Europe-East articles from June 2007

Europe-East archives from June 2007

ENLARGEMENT : ANXIETY MOUNTING OVER FUTURE OF EU-TURKEY TALKS.
June 25, 2007... As the date of the forthcoming EU-Turkey meeting called to accelerate EU membership negotiations with Ankara approaches, Turkish representatives in Brussels are becoming increasingly nervous over France's unclear stance on the potential opening...

AVIATION AGREEMENT WITH KYRGYZSTAN.(European Union. Council of the European Union)(Brief article)
June 25, 2007... The EU Council of Ministers, on 30 May, adopted a decision authorising the signature and provisional application of an aviation agreement between the EU and the Kyrgyz Republic. The agreement brings the bilateral agreements signed between...

EU/BOSNIA : BOSNIA'S PRESIDENT SLAMS "INCONSISTENT" EU SUPPORT FOR REFORM.(Haris Silajd ic)(European Union)(Brief article)
June 25, 2007... Bosnia's President Haris Silajd ic has accused the EU of inconsistency in its support for police and constitutional reform in Bosnia. "The EU should be more aggressive in requesting reforms and isolating those who resist them," said the...

EU/RUSSIA : COMMISSION DENIES AGREEING TO JOINT EU-RUSSIA VETERINARY CHECKS.(European Union. European Commission)
June 25, 2007... The European Commission denied, on 15 June, that it had agreed to carry out a series of joint EU-Russia veterinary inspections in certain EU member states, including Poland. "We know nothing about this. There are no such inspections planned in...

ENLARGEMENT : COMMISSION FINALISES PRE-ACCESSION FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE PLANNING.(Brief article)
June 25, 2007... The European Commission adopted, on 20 June, a strategy for EU financial assistance to Croatia for the period 2007-2009, concluding the strategic planning of assistance under the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA) for this period to...

JUSTICE AND HOME AFFAIRS : COMMISSION POLISHES EU ASYLUM PROCEDURES.
June 25, 2007... Justice Commissioner Franco Frattini will this week present a green paper for the establishment of a Common European Asylum System (CEAS), demanding more efficient cost and burden-sharing based on solidarity between member states in receiving...

HUMANITARIAN AID : COMMISSION PROPOSES A EUROPEAN CONSENSUS.
June 25, 2007... The European Commission is looking to set out common principles to guide the actions of EU players to make the EU's humanitarian aid more coherent and effective. In a communication to be presented by the college of commissioners in Brussels on...

EU/TURKEY : CONFERENCE SEEKS TO STRENGTHEN ENERGY COOPERATION.(Conference news)
June 25, 2007... Officials from Turkey and the European Commission meet on 5 June at a high-level energy conference in Istanbul. Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn and Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs are flanked by Turkey's Chief Negotiator Ali Babacan and...

US/NATO : CZECHS UNDETERRED BY RUSSIA'S THREAT OVER MISSILE PLAN.
June 25, 2007... In a joint statement with US President George Bush and the Czech Republic's President, Vaclav Klaus, on 5 June, the Czech Republic's Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek has strongly backed his country's alliance with the US, referring to their...

EU/UKRAINE : EP FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE BACKS UKRAINE'S EU ASPIRATIONS.(EP Foreign Affairs Committee)(Brief article)
June 25, 2007... The EP Foreign Affairs Committee approved, on 5 June, a draft report on a new agreement between the EU and Ukraine, saying that this document should pave the way for Ukraine's EU membership. The Association Agreement should allow Ukraine to...

EU/ALBANIA : EU APPEALS TO ALBANIA FOR CONSENSUS OVER PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS.
June 25, 2007... The EU appealed on 19 June to Albania's political elites for a responsible and constructive approach to presidential elections scheduled for 20 June to avoid a failure that could destabilise the country. It also urged the government in Tirana...

EU/MOLDOVA : EU BACKS MOLDOVA'S EFFORTS TO SOLVE TRANSNISTRIAN CONFLICT.
June 25, 2007... The EU pledged on 19 June its full support for "every effort Moldova takes" to resolve the frozen conflict over its breakaway province of Transnistria. "As the EU, we will be supporting efforts to find a peaceful solution to this conflict,"...

