Europe-East articles from December 2005

Europe-East archives from December 2005

COUNTDOWN TO KOSOVO.
December 15, 2005... The European Union has revealed its latest thinking on a small piece of territory that could blow a big hole in its foreign policy strategy. Kosovo, that fragment of the former Yugoslavia now in a United Nations limbo, is back in the news, as...

EU BUDGET: UK PRESIDENCY OFFERS EURO 8 BILLION TO GET FINANCING DEAL.
December 15, 2005... More funds for new members. Announcing the proposal on December 5, Mr Straw said that the deal represented "tough budget discipline" as it had reduced the total ceiling to euro 847 billion (1.03% of gross national income) compared to the...

STRUCTURAL FUNDS: OUTGOING POLISH PRESIDENT ATTACKS UK PLAN FOR BUDGET CUTS.(Brief article)
December 15, 2005... Speaking in Brussels on November 29, Mr Kwasniewski said that the new compromise proposal that was eventually tabled on December 5 by the Presidency was onot good for new member stateso. If the compromise envisaged cutting Polands share of...

EU BUDGET: FOUR CENTRAL EUROPEAN LEADERS CALL ON BLAIR TO PAY FOR ENLARGEMENT.
December 15, 2005... In a letter addressed to Mr Blair on November 25, the leaders of Poland, Hungary, the Czech and Slovak Republics say that they have "growing concerns and expectations" about the December 15-16 summit meeting which is expected to agree a budget...

EU BUDGET: MEPS AND COUNCIL STRIKE DEAL ON 2006 FINANCES.
December 15, 2005... The agreement was negotiated during a meeting between members of the EP's Budgets Committee, the UK Presidency and the European Commission on November 30. The total ceiling (in terms of payments) was euro 111.969 billion. The deal, which...

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT CALLS FOR GREATER RECOGNITION FOR EURO-REGIONS.(Brief article)
December 15, 2005... The European Parliament has called for Euro-regions to be authorised to draw up and manage transboundary EU programmes and programmes implemented from 2007 onwards under the European neighbourhood partnership instrument (which includes a...

TRANS-EUROPEAN NETWORKS: EXPERTS ISSUE RECOMMENDATIONS ON HOW TO IMPROVE TRANSPORT CONNECTIONS.
December 15, 2005... Chaired by former European Transport Commissioner Loyola de Palacio, the High Level Group consisting of representatives of 53 countries: the 25 EU member states, Bulgaria and Romania and 26 EU neighbours*, has agreed on a set of priority...

COURT OF JUSTICE: COMMISSION WILL ALWAYS PROPOSE LUMP-SUM FINES FOR BREAKING EU LAW.
December 15, 2005... A document from European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso to the rest of the EU executive team dated November 8 says the Commission intends always to apply for a lump-sum fine as well as a daily penalty whenever it asks the Court to...

FOREIGN MINISTERS KEEP UP ENLARGEMENT 'BALANCING ACT'.
December 15, 2005... The European Commission's recently-issued enlargement strategy paper is "a good basis for a necessary, further discussion on enlargement in 2006", EU Foreign Ministers said on December 12. The Commission had said in November that the EU should...

REGIONAL FUNDS: HUBNER SLAMS UK BUDGET PROPOSALS.(Danuta Hubner )
December 15, 2005... The Commissioner was commenting on changes to rules concerning the spending of structural and cohesion policy funds in the document tabled by the UK Presidency on December 5 on the 2007-13 budget. The paper proposes extending the time limit for...

EU BUDGET: BARROSO TELLS BLAIR TO REVAMP BUDGET OFFER.
December 15, 2005... In a letter sent to Tony Blair on December 12, Mr Barroso says that there is a need to improve on the current proposals. Higher ceiling needed. First, he says that the final deal must oincrease total spending significantlyo with a...

CZECH REPUBLIC RATIFIES BULGARIA/ROMANIA ACCESSION TREATY.(Brief article)
December 15, 2005... The Czech Republic ratified Bulgaria's and Romania's Accession Treaty, bringing to seven the number of EU member states that have done so. The lower house of the Czech Parliament, the Chamber of Deputies, voted in favour of the text on December...

