Europe-East articles from June 2006

Europe-East archives from June 2006

ENLARGEMENT : ACCESSION TALKS WITH CROATIA AND TURKEY GET UNDERWAY.
June 27, 2006... The EU kicked off membership negotiations proper with Croatia and Turkey late on 12 June. But Zagreb was told that its hopes of joining the EU by 2009 look somewhat ambitious while the start of Ankara's talks suggested they will proceed under a...

EU/ISRAEL : AGRICULTURE AND FISHING TRADE NEGOTIATIONS COMING SOON.
June 27, 2006... Despite continued tensions over the question of the conflict in the Middle East, EU-Israeli cooperation is heading in the right direction. The sixth bilateral Association Council, held in Luxembourg on 13 June, noted the progress being made in...

EU/PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY : AN AIRLIFT FOR GAZA?(European Union)
June 27, 2006... In the face of rising concern about the humanitarian situation in Gaza, where the population is lacking everything from food to medicines, school equipment and especially money (not least because civil servants have not been paid for more than...

EU/TURKEY : ANKARA URGED TO MEET CYPRUS OBLIGATIONS, RE-LAUNCH REFORMS.
June 27, 2006... Various chapters of Turkey's membership negotiations with the European Union could be blocked if Turkey does not open its ports to Cypriot vessels, EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn told the European Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee...

TURKEY : ANKARA URGED TO SPEED UP REFORMS.
June 27, 2006... Turkey needs to make serious headway on reforms to ensure that its EU membership negotiations run smoothly. That was the message from EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn as he met Ankara's chief negotiator Ali Babacan on 19 May in Brussels....

EU/NORWAY-ICELAND : ARREST WARRANT AGREEMENT SET TO BE SIGNED.(European Union)
June 27, 2006... An agreement to speed up and simplify the transfer of criminal suspects between the EU and Norway and Iceland is expected to be signed shortly. The accord will apply the EU arrest warrant (EAW) to Norway and Iceland in all but name. Yet it...

BALKANS INVESTMENT BOOST.(Brief article)
June 27, 2006... The European Commission announced on 19 June that it was putting 60 million towards the European Fund for South East Europe (EFSE), a Luxembourg investment fund set up in December 2005 to support private-sector development in the Balkans...

BARROSO MEETS BELARUS OPPOSITION LEADER.(Jose Manuel Barroso)(Brief article)
June 27, 2006... Following talks in the morning of 20 June between European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and Alexander Milinkevic, one of the pro-democracy movement leaders in Belarus, the Commission's spokesman Johannes Laitenberger emphasised the...

BELARUS ASSET FREEZE IMPOSED.(Brief article)
June 27, 2006... EU member states have decided to freeze the assets of 36 Belarusian officials including President Alexander Lukashenko and a number of ministers and KGB and election officials. The move comes on top of a visa ban slapped on Mr Lukashenko and...

BELARUS BARS EU AND US OFFICIALS.(Brief article)
June 27, 2006... The Belarusian Foreign Ministry responded on 8 June to the European Union's visa ban on 31 Belarusian officials, by imposing similar restrictions on European Union and United States officials. Belarusian Foreign Ministry spokesman Andrey Papou...

BELARUS HUMAN RIGHTS CONCERNS.
June 27, 2006... The EU has called on the Belarusian authorities to stop what it says is a harassment campaign that could lead to the closure of the only remaining registered human rights non-governmental organisation in Belarus. In a 1 June statement, the EU...

BELARUS THREAT PLAYED DOWN.(Brief article)
June 27, 2006... The European Commission said on 9 June that it was aware of press reports indicating that Belarus intended to prevent certain EU officials from entering the country - but that the move would not have much impact even if it turned out to be...

EU/ROMANIA : BUCHAREST ROLLS UP ITS SLEEVES TO GET READY FOR 2007.(Brief article)
June 27, 2006... Romania's European Integration Minister Anca Daniela Boagiu has told Europolitics that Bucharest will have its nose hard to the grindstone to get ready for EU membership in January 2007, and is confident that the country can make it. The...

ENLARGEMENT : BULGARIAN AND ROMANIAN ECONOMIES IN GOOD SHAPE.
June 27, 2006... The final opinion on when Bulgaria and Romania should join the European Union has been postponed by the European Commission until October this year. In their statements before the European Parliament on 16 May, Commission President Jose Manuel...