EU/KOSOVO : EU BACKS, RUSSIA REJECTS UN DRAFT RESOLUTION ON KOSOVO.(Brief article)
June 25, 2007... Russia will not back a new United Nations Security Council (UNSC) draft resolution on the status of Kosovo proposed on 31 May by the UK and supported by the US andthe EU. The revised version of the draft resolution, unveiled by the UK,...

EU/UKRAINE : EU CALLS FOR FREE AND FAIR PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS.
June 25, 2007... The European Union urged Ukrainian leaders to stick to their recent political agreement and do their utmost to enable the parliamentary elections to take place on 30 September. "We hope that the agreement that the president and the prime...

EU/TURKEY : EU DETERMINED TO OPEN THREE NEGOTIATION CHAPTERS WITH ANKARA IN JUNE.
June 25, 2007... The EU confirmed on 4 June that it intends to open three new chapters in EU membership talks with Turkey in June and urged Ankara to step up democratic reforms after its legislative elections on 22 July. "We are expecting some good news by...

EU HAILS ARREST OF TOLIMIR.(Brief article)
June 25, 2007... The EU Presidency welcomed the arrest of Zdravko Tolimir, a suspected war criminal indicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY), in Bosnia and Herzegovina on 31 May. The ICTY charged Tolimir in 2005 with...

EU ON RELEASE OF OPPOSITION MEMBERS IN BELARUS.(Brief article)
June 25, 2007... The German EU Presidency welcomed on 29 May the recent release of two prominent opponents of Belarusian President Aleksander Lukashenko, Nikolai Statkevich and Pavel Severinets. It also welcomed the earlier release - although subject to...

INTERVIEW WITH ANDREI BELYI : EU-RUSSIA: "COLD PEACE" RATHER THAN A NEW "COLD WAR".
June 25, 2007... Russian-born Andrei V. Belyi is from the Centre for Energy Studies at the Institute of World Economy and International Relations (IMEMO, Moscow). aHe is an expert on energy markets and EU-Russia relation and was recently appointed as an...

EU/CROATIA : EU SET TO OPEN SIX NEW CHAPTERSFOR TALKS WITH ZAGREB.(Committee of Permanent Representatives)
June 25, 2007... The EU's Committee of Permanent Representatives (Coreper) are likely to give their green light, on 20 June, to the opening of six new chapters for negotiations with Croatia, diplomatic sources told Europolitics. Following negotiations in the...

EU/SERBIA : EU SET TO RESUME SAA NEGOTIATIONS WITH SERBIA IN JUNE.(negotiations on the Stabilisation and Association Agreement)
June 25, 2007... The EU is ready to resume negotiations on the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) with Serbia, said the EU's Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn on 1 June. The statement came a day after Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina managed to arrest...

EU/KOSOVO : EU STICKS TO ITS GUNS ON KOSOVO STATUS.
June 25, 2007... Following the failure of the G8 leading industrial countries to agree on the future status of Kosovo, the German EU Presidency has reiterated its position on the issue, making it clear that the EU still insists on the adoption of a UN...

EU/SERBIA/KOSOVO : FOREIGN MINISTERS URGE BELGRADE TO STEP UP REFORMS.
June 25, 2007... The EU foreign ministers welcomed on 18 June the resumption of negotiations between the EU and Serbia's new government on a Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) and urged leaders in Belgrade "to build on this positive dynamic" and step...

EU/FRANCE/TURKEY : FRANCE WILL NOT VETO FRESH NEGOTIATIONS WITH TURKEY.
June 25, 2007... Despite France's President Nicolas Sarkozy's strong opposition to Turkey's accession to the EU, France does not intend to block the planned opening of new negotiation chapters with Ankara. France said on 29 May that Sarkozy would not try to...

JUSTICE AND HOME AFFAIRS : FRATTINI CRITICISES MEMBER STATES FOR WEAK SOLIDARITY ON ASYLUM.
June 25, 2007... Justice Commissioner Franco Frattini has slammed member states for lacking in solidarity and burden-sharing on the issue of asylum-seekers to the EU, urging them to adopt common criteria for asylum procedures and protection of refugees but also...

