Europe-East articles from December 2006

Europe-East archives from December 2006

BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA POLICE MISSION.(Brief article)
December 19, 2006... The EU Council adopted on 28 November a decision on the implementation of an EU police mission (EUPM) in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) in 2007, providing for a budget of 12.15 million. Joint action adopted by the Council in November 2005...

COR-TURKEY RELATIONS.(Brief article)
December 19, 2006... The EU's Committee of the Regions is preparing in December 2006 to set up a working group for political monitoring of relations between the CoR and local politicians in Turkey. This working group may lead to the establishment of a joint...

ENERGY : EU INCREASINGLY DEPENDENT ON RUSSIAN OIL.(European Union)
December 19, 2006... According to the latest statistics published by Eurostat on 'the oil economy in 2005,' nearly a third (32 %) of all crude oil imports in the EU in 2005 came from Russia, with this percentage constantly increasing over the past few years....

MEPS HONOURED BY UKRAINE.(Brief article)
December 19, 2006... Three members of the EPP-ED Group of the European Parliament, Jacek Saryusz-Wolski, Elmar Brok and Charles Tannock, have been honoured by receiving the Ukrainian National Order of Merit for their special contribution to the Ukrainian cause. The...

AIR AGREEMENT WITH UKRAINE?(Brief article)
December 19, 2006... The EU Council of Ministers has authorised the European Commission to start negotiations with Ukraine with the intention of reaching a global air agreement with Kiev. The decision was taken during the Transport Council in Brussels on 12...

EU/SWITZERLAND : BERN CONTRIBUTES TO INTEGRATION OF NEW EU MEMBERS.
December 19, 2006... Switzerland has agreed to pay 1 million Swiss francs at a rate of SF100 million per year over a period of ten years to help finance specific development projects in Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Slovakia, Latvia, Estonia,...

CROSS-BORDER REGIONAL COOPERATION.(Brief article)
December 19, 2006... The Committee of the Regions' External Relations Committee adopted a political declaration on 21 November on Cross-Border Cooperation in Europe's Northern Regions. The document has been passed on to the Finnish Presidency of the EU in...

EU-MOROCCO DEAL ON GALILEO.(Brief article)
December 19, 2006... In the margins of the Transport Ministers' Council on 12 December, Morocco and the EU formally signed a cooperation agreement on Galileo, the European satellite radio navigation programme. Negotiations between the parties were concluded a...

EU/MOLDOVA/UKRAINE : IMPLEMENTATION OF REFORMS LAGS BEHIND IN MOLDOVA AND UKRAINE.
December 19, 2006... After nearly two years of participation in the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP), Ukraine and Moldova have received a fairly positive assessment of their progress in introducing economic and political reforms in line with EU standards. The...

EU/RUSSIA : MEPS, ACTIVISTS DISCUSS HUMAN RIGHTS SITUATION IN RUSSIA.
December 19, 2006... 'It is very important that Europe looks beyond its economic and political interests when dealing with Russia,' said Svetlana Gannushkina, addressing members of the European Parliament's Sub-Committee on Human Rights on 21 November. ...

EU/RUSSIA : MEPS SAY EU MUST SPEAK WITH ONE VOICE ON RUSSIA.
December 19, 2006... Following frank discussions on the results of the EU-Russia summit on 24 November, the European Parliament adopted on 13 December a joint resolution which strongly condemns the Kremlin for using trade policy sanctions as a political tool and...

RATIFICATION PROCESS CONCLUDED.(Brief article)
December 19, 2006... On 24 November, the lower house of the German parliament (the Bundesrat) approved the Accession Treaty of Bulgaria and Romania, which completes the ratification process in Germany. It also completes the ratification process as a whole in the...

EU/US/TURKEY : WASHINGTON INSISTS IT'S NOT MEDDLING IN CYPRUS ROW.
December 19, 2006... The United States has not taken steps to resolve the current impasse in Turkey's EU accession talks and has no plans to do so, a senior State Department official has told Europolitics. "We cannot intervene now. Things are at endgame stage and...