BULGARIA URGED TO STAY IN FAST LANE.
June 27, 2006... Bulgaria has made significant progress but needs to take decisive action in certain key policy fields to be able to join the EU in 2007, said EU Regional Policy Commissioner Danuta Hubner on a 21 June visit to Sofia. She noted that Bulgaria...

CANDIDATES INVOLVED IN EU DRUGS AGENCY WORK.(Brief article)
June 27, 2006... Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey should be allowed to take part in the work of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, the European Commission has proposed to EU member states. It issued on 1 June proposals for Council...

EU/US : CHINA AND RUSSIA TARGETED IN COUNTERFEITING CRACKDOWN.(Brief article)
June 27, 2006... The EU and the United States are to increase cooperation in the fight against counterfeiting and will initially focus on China and Russia. A joint action programme to tackle global intellectual property piracy was to be ratified during the...

JUSTICE AND HOME AFFAIRS : COMMISSION FAILS TO AGREE LIST OF ASYLUM-SAFE COUNTRIES.
June 27, 2006... The issue of asylum is causing real tensions within the European Commission. At their weekly meeting on 24 May, the Commissioners could not agree on a list of non-EU countries deemed safe' for the purpose of examining asylum claims from there....

COMMISSION PLEDGES FUNDS FOR THE ROMA.(Brief article)
June 27, 2006... On 12 June, the Commission pledged to make available EU financial resources to fund Roma programmes in Central and South-East Europe, including Structural Funds for the new EU member states and Pre-Accession Funds for countries on the EU...

AIR TRANSPORT : COMMISSION UPDATES BLACKLIST.
June 27, 2006... The blacklist of airlines banned in the European Union, first published on 22 March (1), was updated on 20 June. Complying with its obligation to update the list on a regular basis, the European Commission again consulted all the relevant...

JUSTICE AND HOME AFFAIRS COUNCIL : COST OF AN EU VISA GOES UP TO EURO 60.(Brief article)
June 27, 2006... From 1 January 2007, the price of a Schengen-zone visa goes up by nearly 75% from 35 to 60. The Decision was adopted without debate by EU Justice and Home Affairs Ministers on 1 June in Luxembourg. Sweden, Greece and Hungary voted against the...

EU/US : DAMNING REPORT ON CIA ADOPTED BY MEPS.
June 27, 2006... MEPs have strongly condemned the United States' anti-terrorist operations in Europe. The US intelligence agency, the CIA, has been 'directly responsible' for 'illegal seizure, removal, abduction and detention of terrorist suspects on the...

DOWNSIZING BOSNIA MILITARY OPERATION.
June 27, 2006... Troop levels for the 7,000-strong EU-led military operation in Bosnia and Herzegovina should come down to 6,000 and could be reduced by half if there are positive developments in the Balkan country following autumn elections, Austrian Defence...

DUTCH RATIFY ACCESSION TREATY.(Brief article)
June 27, 2006... The Romanian European Integration Ministry hailed on 14 June the ratification by the Dutch Senate by a large majority of Bulgaria's and Romania's Acts of Accession to the EU, cutting to seven the number of EU member states that have not yet...

EIB LOAN FOR MOTOR INDUSTRY IN TURKEY.
June 27, 2006... The European Investment Bank (EIB) has awarded Turk Otomobil Fabrikasi A.S. (TOFAS) a loan of 75 million to develop and produce, in conjunction with PSA Peugeot Citroen and Fiat Auto, small commercial vehicles for the European market. The...

EIB LOAN FOR TURKISH AIRLINES.
June 27, 2006... The European Investment Bank announced on 23 May that it is providing up to 500 million of loans to Turkish Airlines for the expansion and renewal of its aircraft fleet between 2005 and 2008. This is the first stage in a broader investment...

EIB LOANS FOR ROMANIA.(European Investment Bank )(Brief article)
June 27, 2006... The European Investment Bank (EIB) is lending 29.5 million to the Romanian Government for investment to help implement its Small and Medium-Sized Towns Infrastructure Development Programme (SAMTID). The scheme encourages smaller municipalities...

ENERGY MARKET WARNING.
June 27, 2006... The demand for energy from two big players on the international arena - China and India - will create tensions on the energy market if the two countries maintain the growth rates seen in recent years, according to EU foreign policy chief Javier...

RUSSIA : ENERGY TAKES CENTRE STAGE AT BLACK SEA SUMMIT AS VISA DEAL SIGNED.
June 27, 2006... The EU and Russia signed long-awaited agreements on visas and taking back illegal immigrants at their 25 May summit at the Black Sea resort of Sochi. Summit host Vladimir Putin said the visa facilitation' and readmission' accords would give a...