JUSTICE AND HOME AFFAIRS : IMMIGRANTS BULLIED ON EU LABOUR MARKETS, SURVEY FINDS.
June 25, 2007... Immigrants to the EU are segregated into low-paid jobs without prospects for the future, and risk bullying and exploitation at their work places to a higher extent than European colleagues, a fresh survey has revealed.The Ireland-based European...

ENLARGEMENT : INTEGRATION CAPACITY' NO PRETEXT TO BLOCK ENLARGEMENT, COR SAYS.(Committee of the Regions )(Brief article)
June 25, 2007... The Committee of the Regions adopted on 6 June an opinion regarding the EU's future enlargement, saying that "integration capacity is a condition to be taken into account for entry by new countries into the EU, but not a pretext to block...

EU/MACEDONIA : MACEDONIA'S REFORMS GOING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION, SAY MEPS.(member of parliment)(Brief article)
June 25, 2007... A draft report approved on 5 June by the EP Foreign Affairs Committee has welcomed the progress achieved by the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) towards EU accession, including reforms and recent agreements between the government...

DOHA ROUND : MANDELSON SEEKS G4 AGREEMENT IN POTSDAM.(Peter Mandelson)(EU, the United States, Brazil and India)
June 25, 2007... Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson feels that an agreement can be reached at the G4 (EU, the United States, Brazil and India)aministerial meeting which started on 19 June in Potsdam, saying that such a scenario would be most in the interest of...

EUROPEAN NEIGHBOURHOOD POLICY : MINISTERS REAFFIRM THE ENP'S CRUCIAL IMPORTANCE.(Brief article)
June 25, 2007... The EU foreign ministers endorsed on 18 June a report estimating the substantial accomplishments to date of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) and looking forward to its future development. The report, prepared by the German EU Presidency,...

NATO DEFENCE MINISTERS' MEETING : NATO AGREES THREE-TRACK APPROACH TO MISSILE DEFENCE.
June 25, 2007... The three-track approach to missile defence agreed by NATO on 14 June will be to continue an ongoing NATO project to develop theatre missile defence to protect troops deployed on missions from missile threats, to assess the full military and...

ENLARGEMENT : PORTUGAL DETERMINED TO CONTINUE ACCESSION TALKS WITH TURKEY.
June 25, 2007... The accession negotiations with Turkey are a "difficult dossier" but the talks "will continue", said Ambassador Alvaro de Mendoca E Moura, the Portuguese permanent representative to the EU, on 11 June in Brussels. "There are basic problems...

EU/RUSSIA : PORTUGAL INTENDS TO IMPROVE EU-RUSSIA RELATIONS.
June 25, 2007... Portugal's Prime Minister Jose Socrates pledged to strengthen relations between the EU and Russia during its presidency of the European Union, which starts on 1 July. He stressed that the main emphasis would be put on the opening of...

EU/RUSSIA : PORTUGAL WANTS DIALOGUE WITH MOSCOW ON "ALL DIFFICULT ISSUES".(Brief article)
June 25, 2007... The incoming Portuguese EU Presidency aims to step up dialogue with Russia "on all difficult issues," bearing in mind that the EU should stay united and speak with one voice with Moscow, said Ambassador Alvaro de Mendoca E Moura, Portugal's...

PRIVILEGED PARTNERSHIP OR ACCESSION.(Brief article)
June 25, 2007... The French idea of a privileged partnership' between the EU and Turkey can seem appealing at first sight, but serious obstacles' stand in its way. Thus commented Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn, at a conference at the Ecole nationale...

REHN ON EU-RUSSIA RELATIONS.
June 25, 2007... The EU is ready for closer partnership with Russia, EU Commissioner for Enlargement Olli Rehn said in an article published on 28 May by the Finnish newspaper Turun Sanomat. Touching on the recent Russia-EU Summit in Samara, he stressed that it...

