Europe-East articles from December 2008

Europe-East archives from December 2008

IMMIGRATION : 40% OF EU IMMIGRANTS ARE FROM MEMBER STATES.
December 18, 2008... Immigration in Europe is an important intra-European phenomenon, according to statistics released by Eurostat, on 18 Novembers. In 2006, EU27 citizens migrating to a member state of which they were not citizens accounted for 40% of foreign...

60 MN EURO TO NEW TEMPUS PROJECTS.(education policy of European Union. European Commission)(Brief article)
December 18, 2008... Some 63 university cooperation and 13 other high quality projects in all 28 Tempus Programme partner countries have been given approval by the European Commission under the new, fourth, phase of Tempus. Financed by a budget of 60 million, 600...

IMMIGRATION : ASYLUM: COMMISSION PUTS REFUGEES BACK AT HEART OF SYSTEM.
December 18, 2008... Believing that in Europe the "procedure is little concerned with asylum applicants," the European Commission proposed, on 3 December, improving the Dublin II(1) system, which is considered to be unfair to refugees. At the same time, the EU...

BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA ASSOCIATED TO FP7.(Seventh Framework Programme)(Brief article)
December 18, 2008... EU Commissioner Janez Potocnik signed a memorandum of understanding with Sredoje Novic, Bosnia and Herzegovina's minister for civil affairs in Brussels, on 24 November, enabling Bosnia and Herzegovina to have full access to the Seventh...

EU/BIH : BOSNIA DEEMED NOT READY FOR TRANSFER OF CONTROL.
December 18, 2008... The Peace Implementation Council (PIC) overseeing post-civil war Bosnia and Herzegovina welcomed, on 20 November, the recent declaration by the EU of its willingness to increase its engagement in the country, but indicated that it might take...

CLIMATE CHANGE : CENTRAL EUROPEAN NGOS CALL FOR EARLY CLIMATE DEAL.
December 18, 2008... NGOs from Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) are calling on heads of governments from the region to push for a "sustainable" compromise and adopt the EU's energy and climate change package before the end of the United Nations Framework Convention...

EASTERN PARTNERSHIP : COMMISSION UNVEILS "AMBITIOUS" 600 MN EURO PROPOSAL.(European Union. European Commission)(Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine)
December 18, 2008... "Approximation to EU standards" is the key aim of the European Commission's "ambitious" proposal on the Eastern Partnership (EP), addressed to Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine, said External Relations Commissioner...

EU/BELARUS : COMMISSION WELCOMES MINSK'S REFORM PLANS.(European Union. European Commission)(Brief article)
December 18, 2008... The European Commission has welcomed as "important and encouraging" a decision by the Belarusian authorities to take "concrete steps" to improve media freedom in the country and to discuss in detail OSCE-ODIHR recommendations regarding the...

INTERVIEW WITHaJACEK SARYUSZ-WOLSKI, CHAIRMAN OF THE EP FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE : EASTERN PARTNERSHIP: "WE WILL TRY TO BE INVENTIVE".(European Union. European Parliament)(European Union. European Commission)(Interview)
December 18, 2008... The European Commission's proposal on the Eastern Partnership, presented on 3 December, calls for the doubling of the EU's per capita assistance to the six eastern countries in 2010-2013. In an interview with Europolitics New Neighbours, Jacek...

EU/TURKEY : EP RAPPORTEUR CONCERNED BY SLOW PACE OF REFORMS.(European Union. European Commission)(Brief article)
December 18, 2008... MEP Ria Oomen-Ruijten (EPP-ED, the Netherlands) has echoed the European Commission's concerns expressed in its recent progress report over the continuous slowdown of EU-oriented reforms in Turkey. The European Parliament is "concerned to see in...

EU/EGYPT : EU, CAIRO SIGN MEMORANDUM ON ENERGY COOPERATION.
December 18, 2008... Commissioners Benita Ferrero-Waldner (external relations) and Andris Piebalgs (energy) signed a memorandum of understanding, on 2 December, with Egypt's Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit, which lists five priorities for cooperation. These are...