EPP WELCOMES BELARUSIAN OBSERVERS.
June 27, 2006... In an unprecedented move, the Political Bureau of the European People's Party (EPP) accepted two Belarusian parties - the opposition Belarusian Popular Front (BPF) and the United Civil Party (UCP) - as observers on 12 June. "With this decision...

EP WAVES THROUGH BOSNIA AVIATION PACT.(Brief article)
June 27, 2006... The European Parliament, during the plenary session in Strasbourg on 13 June, approved the signing of a horizontal aviation agreement between the EU and Bosnia-Herzegovina. The aim, as with all similar agreements is to remove any discriminatory...

MOLDOVA/UKRAINE : EU ADVISERS HAIL ANTI-SMUGGLING SWOOP.
June 27, 2006... A Moldova-Ukraine anti-smuggling operation has been acclaimed by the EU Border Assistance Mission to the two countries (EUBAM), which said that more smuggled goods were seized in ten days of the recent operation than in the whole of the first...

EU/ROMANIA-BULGARIA : EU AUDITORS CONDEMN PHARE MISMANAGEMENT.
June 27, 2006... A new special report concerning Phare investment projects in Bulgaria and Romania delivered by the European Court of Auditors again challenges the way the EU's pre-accession programmes are managed. The EU's financial watchdog pointed out...

EURO-ZONE : EU LEADERS SAY YES TO SLOVENIA, NO TO LITHUANIA.(Brief article)
June 27, 2006... The European Council gave Slovenia's application to join the euro-zone its seal of approvalaon 16 June. The Slovenes are therefore now expected to adopt the single currency on 1 January 2007. "This first enlargement of the euro-zone to one of...

PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES : EU LINES UP MOVE TO EASE HUMANITARIAN PROBLEMS.
June 27, 2006... EU member states have backed a European Commission proposal to provide a further 34 million in humanitarian aid to mitigate the effects of what the EU executive says is a deteriorating humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian territories....

KOSOVO : EU PREPARES TO PROVIDE FINANCIAL HELP OF EURO 50 MILLION.(European Union's services)(Brief article)
June 27, 2006... Kosovo is in line to receive up to 50 million from the EU to help ease the precarious state of its public finances and external accounts. The European Commission has sent the EU member states a proposal for a Council Decision to this effect,...

EU/PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY : EURO 105 MILLION FOR TEMPORARY AID MECHANISM.
June 27, 2006... After weeks of talks, the EU has finally persuaded Washington to give the green light to a temporary mechanism for providing aid to the Palestinians. The Quartet (EU, United States, Russia, UN) gave the go-ahead on 16 June to the mechanism...

EU/ALBANIA : EURO-INTEGRATION AND TRADE ACCORDS SIGNED.
June 27, 2006... EU and Albanian representatives signed on 12 June an accord to draw Albania closer to potential EU membership and a deal to free up trade. The long-awaited Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) was signed as EU Foreign Ministers...

EU/MONTENEGRO : EURO-INTEGRATION PACT EYED AFTER INDEPENDENCE VOTE.(European Union)(Brief article)
June 27, 2006... Fresh from voting for independence from Serbia, Montenegro is hoping to conclude by the end of the year talks on an agreement to draw it closer to one day joining the EU. That was the message from the small Balkan republic's Prime Minister Milo...

EU/BALKANS : EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT ENDORSES ENERGY COMMUNITY TREATY.(Brief article)
June 27, 2006... MEPs gave their ascent in plenary session on 18 May to the conclusion by the EU of the South-East Europe Energy Charter Treaty signed on 25 October 2005 by the EU and nine other states (Albania, Bulgaria, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, the...

EU/RUSSIA TALKS ON FINANCIAL SERVICES.
June 27, 2006... The first meeting of the EU-Russia Dialogue on Financial Services has been held with a view to harmonising accounting standards and combating money laundering. A delegation led by the European Commission's Director General for the Internal...

EU/SINGAPORE/UKRAINEaAVIATION PACTS.(Brief article)
June 27, 2006... The EU Council of Ministers signed an aviation agreement with Singapore on 9 June in Luxembourg. This horizontal agreement adapts bilateral aviation agreements between member states and Singapore, removing discriminatory clauses preventing EU...

