Europe-East articles from December 2007

Europe-East archives from December 2007

CLOSER TIES WITH VIETNAM.(Brief article)
December 20, 2007... The Asian harvest continues for the EU. Following the ASEAN Summit on 22 November in Singapore, the Union confirmed its growing interest in the region by starting up negotiations for a new bilateral agreement with Vietnam, on 26 November in...

ESF PROGRAMME IN SLOVENIA.(European Social Fund)(Brief article)
December 20, 2007... The European Commission approved, on 26 November, the Slovenian programme for a higher skilled workforce. Receiving 755 million in EU funding through the European Social Fund (ESF), the programme aims to give people the qualifications they need...

KOSOVO : AGREEMENT TO MAINTAIN OR STRENGTHEN MILITARY PRESENCE.(North Atlantic Treaty Organization)(Brief article)
December 20, 2007... The thirty member countries of the European Union and/or NATO will maintain a military presence in Kosovo, even if the future status of the Serbian province with an Albanian majority has not yet been determined, indicated the Belgian Foreign...

ENLARGEMENT : COMMISSION APPROVES AID FOR CROATIA, FYROM AND TURKEY.(Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance)(Brief article)
December 20, 2007... The Commission approved, on 7 December, funding for ten pre-accession assistance programmes for Croatia, Turkey and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) for 2007 to 2009. The money, which amounts to 920 million euro, comes from the...

JUSTICE AND HOME AFFAIRS : COMMISSION EXPLAINS ITS STANCE ON ASYLUM RECEPTION CONDITIONS.(Brief article)
December 20, 2007... The European Commission has provided further explanation of its assessment that member states have, in general, satisfactorily implemented the 2003 EU directive on the reception of asylum seekers (Reception Conditions Directive), despite the...

EUROPEAN NEIGHBOURHOOD POLICY : COMMISSION SPELLS OUT 2008 PRIORITIES TO STRENGTHEN ENP.
December 20, 2007... Trade, mobility and frozen conflicts are the areas where the European Commission intends to enhance its actions in the course of 2008 in a bid to further strengthen cooperation with countries participating in the European Neighbourhood Policy...

EU/KOSOVO : CRISIS GROUP URGES EU LEADERS TO TAKE BOLD DECISIONS ON KOSOVO.(European Union)
December 20, 2007... Faced with the threat of a Russian veto in the UN Security Council, the EU should not accept paralysis in the Kosovo situation following the collapse of a last round of negotiations on its status, the influential think tank International Crisis...

EIB LOAN IN TURKEY.
December 20, 2007... The European Investment Bank is providing a 100 million loan to Garanti Leasing, a subsidiary of Garanti Bank, to support the expansion and further development of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Turkey. The proceeds of the loan...

ENLARGEMENT : ENLARGEMENT TO TOP SLOVENIA'S EU PRESIDENCY AGENDA.(European Union)(Brief article)
December 20, 2007... Progress in accession talks with Turkey and Croatia as well as further integration of other Western Balkan countries with the European Union will lie at the heart of Slovenia's EU Presidency starting on 1 January 2008, said Igor Sencar,...

EU/GEORGIA : EP CALLS ON GEORGIA TO RESPECT FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION.
December 20, 2007... The European Parliament adopted, on 29 November, a resolution on the current situation in Georgia, calling on the authorities in Tbilisi to "respect the principle of freedom of expression, including freedom of assembly and freedom of the media"...

JUSTICE AND HOME AFFAIRS : EU27 TO BACK MOVE TO CRIMINALISE EMPLOYERS OF ILLEGAL WORKERS.
December 20, 2007... Support will be given by EU heads of state and government to the Commission's proposal for a law setting out member states' obligations regarding the punishment of businesses which employ illegal immigrants, according to a set of draft...

EU, BELARUS CONCLUDE TALKS ON COMMISSION OFFICE.(European Union)(Brief article)
December 20, 2007... Following a two-year delay, the EU and Belarus have finally reached agreement on the European Commission delegation to be located in Minsk. On 5 December, Belarusian Deputy Foreign Minister Valery Varanetski and Ian Boag, head of the Kyiv-based...