BARROSO URGES FURTHER EFFORTS FROM ROMANIA.(Jose Manuel Barroso)(Brief article)
December 15, 2005... Romania has made impressive progress and basically meets the political and economic conditions for joining the European Union, but still needs to address a number of shortcomings as it bids to enter the bloc in January 2007, according to...

SOCIALISTS BACK BULGARIA'S JANUARY 2007 MEMBERSHIP BID.(Brief article)
December 15, 2005... The European Parliament's Socialist group fully supports Bulgaria's target of joining the EU in January 2007, according to its leader Martin Schulz. On a December 2 visit to Sofia, the German MEP nonetheless called on Bulgaria to do more on...

EP IN NEW CONTROVERSY OVER CLOSURE OF BULGARIAN NUCLEAR POWER PLANT.(European Parliament)
December 15, 2005... The European Parliament is to vote in Strasbourg, on December 15, on the follow-up report on Bulgaria's degree of preparedness for accession to the EU (report by Geoffrey Van Orden - EPP-ED, UK), which includes a request to extend the operation...

MEPS TO OBSERVE PAMUK TRIAL IN TURKEY.(Orhan Pamuk)(Brief article)
December 15, 2005... Five MEPs led by Dutchman Camiel Eurlings (EPP-ED) are planning to observe the controversial trial of renowned Turkish author Orhan Pamuk that is due to start on December 16 at a First Instance Penal Court in Istanbul. A public prosecutor...

EU/CROATIA: GOTOVINA ARREST HAILED, DEADLINE SET FOR OTHER WAR CRIMES INDICTEES.(Ante Gotovina)
December 15, 2005... Zagreb's EU accession talks were postponed in March as its cooperation with Ms Del Ponte's ICTY in The Hague was deemed insufficient. The negotiations were eventually launched on October 3 even though General Gotovina was still at large. EU...

EU/BALKANS: VISA FACILITATION, NOT LIBERALISATION COMMISSION'S PRIORITY.
December 15, 2005... Of the Western Balkan states that may eventually join the EU - Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) and Serbia and Montenegro - only Croatia so far enjoys visa-free travel. Other countries...

EU/SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO: MONTENEGRIN PRIME MINISTER CONFIRMS INDEPENDENCE REFERENDUM MOVE.
December 15, 2005... Under the 2003 EU-backed Constitutional Charter that established the loose state union between Serbia and Montenegro, either republic can hold a referendum on independence from February next year. According to a new report from the...

EU/KOSOVO: MINISTERS WARNED OF RISING FUNDING NEEDS.
December 15, 2005... Talks are now supposed to get under way on the thorny problem of the UN-administered province's status. Its majority ethnic Albanians favour independence but this is resisted by Serbia. The Rehn/Solana paper signals that substantial...

EU/BOSNIA: UNION'S FORCE COMMANDER NAMES CONDITIONS FOR PULL-OUT.(Foreign military assistance)
December 15, 2005... Influences. General Leakey says that the judgement about whether Bosnia is far enough advanced on the road to the EU is a political one. But a military judgement about the country's stability would also be needed before EUFOR could leave....

BARROSO URGES IMPLEMENTATION OF ALBANIA'S EURO-INTEGRATION ACCORD.(Brief article)
December 15, 2005... The EU is ready to conclude a Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) with Albania, according to European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso. But the Balkan country's hopes of joining the EU one day will depend on "concrete results...

EIB LENDS SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO EURO 30 MILLION FOR SMALL FIRMS AND URBAN INFRASTRUCTURE.(European Investment Bank)(Brief article)
December 15, 2005... The European Investment Bank (EIB) is lending euro 30 million to HVB Bank Serbia and Montenegro to provide long-term financing for small and medium-sized enterprises and infrastructure investments. Announcing the move on December 2, the EIB...