NORTHERN DIMENSION : FINLAND'S EU PRESIDENCY TO BRING NEW BOOST FOR COOPERATION.
June 27, 2006... At a joint conference organised by the Estonian and Finnish Foreign Ministers on 9 June in Tallinn, Finland's Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja presented the Finnish Presidency's strategy for further development of the Northern Dimension...

FINNISH PLANS FOR RUSSIA.
June 27, 2006... Finland is looking to secure agreement this year on a mandate for the European Commission to negotiate a successor to the EU-Russia Partnership and Cooperation Agreement, the current contractual basis for the sides' ties that is up for review...

EU/MOROCCO : FISHING PACT APPROVED, DESPITE WESTERN SAHARA CONCERNS.
June 27, 2006... The controversial Fisheries Partnership Agreement between the EU and Morocco was endorsed by the Council in a Regulation on 22 May, marking the final stage of its passage through the EU institutions. 1 June 2006 is scheduled as the start...

FRATTINI MEETS GHADDAFI.(Franco Frattini)(Muammar Ghaddafi)(Brief article)
June 27, 2006... Relations between the EU and Libya continue to develop. On 22 May, European Commissioner for Justice, Freedom and Security Franco Frattini held talks with the Libyan leader Muammar Ghaddafi in Tripoli. The meeting was dominated by security and...

EU/IRAQ : FUTURE RELATIONS HOSTAGE TO INSECURITY.(European Union)(Brief article)
June 27, 2006... Not dwelling on the violence currently tearing Iraq apart but looking to the future. This was the delicate balancing act attempted by the European Commission on 7 June in presenting its new strategy for enhancing relations between the EU and...

FYROM AVIATION PACT APPROVED.(Brief article)
June 27, 2006... The EU TransportaMinisters' Council approved without debate in Luxembourg on 9 June the signing of a horizontal' aviation agreement between the EU and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. The aim is to remove the discriminatory clauses...

IN SEARCH OF A NEW CONSENSUS.(Brief article)
June 27, 2006... The upcoming Finnish Presidency of the EU will try to find a "new consensus" on enlargement by the end of its six months at the helm, according to the country's Prime Minister, Matti Vanhanen. Speaking to Finnish MPs on the Presidency's...

EU/IRAN : JAVIER SOLANA PRESENTS NEW EUROPEAN OFFER TO TEHRAN.(European Union)(Brief article)
June 27, 2006... Buoyed by a mandate from the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council plus Germany, Javier Solana presented a series of proposals to Iran on 6 June in Tehran in a further effort to defuse the nuclear crisis. The EU's High...

TRADE : MANDELSON WANTS REVIEW OF EU TRADE DEFENCE STRATEGY.
June 27, 2006... Having been put through his paces by the controversy surrounding the Chinese and Vietnamese shoe dumping cases, Peter Mandelson is again ready to take control of the EU's trade defence strategy in a bid to counter the protectionist trends which...

EU/IRAQ : MEMBER STATES EXTEND RULE OF LAW MISSION UNTIL 2007.(European Union)(Brief article)
June 27, 2006... With the Iraqi authorities facing ever-increasing violence in their country, the EU has offered a little support in agreeing at the External Relations Council in Luxembourg on 12 June to extend the Joint Action on the EU Integrated Rule of Law...

MEP PLAYS DOWN ROMANIA ACCESSION DOUBTS.(Brief article)
June 27, 2006... Elmar Brok MEP has said the ongoing European Parliament inquiry into the CIA's anti-terror operations in Europe should not scupper Romania's chances of joining the EU in 2007. 'At present, I can see no proof whatsoever regarding any illegal...

EU/TURKEY : MINISTERS CLEAR ROUND ONE OF ACCESSION TALKS.
June 27, 2006... The EU cleared the way on 12 June to open the first chapter of Turkey's embryonic membership negotiations, but only after a flurry of late diplomatic activity to overcome a possible Cypriot veto. EU Foreign Ministers meeting in Luxembourg...

EU/BALKANS : MINISTERS SET IN TRAIN MOVES TO RECOGNISE MONTENEGRO.(European Union)(Brief article)
June 27, 2006... EU Foreign Ministers have indicated that they will move to recognise Montenegro as an independent state after its recent referendum and declaration of independence from Serbia. Meeting on 12 June in Luxembourg, Ministers looked to coordinate...

MORE BALKANS CUSTOMS AND TAX HELP.(Brief article)
June 27, 2006... The European Commission has decided to provide up to 14 million in technical assistance to help customs and taxation authorities in Western Balkans countries prepare for future EU membership, under a CARDS (Community Assistance for...