EU LAUNCHES PROBE INTO GEORGIA-RUSSIA WAR.(European Union)(Brief article)
December 18, 2008... The EU formally launched, on 2 December, an independent international fact-finding mission to "investigate the causes of the [Russia-Georgia] conflict, with a view to gaining better understanding of why and how the crisis developed". The...

EU/KOSOVO : EULEX DEPLOYMENT CONTINUES DESPITE REJECTION OF UN PLAN.(European Union)
December 18, 2008... The EU will stick to its EULEX deployment plans despite the failure of talks on the UN-proposed six-point plan on the reconfiguration' of the international presence in Kosovo, an EU official told Europolitics New Neighbours. Amid disagreements...

ENLARGEMENT STRATEGY : EU SUPPORT FOR THE EUROPEAN PERSPECTIVE OF BALKAN COUNTRIES.
December 18, 2008... On 8 December, the EU External Relations Council had an exchange of views on the Commission's communication entitled 'Enlargement Strategy and Main Challenges 2008-2009' and on the progress reports on Western Balkan countries. He broadly shares...

EU-SWISS SUSPENSE.(European Union)(Brief article)
December 18, 2008... Switzerland has just joined the Schengen space, abolishing the identity controls at its borders. But it is up to the vote, on 8 February, to decide whether its relations with the EU are suspended. On this date, the Confederation will decide...

EU/ARCTIC : EU TO DEFEND "SUSTAINABLE" EXPLOITATION OF THE ARCTIC.
December 18, 2008... The protection of the Arctic is the key objective of the initiative launched by the European Commission with its publication, on 20 November, of a communication on The European Union and the Arctic region'. The EU executive highlights the...

EU-UKRAINEaCIVIL PROTECTION COOPERATION.
December 18, 2008... The European Commission and the Ukrainian Ministry of Emergencies and Affairs of Population Protection signed, on 8 December, an arrangement for cooperation and mutual assistance during emergencies. The arrangement will provide for the...

FEMIP FUNDING IN MOROCCO.(Facility for Euro-Mediterranean Investment and Partnership )(Brief article)
December 18, 2008... Two loans were granted to Morocco, on 5 December, under the Facility for Euro-Mediterranean Investment and Partnership (FEMIP), the financial arm of the European Investment Bank for the Mediterranean: 170 million to the National Electricity...

FEMIP LOAN IN TUNISIA.(Facility for Euro-Mediterranean Investment and Partnership)(Brief article)
December 18, 2008... FEMIP, the financial arm of the European Investment Bank for the Mediterranean, granted, on 27 November, a loan of 110 million to Tunisia to reinforce the country's urban road infrastructures. The work funded by the EIB will allow traffic and...

GENEVA CONFERENCE : GEORGIA-RUSSIA TALKS NOW FOCUS ON CIVILIAN ASPECTS.(Conference notes)
December 18, 2008... Meeting on 19 November in Geneva for a second round of international talks on the post-war re-establishment of security and stability in Georgia, the mediators agreed to focus on issues "directly related to the people," leaving thorny political...

KACZYNSKI CALLS ON EU TO STAND UP TO RUSSIA.(Lech Kaczynski)(Brief article)
December 18, 2008... Following his visit to Georgia, Polish President Lech Kaczynski has urged the European Union to stand up to Russia and insist that it fully complies with the ceasefire agreement that ended a brief Russia-Georgia war in August. In an open letter...

EU/FYROM : MEPS DEPLORE COMMISSION'S NEGATIVE DECISION ON SKOPJE'S EU BID.
December 18, 2008... Members of the European Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee have voiced strong criticism of the European Commission's negative decision on opening accession talks with the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia this year. "I'm deeply unhappy...

ENERGY COMMUNITY : MINISTERS UPDATE PRIORITY ENERGY PROJECTS.(Conference news)
December 18, 2008... Meeting in Tirana, Albania, on 11 December, the fifth Ministerial Council of the Energy Community updated its list of priority infrastructure projects(1). Energy ministers from South-East Europe also reviewed infrastructure progress achieved in...