EU/RUSSIA : AGREEMENT AT LAST ON SIBERIAN OVERFLIGHT PAYMENTS.
December 19, 2006... The negotiations were tough right up to the end, but the outcome is positive: the EU and Russia reached an agreement, on the sidelines of the Summit held in Helsinki on 24 November, on the abolition of Siberian overflight payments. Transport...

EU/TURKEY : ANKARA WILLING TO BREAK CYPRUS DEADLOCK.
December 19, 2006... "An important step" - this is how the European Commission commented on the offer made by Turkey to open up a port and an airport to ships and planes from Cyprus, which leaked out to the press on 7 December. "We hope to hear more on the...

ENLARGEMENT/ENVIRONMENT : BULGARIA AND ROMANIA GET PAT ON THE BACK FROM THE COMMISSION.
December 19, 2006... Romania and Bulgaria will be full members of the European Union from 1 January 2007. In order to achieve this objective, the two countries have, like all other candidate countries, been required to make an enormous effort to integrate the...

EU/MEDITERRANEAN : COMMISSION TAKES STOCK OF ENP PROGRESS.
December 19, 2006... Two years down the road from the launch of its European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP), the EU wants to show that it is an effective tool supporting reform south of the Mediterranean. The European Commission highlights the progress made in one year...

EU/NEIGHBOURING COUNTRIES : COMMISSION TO GIVE EUROPEAN NEIGHBOURHOOD POLICY A BOOST.
December 19, 2006... From January 2007, the EU's cooperation with sixteen neighbouring countries under the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) will be given renewed impetus. On 4 December, the European Commission presented a communication laying down a set of new...

EU/RUSSIA : COOPERATION MOVES FORWARD ON ENERGY EFFICIENCY INITIATIVE.
December 19, 2006... At the second meeting of the Permanent Partnership Council (PPC) on energy in Moscow on 8 December, the EU and Russia agreed to work together to enhance energy efficiency, recognising the huge mutual challenge and potential for energy savings...

FISHERIES : COUNCIL SECURES DEAL ON MEDITERRANEAN REGULATION.
December 19, 2006... The Finnish EU Presidency has succeeded where predecessors failed, on 21 November, and secured a deal on the Mediterranean Regulation, which sets out management measures for the sustainable exploitation of fish in the Mediterranean Sea. ...

CZECHS OPEN LABOUR MARKET.(Czech Republic)(Brief article)
December 19, 2006... The government of the Czech Republic, during its session on November 30, decided not to apply any transitional period on the free movement of workers from Bulgaria and Romania after 1 January 2007. "Free movement of workers is one of four basic...

EU/TURKEY : ECONOMY LEFT BEHIND IN CYPRUS DEBATE?
December 19, 2006... With the Cyprus issue currently dominating the discourse surrounding Turkey's bid to join the EU, the question of how Europe would cope with integrating an economy as big as Turkey's has been receiving far less attention. This is a big mistake...

ENERGY PIEBALGS INAUGURATES : ENERGY COMMUNITY.
December 19, 2006... Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs inaugurated on 17 November the Energy Community - a new initiative that aims to extend the EU's internal energy market to the south-east European region. The energy ministers of 34 countries participating in...

EP APPROVES NEW COMMISSIONERS.(appointment of Meglena Kuneva and Leonard Orban)(European Parliament)(Brief article)
December 19, 2006... Following exhaustive hearing procedures, the European Parliament approved on 12 December by an overwhelming majority of votes Meglena Kuneva and Leonard Orban as new members of the European Commission for the term of office remaining until 31...

