UKRAINE.(Brief article)(Conference notes)
April 28, 2009... Despite the EU's visa facilitation agreement with Ukraine (among other Eastern European countries, except Russia), which entered into force in January 2008, Ukrainians regularly complain that they are the target of humiliating bureaucracy in...

WESTERN BALKANS: RISK OF INSTABILITY.
April 28, 2009... Those opposed to a pause in enlargement warn that it could slow down reforms or even lead to serious political and social instability in the Western Balkans. "Instability is still hanging in the air there. The EU tends to forget it because the...

INTERVIEW WITH MEP ELMAR BROK, MEMBER OF THE CHRISTIAN DEMOCRATIC UNION (CDU) : WE WILL NOT MAKE ANY EXCEPTIONS, INCLUDING FOR ICELAND.(Interview)
April 28, 2009... Elmar Brok (EPP-ED, Germany), a vigorous supporter of the big bang' enlargement of 2004, is now campaigning in favour of a freeze of the EU's expansion until after the Union finalises its internal reforms. He argues that without the Lisbon...

EU/CROATIA/SLOVENIA : ZAGREB ACCEPTS REHN PROPOSAL ON BORDER DISPUTE.(Brief article)(Conference notes)
April 28, 2009... Croatia announced, on 5 May, that it had accepted the proposal by Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn aimed at settling its border dispute with Slovenia, which has been blocking Zagreb's accession negotiations with the EU for this reason. "We...