EU/MONTENEGRO : MONTENEGRO APPLIES FOR EU MEMBERSHIP.(Stabilisation and Association Agreement)(Brief article)
December 18, 2008... Montenegro officially submitted its application for EU membership during a ceremony at the Elysee Palace, in Paris, on 15 December. Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic presented Montenegro's bid to become a candidate for EU accession to France's...

EU/CENTRAL ASIA : NEW RULE OF LAW INITIATIVE TARGETS FIVE REPUBLICS.(Brief article)
December 18, 2008... The European Union launched, on 28 November, a rule of law initiative for Central Asia - one of the key elements of its strategy for a new partnership with five Central Asian countries adopted in May 2007. The initiative provides for support...

IMMIGRATION : PARLIAMENT CAUTIOUSLY BACKS BLUE CARD' SCHEME.
December 18, 2008... The EU blue card' plan received backing from MEPs, on 20 November in Strasbourg (388 votes in favour, 56 against and 124 abstentions). This card, patterned on the US Green Card, is meant to attract highly skilled immigrants to take jobs in the...

ENLARGEMENT : POLL: CROATS LEAST ENTHUSIASTIC FOR EU ACCESSION.
December 18, 2008... Croatia, a front-runner among the Western Balkan countries hoping to join the EU, is at the same time the most sceptical about EU accession, an opinion poll reveals. Less than one third (29%) of Croats believe that their country's accession to...

EUROPEAN SECURITY : PUTIN SUGGESTS THREE PRINCIPLES FOR NEW PACT.
December 18, 2008... In his response to Nicolas Sarkozy, president-in-office of the EU Council, who recently called for review of the security pact , Vladimir Putin has spelled out Russia's ideas, which until now had remained vague. At a conference on...

SAPARD FUNDS IN BULGARIA AND ROMANIA.(Special Accession Programme for Agriculture and Rural Development)(Brief article)
December 18, 2008... The European Commission adopted, on 2 December, a decision allowing Bulgaria and Romania to extend the deadline for payments of SAPARD (Special Accession Programme for Agriculture and Rural Development) funds by one year, from 31 December 2008...

ESDP/KOSOVO : SECURITY COUNCIL GIVES GREEN LIGHT FOR EULEX MISSION.(European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo)
December 18, 2008... The UN Security Council gave, on 26 November, the green light to the deployment of the EU's rule of law mission (EULEX) in Kosovo. Without giving an in-depth opinion on the entirety of the report submitted by Ban Ki-moon, the UN...

EU/RUSSIA/GEORGIA : SWISS DIPLOMAT TO HEAD PROBE INTO RUSSIA-GEORGIA WAR.
December 18, 2008... Swiss career diplomat Heidi Tagliavini has been appointed head of the EU-led independent international fact-finding mission in post-conflict Georgia, to be launched "shortly," the French EU Presidency has announced. The aim of the mission is to...

EU/ALBANIA : TIRANA SAYS WILL NOT APPLY FOR CANDIDATE STATUS IN DECEMBER.(Conference news)
December 18, 2008... Albania plans to "very soon" apply for EU candidate status, but not as early as before the forthcoming European Council, on 11-12 December, said Lulzim Basha, the country's foreign minister. Speaking at a joint press conference with EU...

ENERGY COMMUNITY : UKRAINE AND MOLDOVA ON TRACK TO MEMBERSHIP.
December 18, 2008... Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs predicts quick progress in negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova on their accession to the Energy Community. This would mean that they adopt EU legislation in the field of energy. Speaking after the opening...

EU/GEORGIA : VISA TALKS WITH TBILISI TO START IN JANUARY.
December 18, 2008... The negotiations on a visa facilitation agreement with Georgia, scheduled to commence in early 2009, will be completed "rather quickly," said EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner at a joint press conference with Georgia's...

FREE MOVEMENT OF LABOUR : WORKERS FROM EAST FILL IN MARKET GAPS.
December 18, 2008... Job mobility does not cause severe disturbances in local wages and employment rates in the post-enlargement era. The free movement of workers has in fact contributed to economic growth due to its labour market and skills shortage impact, says...