EU/RUSSIA : EP DEBATE ON EU-RUSSIA SUMMIT DOMINATED BY POLISH BAN.(European Union)(European Parliament)
December 19, 2006... The debate on the recent EU-Russia summit at the European Parliament on 29 November was an opportunity for MEPs to voice their opinions and concerns on the current state of the EU's relations with Moscow. MEPs were very disappointed with the...

EU/ROMANIA/BULGARIA : EP FINALISING ACCESSION PROCEDURE FOR BULGARIA AND ROMANIA.
December 19, 2006... The last stages of the EU accession procedure for Bulgaria and Romania are slowly being concluded. On 23 November, the European Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee (AFET) adopted reports on the accession of the two countries to the EU. This...

ENERGY : EU AND KAZAKHSTAN VOW CLOSER COOPERATION.(European Union)(Brief article)
December 19, 2006... On the occasion of the visit to Brussels of Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, the EU and Kazakhstan signed on 4 December a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that establishes the basis for enhanced energy cooperation with one of the most...

EU/WESTERN BALKANS : EU LAUNCHES VISA FACILITATION NEGOTIATIONS.(European Union)(Brief article)
December 19, 2006... European Justice Commissioner Franco Frattini, together with ministers from the Western Balkans, has announced the formal opening of negotiations for visa facilitation and readmission agreements. The goal, Frattini explained, following...

EUROPEAN COUNCIL/ENLARGEMENT : EU LEADERS ADOPT STRICTER RULES FOR FUTURE ENLARGEMENT.
December 19, 2006... The EU's leaders, meeting at the European Council, agreed on 15 December to apply new tougher rules on countries which intend to join the bloc in the coming years. They decided that no date of accession will be given to any candidate state...

EU/WESTERN BALKANS : EU MINISTERS DECLINE TO RESUME PARTNERSHIP TALKS WITH SERBIA.
December 19, 2006... Although Western Balkan states' progress towards EU integration is assessed on individual merits, the fight against organised crime and corruption as well as the reform of judicial and public administration are common concerns for the whole...

EU/TURKEY : EU MINISTERS REACH BALANCED' AGREEMENT ON TURKEY.(Economic development)
December 19, 2006... EU foreign ministers agreed on 11 December on a partial suspension of accession negotiations with Turkey. After a long day of intensive discussions, foreign ministers unanimously backed an unprecedented Commission recommendation that proposes...

EUROPEAN COUNCIL/TURKEY/WESTERN BALKANS : EU REAFFIRMS COMMITMENTS TOWARDS TURKEY AND WESTERN BALKANS.
December 19, 2006... "We have clearly kept the door open for Turkey," said Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso concluding the two-day European Council meeting in Brussels. In the course of the meeting, the EU leaders endorsed the partial freeze on EU...

EU/MEDITERRANEAN : EUROMED ENVIRONMENT CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS THE LACK OF MEANS.(Conference notes)
December 19, 2006... The Euro-Mediterranean Partnership's 3rd ministerial conference on the environment, organised in Cairo on 20 November, finished with the adoption of a declaration in which ministers emphasise the fact that the environmental needs in the region...

EU/MEDITERRANEAN : EURO-MED MINISTERS TO DISCUSS HORIZON 2020 INITIATIVE.(Brief article)
December 19, 2006... Ministers for the environment from non-EU countries bordering on the Mediterranean are to meet with their European counterparts in Cairo, Egypt, on 20 November to agree on the work schedule for increasing measures to protect the waters of the...

EU/MEDITERRANEAN : EUROMED PARTNERS SHOW SOLIDARITY IN TAMPERE.
December 19, 2006... For once, countries from the north and south of the Mediterranean, members of the Barcelona Process, appeared united. EU foreign ministers and their colleagues from the south Mediterranean agreed unanimously on the conclusion texts of the 8th...

EU/TURKEY : EUROPE DIVIDED OVER COMMISSION'S RECOMMENDATION.
December 19, 2006... The Commission's recommendation,aannounced on 29 November, to partially suspend accession negotiations with Turkey has drawn mixed reactions across Europe. The Commission proposed freezing eight of the 35 chapters into which negotiations are...