EU/UKRAINE: AWARD OF 'MARKET-ECONOMY STATUS' CONFIRMED AT KIEV SUMMIT.
December 15, 2005... Ties boosted. EU and Ukrainian leaders adopted a joint statement* welcoming what they described as "significant progress" in implementation of an action plan signed in February under European Neighbourhood Policy. This envisages closer...

EU/MOLDOVA/UKRAINE: BORDER ASSISTANCE MISSION TO BE LAUNCHED.(Brief article)
December 15, 2005... The euro 8 million mission will operate mainly on the Moldova-Ukraine border, but also at other relevant 'inland' locations. Headed by Brigadier-General Ferenc Banfi of Hungary, the mission will include border police and customs officials...

EU/RUSSIA: TRADE AND INVESTMENT BARRIERS DOMINATE HIGH-LEVEL TALKS.
December 15, 2005... Relations. Along with Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov, the visiting delegation comprised the Ministers for Foreign Affairs (Lavrov), Energy and Industry (Khristenko), Trade (Gref), Transport (Levitin), Agriculture (Gordeyev),...

EU BANS FEATHER IMPORTS FROM UKRAINE FOLLOWING BIRD FLU OUTBREAK.(Brief article)
December 15, 2005... The EU banned imports of untreated feathers from the Ukraine on December 9 following an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza in Crimea. EU imports of live poultry, eggs and poultry meat from the Ukraine which have never been...

EU/GEORGIA: PRIME MINISTER CALLS FOR WIDER INVOLVEMENT IN SOUTH OSSETIA PROBLEM.
December 15, 2005... Hundreds died in fighting in the early 1990s as South Ossetia proclaimed independence, and there has been an uneasy stalemate since. The region is a 'chessboard' of Georgian and Ossetian villages, and of the total population of 40,000 around...

EU/BELARUS TEXTILES TRADE TERMS FOR 2006 PROPOSED.(Brief article)
December 15, 2005... The European Commission has proposed that EU member states endorse an agreement it has negotiated with Belarus to extend for a year a bilateral textiles trade accord, with a number of adjustments to quotas. The current agreement expires at the...

EU/SOUTH CAUCASUS: WORK TO BOOST TIES BEGINS DESPITE NORTHERN CYPRUS DIFFICULTY.
December 15, 2005... Cyprus, an EU member since May 2004, raised objections when Baku started allowing flights between Azerbaijan and the northern half of the divided Mediterranean island in the summer. This threatened to delay work on the ENP action plans. ...

EU MINISTERS PLEDGE TO BOOST AFGHANISTAN'S ANTI-DRUGS FUNDS.(Brief article)
December 15, 2005... The EU will continue to step up its efforts to help Afghanistan fight its drugs problem, EU Justice and Home Affairs Ministers affirmed on December 1. The JHA Council adopted conclusions welcoming a euro 250 million commitment from the EU to...

EU/MEDITERRANEAN STATES: BARCELONA SUMMIT FAILS TO AGREE ON "SHARED VISION".
December 15, 2005... Up until the last minute, the UK Presidency of the EU Council and the Spanish delegation, the summit hosts, engaged in a final frantic round of shuttle diplomacy between the Israeli and Arab delegations in an attempt to secure a compromise that...

EU/MEDITERRANEAN STATES: NEW EURO 1.5 BILLION EIB FACILITY ANNOUNCED.(European Investment Bank)(Brief article)
December 15, 2005... "We are the victims of our own success", said Philippe de Fontaine Vive, Vice-President of the EIB, which lends euro 1.5 billion every year for development in the South Mediterranean (Turkey excluded). The EIB proposed this extra facility over...

EU/MEDITERRANEAN STATES: EDUCATION FOR ALL, THE NEW BARCELONA PROCESS PRIORITY.(Brief article)
December 15, 2005... The European Commission regards education as a key factor in supporting reform and development in southern Mediterranean countries and has proposed an increase in funding of 50% or euro 1 billion over five years from 2007. The final figure...