EU/BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA : EU CAUTIOUSLY WELCOMES AGREEMENT ON BOSNIA'S POLICE REFORM.
December 20, 2007... The European Commission cautiously welcomed agreement reached on 23 November of six Bosnian political parties to implement the long-delayed reform to the country's police system - the last remaining condition that needs to be met before...

EU/RUSSIA : EU CONCERNED ABOUT RUSSIAN POLICE CRACKDOWN ON OPPOSITION.(Brief article)
December 20, 2007... European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso expressed concern, on 26 November, about a violent crackdown by Russian police on peaceful protests by opponents of President Vladimir Putin at the weekend. He urged the Russian authorities to...

EUFOR CONDUCTS SEARCHES IN BOSNIA.(Radovan Karadzic)(Brief article)
December 20, 2007... NATO and EUFOR forces led, on 23 November, an operation close to Sarajevo aiming to search the homes of the family of the Bosnian Serbs' former leader, Radovan Karadzic, charged in 1995 by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former...

ENLARGEMENT : EU FOREIGN MINISTERS SEND WARNING SIGNAL TO ANKARA.
December 20, 2007... EU foreign ministers endorsed, on 10 December, the Commission's communication on enlargement strategy and progress reports on Turkey and Croatia, underlining that 2008 would be crucial 'to further consolidate and implement the EU's enlargement...

EU/BIH : EU INITIALS PRE-MEMBERSHIP AGREEMENT WITH BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA.
December 20, 2007... Following a last-minute agreement reached by the political parties in Sarajevo on police reform, the European Union initialled on 4 December a Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) with Bosnia and Herzegovina. The SAA constitutes a...

EU/KOSOVO : EU LEADERS REACH POLITICAL AGREEMENT ON KOSOVO MISSION.
December 20, 2007... In an apparent breakthrough, the EU's leaders gave a green light on 14 December for the Union's ESDP mission to be sent to Kosovo. "The principle of the mission has been decided today and its modalities will be approved by the end of January,"...

DEFENCE/EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT : EU-NATO COOPERATION INEFFECTIVE, MEPS AGREE.
December 20, 2007... For the majority of speakers - experts or MEPs - taking part in the second session of the joint meeting of members of the European Parliament and the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, in Brussels on 22 November, it is clear that cooperation between...

EU/RUSSIA : EU TO ANALYSE REPORTS OF RUSSIAN ELECTION FRAUD.
December 20, 2007... Vladimir Putin's United Russia party won a large majority in the country's parliamentary elections on 2 December, but international observers said that the poll was unfair and failed to meet democratic standards. "The State Duma election in the...

EU/GEORGIA : EU URGES TBILISI TO LIFT BAN ON OPPOSITION TV STATION.
December 20, 2007... The European Union has welcomed recent developments in Georgia aiming at improving civil liberties in the country following a violent crackdown on anti-government protests in early November. "Now, Georgia has to slowly build a democratic system...

EU/KOSOVO : EXTRA KFOR TROOPS DEPLOYED IN PROVINCE'S NORTH.
December 20, 2007... With just a few days to go until 10 December, the deadline for the negotiations between the Serbs and the Kosovars on the future statute of Kosovo, the EU is sending troops to the former Serbian province. In addition to the EU's police mission...

GREECE, FYROM TO MEET OVER NAME DISPUTE.(Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia )(Brief article)
December 20, 2007... Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) agreed on 5 December on a date for a first meeting opening a new round of negotiations on the name issue', Matthew Nimetz, the UN special mediator, said at a press conference...

ESDP/BOSNIA : HIGHER BUDGET FOR EU POLICE MISSION.(Brief article)
December 20, 2007... The EU Police Mission (EUPM) in Bosnia was prolonged on 19 November by the Union's Council of Ministers until 31 December 2009. Accordingly, the Council will be approving an increase in the mission's budget for 2008. According to the text...