EU/MONTENEGRO : EUROPE'S YOUNGEST STATE LOOKS TO BRUSSELS.
December 19, 2006... Barely six months after securing independence, Montenegro, the last child of the former Yugoslavia to cut the cord, is setting its gaze firmly on EU membership. It already uses the euro as its currency and is working diligently to meet the...

EU-RUSSIA TENSIONS.(Brief article)
December 19, 2006... The Energy Council on 23 November was hoping for a miracle - for Warsaw to decide to lift its veto so that a mandate for negotiations with Russia on a new Partnership Agreement could be adopted. But Poland refused to budge and refused to settle...

EU/BELARUS : EU SENDS MESSAGE TO THE PEOPLE OF BELARUS.(european neighbourhood policy)(European Union)
December 19, 2006... 'Our message is that as soon as the country indicates its willingness to move towards true democracy, human rights and rule of law, we will be ready to enter into a full partnership with Belarus within the framework of the European...

EU/BULGARIA/ROMANIA : EU STEPS UP FOOD SAFETY MEASURES.
December 19, 2006... Faced with Russia's threat of an embargo on European veterinary and plant health products from 1 January 2007, the date of Romania and Bulgaria's accession, the European Commission is tightening precautionary measures regarding food products...

EU/RUSSIA : HELSINKI SUMMIT STILL A GOOD OPPORTUNITY FOR PROGRESS.
December 19, 2006... The launch of negotiations on a new agreement with Russia is a priority goal for the Finnish Presidency. Helsinki is therefore doing it utmost to persuade Poland to waive its veto. Finland and the European Commission are in close contact with...

EU/MOROCCO : JOINT AIRSPACE NOW UNDER CONSTRUCTION.(Brief article)
December 19, 2006... Following repeated delays due largely to the member states' hesitation, Morocco has finally joined Europe in the aviation field. The aviation agreement between the EU and Morocco was signed on 12 December on the fringes of the Council of...

EUROPEAN COMMISSION : KUNEVA RECOMMENDS TOTAL HARMONISATION OF TARGETED AREAS.
December 19, 2006... The Consumer Protection Commissioner designate, Bulgaria's Meglena Kuneva, plans to make her future portfolio "more visible". "I will be taking decisions on the basis of an open dialogue with Members of the European Parliament and with other...

EU/FYROM : MACEDONIA STILL NOT READY TO OPEN NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE EU.(European Union)
December 19, 2006... 'Macedonia needs to regain its reform impetus as was observed in 2005,' said Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn on 20 November after a meeting with the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) Foreign Affairs Minister Antonio Milososki....

LABOUR MOBILITY : MASS MIGRATION A MYTH IN AN ENLARGED EUROPE, NEW REPORT SAYS.(Survey)
December 19, 2006... Only 4% of European citizens have ever moved to another country in the European Union and less than 3% to another country outside the EU, a study on Mobility in Europe by the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working...

MILINKEVICH RECEIVES SAKHAROV PRIZE.(Aleksandr Milinkevich )(Brief article)
December 19, 2006... Belarusian opposition leader Aleksandr Milinkevich accepted the European Parliament's Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought on 12 December in Strasbourg. In an emotional speech, Milinkevich acknowledged the sacrifices made by other politicians,...

EU/CAUCASUS : MINISTERS AGREE ON A ROAD MAP FOR ENERGY COOPERATION.(European Union)
December 19, 2006... The Energy Ministerial Conference of the Baku Initiative of Astana (Kazakhstan) agreed on 30 November on a new Energy Road Map setting out a long-term plan for enhanced energy cooperation between the EU countries and their partners in the...

EU/BLACK SEA/CASPIAN SEA : MINISTERS AGREE TO STEP UP ENERGY COOPERATION.
December 19, 2006... The EU and the governments of the Caspian and Black Sea regions agreed to enhance energy cooperation at the second ministerial conference of the Baku Initiative held in Astana, Kazakhstan, on 30 November. Ministers and European Energy...