EU/MIDDLE EAST: EU REPORT CRITICISES ISRAEL'S ANNEXATION POLICY IN EAST JERUSALEM.
December 15, 2005... Israel's actions in Jerusalem "are in direct opposition to the agreed roadmap and international law", claim EU officials. They point out the almost completed separation barrier which allows Israel to control any movement between East Jerusalem...

NGOS CLAIM EU IS FACILITATING HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN ISRAEL.
December 15, 2005... The EU is guilty of facilitating human rights violations by Israel against Palestinians, according to a new report published on December 5 by the Euro-Mediterranean human rights network (REMDH), an organisation of 84 European, Israeli,...

EU WELL AWARE OF RISKS INVOLVED FOR RAFAH BORDER MISSION.
December 15, 2005... The EU is well aware of the risks associated with its presence at the Rafah border post between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, according to Marc Otte, the EU Special Representative for the Middle East Peace Process. He told the European Policy...

EU SENDS MORE HUMANITARIAN AID FOR PALESTINIANS.(Brief article)
December 15, 2005... Another batch of humanitarian aid worth euro 8.3 million for Palestinian populations was announced on November 29 by Louis Michel, EU Commissioner for Development, during a visit to the Palestinian territory. The money is intended to meet the...

WOMEN'S COMMISSION FOR MID-EAST PEACE TAKES CASE TO EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT.(International Women's Commission)(Brief article)
December 15, 2005... An International Women's Commission (IWC) "for a just, comprehensive, and sustainable peace in the Near East" was presented at the European Parliament in Brussels on December 7. Comprising 20 Palestinians, 20 Israelis and 20 women from the rest...

EU CONDEMNS IRANIAN PRESIDENT'S LATEST COMMENTS ABOUT ISRAEL.(Brief article)
December 15, 2005... The EU has condemned the latest statements made by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad about Israel. "These remarks are totally unacceptable and cannot form the basis of a civilised political debate", said Jack Straw, UK Foreign Secretary and...

TEHRAN CONFIRMS INTENTIONS TO KEEP URANIUM ENRICHMENT PROGRAMME AT HOME.(Brief article)
December 15, 2005... Iran confirmed its intentions to conduct its entire nuclear cycle on its own soil on November 28 thereby undermining any hope of a proposal from Moscow to carry out uranium enrichment in Russia. "The country's high-ranking officials intend to...

EIB LENDS EURO 180 MILLION FOR SMALL BUSINESS INVESTMENT IN TUNISIA.(European Investment Bank)(Brief article)
December 15, 2005... Drawing on the Facility for Euro-Mediterranean Investment and Partnership (FEMIP), the European Investment Bank has granted two global loans for a total amount of euro 180 million for financing Tunisian SMEs in the industrial and services...

EU/US: FORMAL PARLIAMENTARY PROBE INTO CIA PRISONS CLAIM UNLIKELY.(Central Intelligence Agency)
December 15, 2005... EP inquiry. A committee of inquiry may only be set up to probe alleged infringements of EU law and Parliament's legal experts feel this is not the case here. Such a committee is one of Parliament's biggest weapons, enabling it to summon...

EU/LIBYA: TRIPOLI EXPELS ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS SENT BY ITALY, MEPS LEARN.
December 15, 2005... According to Libya's deputy Foreign Minister, Mohammed Tahar Sila, "when illegal immigrants are returned to Libya, our mission is to contact the different embassies to verify their nationality and get them a travel visa. Afterwards we...

JUSTICE AND HOME AFFAIRS: MEPS VISIT CEUTA AND MELILLA TO PROBE MIGRATION MANAGEMENT REGIME.(Members of the European Parliament)
December 15, 2005... The delegation was led by the Chairman of the European Parliament's Civil Liberties Committee Jean-Marie Cavada (Liberals, France). After meeting with Spanish officials in Madrid on December 7, MEPs went to Melilla on December 8 and Ceuta on...