HUMANITARIAN AID IN ABKHAZIA.
December 20, 2007... The European Commission approved, on 5 December, a 2 million humanitarian aid package to support the people most affected by the unresolved conflict between Abkhazia and Georgia. Assistance will focus on small income-generation projects and the...

INTERVIEW WITH MEP ALAIN LAMASSOURE (EPP-ED, FRANCE) : IN KOSOVO, ALL CONDITIONS ARE IN PLACE FOR A MAJOR POLITICAL CRISIS.(Interview)
December 20, 2007... Kosovo's march to independence seems inescapable, in spite of opposition by Serbia and Russia. EU leaders, who discussed the issue at their summit meeting on 14 December in Brussels, once again remained very reserved. Alain Lamassoure (UMP),...

EU/KOSOVO : JOUYET HIGHLIGHTS EU'S RESPONSIBILITY FOR KOSOVO'S FUTURE.(European Union)(Brief article)
December 20, 2007... "Whatever the outcome of the Kosovo status talks [...] the European Union has to be ready to take full responsibility" for the province's future, Jean-Pierre Jouyet, the French state secretary for European affairs said on 4 December in...

EU/KOSOVO : KOSOVO STATUS TALKS END WITHOUT AGREEMENT.(European Union)(Brief article)
December 20, 2007... Following five rounds of talks, representatives from Kosovo and Serbia have failed to reach an agreement on the future status of Kosovo at a final meeting held on 26-28 November in Baden, Austria."The Baden Conference marks the end of...

HEALTH COUNCIL : MIGRANTS' HEALTH PROBLEMS IN FOCUS.
December 20, 2007... The Health Council on 6 December in Brussels will be looking into the inclusion of health and migration issues in Community and national policies, one of the key themes of the Portuguese EU Presidency. The 27 are expected to stress the need for...

EU/POLAND/RUSSIA : MOSCOW AGREES TO LIFT POLISH MEAT IMPORT BAN.
December 20, 2007... The agriculture ministers of Poland and Russia have reached an agreement on the resumption of meat trade, ending a two-year ban on Polish exports to Russia that has strained the EU's ties with Moscow. "We are in complete agreement on resuming...

EU/KOSOVO : MOSCOW: EU'S KOSOVO MISSION ILLEGAL WITHOUT UNSC BLESSING.(European Union)(United Nations. Security Council)(Brief article)
December 20, 2007... A proposed European Union police mission to the south Serbian province of Kosovo would be illegal without the United Nations Security Council's approval, said Alexander Botsan-Kharchenko, Russia's envoy to Kosovo, on 17 December. His comments...

ONE BILLION EURO EU AID TO SERBIA.(Brief article)
December 20, 2007... The Serbian government and the European Commission signed, on 29 November, an agreement on the allocation of some 1 billion of non-refundable pre-accession aid to Serbia over the next five years. The funds will be made available in the...

EUFOR/CHAD : PARIS TURNS TO RUSSIA FOR HELP.(European Union Forces in Bosnia and Herzegovina)
December 20, 2007... France, its hands tied due to the member states' reluctance to contribute to the European Security and Defence Policy military mission in Chad and the Central African Republic, is turning to Russia, despite the fact that its move may irritate...

MIGRATION/EUROPEAN COUNCIL : POLICY PAPER SETS OUT KEY POINTS ON MIGRATION FOR EU LEADERS.
December 20, 2007... Priorities for action for the further development of EU immigration policy have been presented by the European Commission in a policy paper adopted on 5 December. The paper is intended to stimulate discussion between heads of state and...

ENLARGEMENT : PORTUGUESE PRESIDENCY'S ENLARGEMENT AGENDA IN JEOPARDY.(Brief article)
December 20, 2007... It is almost certain that by 19 December, when the EU Presidency is set to meet with Croatia at the Accession Conference in Brussels, no more than two chapters will be ready for opening. The delay has been caused by the Commission, which has...