EU/UKRAINE : MORE MONEY FOR CHERNOBYL SHELTER PLAN PROPOSED.(European Union)(Brief article)
June 27, 2006... A further 14.4 million should be put towards the billion-dollar task of securing the remains of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant Unit 4 that was destroyed in the April 1986 disaster there. This is what the European Commission puts to EU...

MORE TAJIKISTAN HELP.(Brief article)
June 27, 2006... The European Commission announced on 1 June that it had granted a 5 million humanitarian aid package to help vulnerable groups in Tajikistan. The aid would look to improve the health and living conditions of vulnerable communities and...

EU/MOROCCO : MOROCCO EMBARKS ON GALILEO ADVENTURE.(European Union)(Brief article)
June 27, 2006... The European Commission officially presented a proposal for a decision on 19 May permitting the Council of Ministers to endorse the cooperation agreement between the EU and Morocco on the Galileo European satellite navigation programme....

NEIGHBOURHOOD POLICY UP FOR REVIEW.(Brief article)
June 27, 2006... European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) will be reviewed before the end of the year, EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner has signalled. ENP looks to boost economic and political ties with the bloc's neighbours to the East and...

EXTERNAL RELATIONS : NEW MANDATE FOR EU AND EIB EXTERNAL ACTIONS.(European Union)(Brief article)
June 27, 2006... Although the European Investment Bank only awards 10% of its lending to EU operations outside the EU ( 5.1 billion in 2005 of which 3.7 in the form of EU guarantees), the EIB's support is nevertheless essential for the European Union. Firstly...

EMU : POLAND AIMING TO ADOPT THE EURO IN 2012?
June 27, 2006... Is Poland adopting a diferent tone or is the Polish Minister of Finance making idle promises? Despite assurances a few months ago from the Polish Prime Minister, Lech Kaczynski, that he intended to delay Poland's adoption of the single currency...

AGRICULTURE / TRADE : POLAND SEEKS EU SUPPORT IN STAND-OFF WITH RUSSIA.
June 27, 2006... Bogged down in a dispute with Moscow over animal, public and plant health issues since November, Poland sought support from its EU partners at the Farm Council on 22 May to find a settlement to the crisis and ensure the rapid lifting of the...

POLICE REFORM IN BOSNIA.(Brief article)
June 27, 2006... Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) needs to make progress on police reform, public broadcasting legislation and cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia if it wants to wrap up talks on a Stabilisation and...

EP CIA INQUIRY : POLISH MEPS KEEN TO WIND UP INVESTIGATION.(European Parliament)(United States. Central Intelligence Agency)
June 27, 2006... The rapporteur on the European Parliament's inquiry into CIA activities in Europe has voiced exasperation at a concerted effort by Polish MEPs to thwart the investigation. Italian Socialist Claudio Fava told the EP temporary committee on 30 May...

EU/ALBANIA : PRIME MINISTER VOWS TO WORK TOWARDS EU MEMBERSHIP.
June 27, 2006... Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha told MEPs on 22 June that his government would do all it could to carry out the reforms necessary to meet Euro-integration requirements and the EU's Copenhagen membership criteria'. He was appearing before...

MEDITERRANEAN : PRODI LAUNCHES NEW DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE.(Romano Prodi)(Brief article)
June 27, 2006... Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi is spearheading a new move to promote more co-operation in the Mediterranean region. Mr Prodi unveiled his three-strand plan at the EU leaders' summit in Brussels on 15/16 June, where immigration was one of...

ENERGY : PROPOSALS FOR FOREIGN POLICY ON ENERGY.
June 27, 2006... Proposals from the European Commission and the EU's High Representative Javier Solana on a "foreign policy serving Europe's energy interests" are ready. EU leaders had asked them in March to sketch out a strategy for the EU's external...

ENLARGEMENT : REHN HINTS AT BREATHING SPACE AFTER BULGARIA AND ROMANIA.(Brief article)
June 27, 2006... It could be several years before the EU expands again after taking in Bulgaria and Romania, EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn has suggested. Speaking on 6 June in Paris before the French National Assembly's EU affairs committee, Mr Rehn...

ENLARGEMENT : REHN MAPS OUT INSTITUTIONAL PATH TO SMOOTH EXPANSION OF EU.(Olli Rehn)(European Union)
June 27, 2006... The EU should resolve its institutional future by 2008 or 2009 to smooth the way for further expansion of the bloc and above all to improve the way the current EU functions, according to EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn. Speaking at a 19...