MOVE TO IMPROVE QUALITY OF DATA ON MIGRATION.(Brief article)
December 15, 2005... The need for better data on migratory and asylum flows and policies has been raised by the European Commission. In a Green Paper adopted on November 28, the Commission asks how best to revamp the European Migration Network, a pilot project set...

TERRORISM: CODE OF CONDUCT FOR NON-PROFIT SECTOR PROPOSED.
December 15, 2005... The Communication (COM/2005/620) "aims to find an approach that minimises the risk of abuse without over-burdening the sector", the Commission says. It responds to a request made by EU Justice and Home Affairs Ministers on July 13 in the wake...

PUBLIC PROCUREMENT: TWO-PRONGED BID FOR MORE OPEN DEFENCE MARKETS UNVEILED.
December 15, 2005... Defence spending by the 25 EU member states in 2003 was some euro 169 billion, according to Eurostat estimates, including 82 billion on defence procurement, of which euro 30 billion on defence equipment. The UK, France, Germany and Italy - the...

TOULOUSE TO HOST GALILEO HEADQUARTERS.(Brief article)
December 15, 2005... The headquarters of the Galileo satellite navigation system concessionaire will be in the French city of Toulouse, Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy announced on December 5. "The Galileo concession candidates have agreed to establish the...

EU/NORWAY: BROAD FISHERIES DEAL CLINCHED.
December 15, 2005... The new agreement complements a deal on fishing quotas, which covered all the other North Sea species such as cod and haddock. The EU and Norway have agreed to put into place a long-term management plan for cod, to come into effect once...

EMU: ECB RAISES KEY RATE IN SPITE OF MEMBER STATES' RESERVATIONS.(Economic and Monetary Union)(European Central Bank)
December 15, 2005... The decision had been widely predicted and indeed sparked a dispute between the ECB and euro-zone countries. This is the first increase in rates after two and a half years unchanged. Deposit facility and marginal lending facility rates, which...

EMU: SLOVAKIA JOINS EXCHANGE RATE MECHANISM.(Economic and Monetary Union)(Brief article)
December 15, 2005... Slovakia's move brings the number of new member states in the ERM II up to seven. This is an important step as countries have to be in ERM II for at least two years before being allowed to adopt the euro, which Slovakia hopes to do in 2009. ...

BANKING: SINGLE PAYMENTS PROPOSAL LETS HORSE THROUGH GATE.
December 15, 2005... Aptly entitled the 'New Legal Framework', the nearly 60-page draft Directive amends Directives 97/7/EC on the protection of consumers in respect of distance contracts, 2000/12/EC relating to the taking up and pursuit of the business of credit...

EU ENLARGEMENT COMPENSATION AGREED FOR US.(European Union )(international economic relations)(Brief article)
December 15, 2005... The United States and the European Union have reached a compensation agreement in the wake of the tariff rises triggered by the EU's enlargement to 25 nations in May 2004. The agreement clinched in Brussels on November 30 involves a package of...

EU STICKS DUMPING DUTIES TO IMPORTS OF CHINESE AND RUSSIAN TEFLON.(Brief article)
December 15, 2005... European Union governments have agreed definitive five-year anti-dumping duties of 55.5% on imports of granular polytetrafluoroethylene resin (PTFE) used to make Teflon - from China, and duties of 36.6% on imports from Russia. EU member states...

SWITZERLAND TO JOIN THE 'SINGLE EUROPEAN SKY'.(Brief article)
December 15, 2005... During the course of 2006, Switzerland is expected to take on board the full EU Regulation on the Single European Sky and become a member of the European Aviation Safety Authority (EASA). These decisions were finalised during the fourth meeting...

ENLARGEMENT RENDERS EU MEMBERSHIP OF RIVER ELBE AND ODER CONVENTIONS OBSOLETE.(Conventions for the protection of the rivers)(Brief article)
December 15, 2005... The EU Council of Ministers decided on December 2 that the EU would no longer participate in the international Conventions for the protection of the rivers Elbe and Oder. Since the Czech Republic and Poland joined the EU in May 2004, all...