EU/BALKANS : MINISTERS PLEDGE REGIONAL COOPERATION IN TRANSPORT SECTOR.
December 19, 2006... The second annual ministerial meeting for the development of the principal south-east Europe regional transport network took place in Brussels on 1 December. It was attended by Jacques Barrot, Vice-President of the European Commission, and the...

EU/RUSSIA : MOSCOW THREATENS TO EXTEND ITS DISPUTE WITH POLAND TO ENTIRE EU.(European Union)
December 19, 2006... The conflict between Moscow and Warsaw on veterinary and plant protection product imports could well spread. EU Health and Consumer Protection Commissioner Markos Kyprianou does not believe a settlement is possible before 24 November. That is...

EU/NORHTERN DIMENSION : NEW NORTHERN DIMENSION POLICY LAUNCHED.
December 19, 2006... The Northern Dimension policy has been transformed into a common regional policy. At the Northern Dimension summit in Helsinki on 24 November, the EU, Iceland, Norway and Russia adopted two new documents replacing the Second Northern Dimension...

EUROPEAN COMMISSION : ORBAN READY TO ACT TO PROTECT AND PROMOTE MINORITY LANGUAGES.
December 19, 2006... The EU's Romanian commissioner candidate for multilingualism, Leonard Orban, told MEPs on 27 November that he would make sure that "minority languages are properly protected, defended and promoted", adding that EU funding for 2007-2013 is an...

EU/WESTERN BALKANS : PROSPECT OFaEU INTEGRATION CRUCIAL FOR WESTERN BALKANS.
December 19, 2006... Just a few days ahead of the General Affairs and External Relations Council meeting on 11 December, which was predominantly devoted to enlargement, the leaders of western Balkan countries delivered a clear message to the EU that the prospect of...

TAXATION : ROMANIA AUTHORISED TO USE REDUCED VAT RATES.
December 19, 2006... In anticipation of Romania's accession to the EU on 1 January 2007, the European Commission, on 28 November, addressed a request formulated by Bucharest to the Council for Romania to be allowed to benefit from reduced VAT rates until 2010...

EU/RUSSIA : TALKS STILL STUCK IN A RUT.
December 19, 2006... Following the failure of the EU's efforts to agree on a negotiations mandate for talks on a new Partnership and Cooperation Agreement agreement with Russia, top EU officials met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki on 24 November to...

EU/TURKEY : TURKISH TRAIN WILL SLOW DOWN, BUT WON'T STOP, SAYS REHN.
December 19, 2006... After long and intensive discussions, the College of Commissioners agreed on 29 November on the wording of a recommendation on the further handling of the EU's accession negotiations with Turkey. "We confirm these negotiations must continue...

EUROPEAN COMMISSION : TWO YEARS OF THE BARROSO COMMISSION AS SEEN BY PARLIAMENT.
December 19, 2006... On 18 November 2004, the European Parliament voted in plenary on the investiture of the European Commission led by centre-right former Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Manuel Barroso. The first 25-member College was approved by 449 votes to 149...

ENERGY : US EXPERT PREDICTS RUSSIAN GAS SUPPLY PROBLEMS THIS WINTER.
December 19, 2006... A US economist expects Russian gas monopoly Gazprom to have difficulties in respecting all its obligations and predicts that gas shortages would already begin to occur in the winter of 2006-2007. Anders Aslund, Senior Fellow at the Peterson...

EU/POLAND/RUSSIA : WARSAW EXAMINING FINNISH PRESIDENCY PROPOSAL.
December 19, 2006... Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen has failed to convince Poland to lift its veto on the EU mandate for negotiations on the new agreement with Russia. "We did not get any resolution," said Vanhanen, after a meeting with Polish Prime Minister...