EU/BULGARIA : REHN WELCOMES SOFIA'S RESPONSE TO COMMISSION FINDINGS.(European Union)(Olli Rehn)(Brief article)
June 27, 2006... Bulgarian Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev won praise on 7 June from EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn for his country's 'rapid and constructive' response to the Commission's recent progress report on its EU membership preparations. The EU...

ECONOMIC OUTLOOK : REPORT: TEN NEW MEMBER STATES CATCHING UP FAST WITH EU-15.
June 27, 2006... The accession of the ten new members to the European Union in May 2004 was perceived as a great challenge for the EU, especially in economic terms. Analyses on the results of enlargement have focused mainly on the enormous needs of these...

ROMANIAN BIRD FLU BAN.
June 27, 2006... The EU has widened an import ban on Romanian poultry and poultry products to cover the whole of the country in view of the rapid spread of the highly pathogenic H5N1 virus since the re-occurrence of bird flu there in mid-May. A European...

ROMANIA SURVEY.(Survey)(Brief article)
June 27, 2006... Compared with its Balkan neighbours, Romania has a homogenous population and is relatively stable, without the potential for ethnic or cultural conflict. It is also set apart from its neighbours by its Latin culture and Romanic language, said...

RURAL DEVELOPMENT DECISIONS.
June 27, 2006... At its 19 June session, the Farm Council adopted by qualified majority (the Cypriot delegation voting against) a Decision fixing the amount of EU aida( 69.75 billion) for rural development for the perioda2007-2013, as well as the annual...

ANDREI BELYI, RESEARCHER ON EURO-RUSSIAN ENERGY ISSUES : SECURITY OF ENERGY DEMAND A CRUCIAL ISSUE FOR RUSSIA.
June 27, 2006... Russia's Andrei V. Belyi specialises in Russian-European energy issues. His thesis presented at the Universite Libre de Bruxelles focuses on the energy dimension of pan-European security. He is currently an associate researcher on...

SERBIA CRITICISES EU HARDLINE.(Brief article)
June 27, 2006... Serbia's Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica has accused the EU of taking too hard a line on his country. 'The policy of a permanent setting of conditions that has been conducted for a while towards Serbia is deeply wrong and so far produced...

SIBERIAN OVERFLIGHTS.(Brief article)
June 27, 2006... The Council of EU Transport Ministers on 9 June in Luxembourg reiterated its line that the issue of duties paid by European airlines flying over Siberia will need to be resolved before Russia's accession to the World Trade Organisation (WTO),...

SOUTH-EAST EUROPE ENERGY COMMUNITY.(Brief article)
June 27, 2006... The Treaty establishing the Energy Community of South-East Europe was ratified on 29 May by the European Union in the form of a Decision adopted by the EU Council of Ministers. Its main aim is to foster an integrated market for natural gas and...

EU/ALGERIA : SPECIFIC ENERGY PARTNERSHIP ON THE DRAWING BOARD.
June 27, 2006... The visit to Brussels on 30 May by Algeria's Minister for Energy and Mines, Chakib Khelil, yielded progress in discussions on a strategic partnership on energy between the European Union and Algeria. A memorandum of understanding outlining...

STILL NO AGREEMENT WITH EGYPT.
June 27, 2006... No agreement could be reached during discussions on an EU-Egypt Action Plan as part of the European Neighbourhood Policy at the first EU-Egypt Association Council in Luxembourg on 13 June. The inconclusive meeting was 'deplored' by the EU,...

ENLARGEMENT : SUMMITEERS GRAPPLE WITH QUESTION OF EU'S ABSORPTION CAPACITY'.
June 27, 2006... The EU's absorption capacity' - its physical ability to take in new members - was at the forefront of EU leaders' discussions on EU enlargement at their 15-16 June summit in Brussels. The term is not new but has attracted increased attention...

TERRORISM : SUPPORT FOR JIHAD IN IRAQ MAIN THREAT, SAYS EUROPOL.
June 27, 2006... The main terrorist activity in the EU involves support for Islamic terrorists in Iraq, a report from EU police office Europol says. Islamic terrorists come from increasingly diverse backgrounds and nationalities, including European converts to...

KOSOVO : TOUGH TALKS ON FUTURE STATUS CONTINUE.(European Union)
June 27, 2006... Talks aiming to determine the future status of United Nations-administered Kosovo were due to resume in Vienna on 31 May with the focus on economic issues. Along with Montenegrin independence, the future of the province is one of the big...