EU/KOSOVO : PRISTINA TO DECLARE INDEPENDENCE AFTER COORDINATION WITH EU AND US.(European Union)
December 20, 2007... Kosovo will not declare independence unilaterally, but in coordination with the EU and the US, Agim Ceku, Kosovo's prime minister said on 4 December in Brussels. "We will come up with a coordinated declaration of independence, after...

EU/RUSSIA : PUTIN: POLL WILL BE AS "TRANSPARENT AND OPEN AS POSSIBLE".(European Union)
December 20, 2007... In a bid to defuse tensions surrounding Russia's parliamentary elections on 2 December, Russia's President Vladimir Putin has pledged to hold a poll that will be as "transparent and open as possible" without "organisational failures and...

EU/CROATIA : RULING CROATIAN DEMOCRATIC UNION PARTY WINS GENERAL ELECTIONS.
December 20, 2007... After hours of uncertainty, the ruling centre-right Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) party can finally celebrate its victory in Croatia's parliamentary elections on 25 November. The latest preliminary results released by Croatia's state-run...

RUSSIA SUSPENDS CFE TREATY.(Conventional Forces in Europe)(Brief article)
December 20, 2007... Despite protests from the EU and the US, Russia's controversial suspension of the 1990 Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) Treaty came into effect on 12 December. In a statement issued the same day, the EU urged Russia to "continue to engage...

STRATEGY ON THE WESTERN BALKANS.(Brief article)
December 20, 2007... The EU's foreign ministers adopted, on 10 December, conclusions on the European Commission's communication on Enlargement strategy and main challenges 2007-2008' and the accompanying progress reports on Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the...

EU/UKRAINE : TALKS START ON COMMON AVIATION AREA AGREEMENT.(Brief article)
December 20, 2007... The EU and Ukraine officially opened this week negotiations on a Common Aviation Area agreement in Kiev. A mandate had been given to the European Commission a year ago, on 12 December 2006. The agreement should not only open the respective...

JUSTICE AND HOME AFFAIRS : TALKS TO OPEN WITH CAPE VERDE, MOLDOVA ON MOBILITY PARTNERSHIPS'.
December 20, 2007... EU interior ministers agreed, at their meeting on 6-7 December, to the launching of negotiations with Cape Verde and Moldova on giving their citizens privileged access to the EU labour market. The negotiations, to be conducted primarily by...

TURKEY VOICES "DISCONTENT".
December 20, 2007... Although journalists have called it a "symbolic" French victory, Ankara has reacted with anger to the EU's decision to drop the word "accession" from the Council's conclusions on Turkey's talks with the bloc. "The fact that these conclusions...

TURKISH NGO SEEKS AMENDMENT TO COUNCIL CONCLUSIONS.
December 20, 2007... The Economic Development Foundation (IKV), an influential Turkish civil society organisation, has called on the EU's leaders, meeting on 14 December, to amend the conclusions adopted on 10 December by the Union's foreign ministers by including...

UN EXTENDS EUFOR MANDATE.(Brief article)
December 20, 2007... The UN General Assembly has extended, in Resolution 1785 adopted on 21 November, the mandate of EUFOR - the European Union's military peacekeeping force in Bosnia Herzegovina. It has also agreed "to consider the terms of further authorization...

DEFENCE : US PUSHES ANTI-MISSILE SYSTEM IN EUROPE.
December 20, 2007... Ambassador Victoria Nuland of the United States Mission to NATO defended before members of the European Parliament and of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly - meeting for an extraordinary joint session on 21 November at the EP in Brusselsa- the...

POLAND : WARSAW PLEDGES NEW ERA IN RELATIONS WITH EU AND RUSSIA.
December 20, 2007... "The new Polish government is determined to re-take Poland's place in the mainstream of the European policy," Radoslaw Sikorski, the country's newly appointed foreign minister told European journalists at a press conference on 22 November in...

EU/KOSOVO : WASHINGTON WANTS EU TO LEAD IN RESOLVING IMPASSE.(Brief article)
December 20, 2007... The United States would like the European Union to lead the way in resolving the future status of Kosovo, officials in Washington have told Europolitics New Neighbours. "We do not want to push ourselves into the foreground," explained one, just...