RUSSIA DISMISSES REPORT ON KOSOVO DEAL.(Brief article)
June 25, 2007... Russia's Ambassador to the UN, Vitaly Churkin, on May 29 told the international media that "there has been no breakthrough" in discussions on the future status of Kosovo. He dismissed claims in a Croatian daily, Jutarnji list, that Russia, the...

EU/POLAND/RUSSIA : RUSSIAN MOVE ON EMBARGO LEAVES POLES UNIMPRESSED.
June 25, 2007... Russia's President Vladimir Putin appealed to Poland "to take into account the signal" which Moscow is sending to Warsaw regarding the ban on Polish meat and plant products. "We are ready to open our market to certain Polish plants so that they...

EU/SERBIA : SAA TALKS MAY BE CONCLUDED BY END 2007.
June 25, 2007... Following the European Commission's decision to resume negotiations on a Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) with Serbia on 13 June, Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica appointed Deputy Prime Minister Bozidar Djelic, a dedicated...

EU/SERBIA : SAA TALKS WITH BELGRADE TO RESUME NEXT WEEK.(Stabilisation and Association Agreement)(Brief article)
June 25, 2007... The European Commission has set 13 June as the date to re-start negotiations on the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) with Serbia. The Commission has taken this decision in response to recent actions by Serbia's new government...

EU/SERBIA : SERBIA WANTS TO ACHIEVE EU CANDIDATE STATUS IN 2008.
June 25, 2007... Serbia's new government intends to sign a Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) with the European Union by the end of this year and become a candidate for EU membership the following year, says Bozidar Djelic, Serbia's Deputy Prime...

EU/SERBIA : SERBIA WILL TURN AWAY FROM EUROPE, SAYS INTERNATIONAL CRISIS GROUP.
June 25, 2007... The new Serbian government's composition and the parliament's nationalist majority suggest, according to the International Crisis Group (ICG), that Serbia is going to choose an "isolationist path" rather than "move towards European...

INTERVIEW WITHaDEPUTY DIRECTOR-GENERAL OF DG ENLARGEMENT JAN TRUSZCZYNSKI : SETTING THE EU'S FINAL BORDERS WOULD UNDERMINE ITS SOFT POWER.(Interview)
June 25, 2007... In an interview with Europolitics, the European Commission's DG Enlargement Deputy Director General Jan Truszczynski talks about the future of the EU's enlargement policy, stressing that arbitrarily setting the EU's final borders would restrict...

JUSTICE AND HOME AFFAIRS : SHIPWRECKED MIGRANTS FLOAT IN LEGAL LIMBO ON EU WATERS.
June 25, 2007... In response to the international outrage and confusion that has followed a diplomatic spat that could have cost African would-be migrants to the EU their lives in the Mediterranean Sea, the European Commission has said the EU must establish...

COUNCIL OF MINISTERS : STUDY PORTRAYS COUNCIL'S EVOLUTION SINCE 2004 ENLARGEMENT.
June 25, 2007... The EU's Council of Ministers has apparently become somewhat less efficient since the 2004 enlargement, says an impact study co-authored by Sara Hagemann and Julia De Clerck-Sachsse on behalf of the Centre for European Policy Studies. The...

DEFENCE : TURKS WANT MORE INVOLVEMENT IN ESDP MISSION PLANNING PROCESS.
June 25, 2007... Ankara is keen to play a bigger role in the planning and decision-making processes for European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP) missions, a Turkish diplomat has told Europolitics. "Turkey wants to support the ESDP and contribute more but for...

NATO DEFENCE MINISTERS' MEETING : US MISSILE DEFENCE SHIELD, AFGHANISTAN AND KOSOVO ON AGENDA.
June 25, 2007... NATO allies have for the first time adopted a common approach, agreeing to look into the political and military implications of setting up the US anti-missile shield in Poland and the Czech Republic, explained a NATO official during a two-day...

EU/WESTERN BALKANS : WESTERN BALKAN STATES SIGN UP FOR RESEARCH FRAMEWORK PROGRAMME.(Brief article)
June 25, 2007... Croatia, Serbia and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia are to participate as associated countries in the EU's 7th Framework Research Programme (FP7), it was announced on 13 June, after a signing ceremony at the European Commission. ...