Europe-East articles from March 2005

Europe-East archives from March 2005

YUSHCHENKO'S WIDER ASPIRATIONS.
March 4, 2005... Ukraine's new President Viktor Yushchenko doesn't give up easily. He has finally won his own people's hearts but he has learnt victory the hard way. With the backing of the West, he has pushed through the country's Orange Revolution and -...

EU AND RUSSIA LAUNCH REGULAR TALKS ON HUMAN RIGHTS.
March 4, 2005... The European Union and Russia held the first of a series of human rights consultations on March 1 in Luxembourg, following on from an agreement reached at last November's EU/Russia summit in The Hague. This theme has been one of the more...

EU/UNHCR/AFGHANISTAN: DONORS URGED TO CONTINUE HELPING DISPLACED AFGHANS.
March 4, 2005... More than 1 million Afghan refugees are likely to return to Afghanistan in two years with prospects of improved security, but planning should begin soon for those who wish to remain in Pakistan and Iran. Mr Lubbers thanked donors for their...

EU/SOUTH CAUCASUS: TIES SHOULD BE ENHANCED THROUGH ACTION PLANS, COMMISSION SAYS.(European Neighbourhood Policy )
March 4, 2005... Reports and reforms. The Commission adopted on March 2 so-called country reports on Egypt and Lebanon, and the three South Caucasus countries Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia. These three countries were added to the ENP in mid-2004. The...

CHAIR OF EP DELEGATION TO ISRAEL WARNS OF ARAB MEDIA THREAT.
March 4, 2005... Czech Member of the European Parliament Jana Hybaukova, who chairs the EP Interparliamentary Delegation to Israel, has warned against a radicalisation of the media in the Middle East. "Europe cannot stay blind. Peace grows from democracy and if...

EIB LENDS ROMANIA EURO 79 MILLION FOR HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT.(European Investment Bank)(Brief Article)
March 4, 2005... The European Investment Bank (EIB) said on March 1 it was providing a euro 66.4 million loan to finance projects in Romania's health sector and another euro 12.6 million for investment to improve water supply services in small and medium-sized...

EBRD ANNOUNCES NEW BATCH OF LOANS IN CIS STATES.(European Bank for Reconstruction and Development )
March 4, 2005... The London-based European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has announced the following loans in recent days: EURO 10 MILLION FOR HOME LOANS IN KAZAKHSTAN The EBRD said on February 28 it was lending $10 million over the...

RECORD FEMIP LOANS FOR MEDITERRANEAN REGION IN 2004.(Facility for Euro-Mediterranean Investment and Partnership )(Brief Article)
March 4, 2005... The Facility for Euro-Mediterranean Investment and Partnership (FEMIP), managed by the European Investment Bank (EIB), made loans in 2004 worth a record euro 2.2 billion, according to the Luxembourg-based EIB. These loans are split between four...

POLITICS VERSUS WAR CRIMES.(European Union membership negotiations of Croatia)
March 17, 2005... Where is General Ante Gotovina? Apparently, no-one in Croatia knows and the EU is upping the ante to get him. The March 17 due date to start accession talks with Zagreb has come and gone and the Croatians have been sent home early and told to...

EU/CROATIA: DIVIDED MEMBER STATES POSTPONE ACCESSION TALKS.
March 17, 2005... EU sources said that several countries were in favour of starting talks on March 17 as planned, with an apparent core of Austria, Hungary, Slovakia and Slovenia. While positions were nuanced, the Ministers from Malta, Ireland, Lithuania and...

EU AND RUSSIA CLINCH DEAL ON PLANT HEALTH CERTIFICATE.(Brief Article)
March 17, 2005... The EU and Russia finalised a deal on plant health certificates on March 15, avoiding a blanket Russian ban on EU plant and vegetable exports that would have hit euro 800 million in annual trade. The EU's Health Commissioner Markos Kyprianou...

EU/MOLDOVA: SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE APPOINTED TO BOOST TRANSDNISTRIA EFFORTS.(Brief Article)
March 17, 2005... EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said that the creation of the position "further illustrates the EU's growing engagement in this important country in our immediate neighbourhood. Ambassador Jacobovits will in particular seek to contribute...

EU/MOROCCO ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT AID PROGRAMME IN TWINNING SCHEME.(Brief Article)
March 17, 2005... In the context of the support programme on implementation of the EU-Morocco Association Agreement, the programme management unit under the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation has issued three twinning dossiers on "development and the...

EU-25 READY TO HELP WITH PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS IN LEBANON.(Brief Article)
March 17, 2005... EU Foreign Affairs Ministers have emphasised the importance it attaches to the holding of "free, fair and transparent elections (a) without any outside interferenceo. In the Conclusions published at the end of their meeting on March 16, the...

BALTIC SEA: HELCOM STATES IN NEW ANTI-POLLUTION AGREEMENT.
March 17, 2005... The EUs draft marine environment strategy foresees a separate action plan for each of the European seas. oHELCOM from now on will take the lead and play a key roleo, said HELCOM President Arturas Daubaras. The action plan aims to define...

EBRD ANNOUNCES SUPPORT FOR GEORGIAN WINE INDUSTRY AND INVESTMENT COUNCIL.(European Bank for Reconstruction and Development)
March 17, 2005... The London-based European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has announced that it is lending $7.3 million for seven years to Georgian Wines and Spirits Ltd, a leading wine producer in Georgia and a subsidiary of Pernod Ricard...

2004, A YEAR OF INNOVATION IN THE MEDITERRANEAN REGION FOR FEMIP.(Facility for Euro-Mediterranean Investment and Partnership)
March 17, 2005... 2004, which saw the Facility for Euro-Mediterranean Investment and Partnership (FEMIP) loan more than Euro 2.2 billion to Mediterranean partners was marked by several innovations, according to the report presented to the press on March 4 in...