Europe-East articles from March 2007

Europe-East archives from March 2007

EU/TURKEY : ANKARA EXPECTS TO START TALKS ON FOUR CHAPTERS BY JULY.
March 22, 2007... Turkey's top negotiator in the country's accession talks with the European Union said on 20 February that Ankara was hoping to begin negotiations in at least four policy areas in the coming months, according to media reports. Turkey's...

BALKANS IN EUROPE: WHY, WHEN AND HOW?(Western Balkans )(Brief article)
March 22, 2007... In 2003, EU leaders promised the countries of the Western Balkans that their future lay within the Union. However, several member states have since succumbed to enlargement fatigue' and this has fuelled doubts about the EU's commitment to the...

EU/RUSSIA : BARROSO VOWS TO PRESS PUTIN ON DRUZHBA PIPELINE CLOSURE.
March 22, 2007... The closure of the Druzhba pipeline to Lithuania and Latvia continues to hamper Baltic efforts to boost energy independence. The issue was again raised on the sidelines of the European Council and gave a more concrete touch to discussions on...

BIH POLICE REFORM TALKS STALLED.(Bosnia and Herzegovina)(European Union Police Mission)(Brief article)
March 22, 2007... The latest round of political talks on crucial police reforms in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) ended without much progress on 24 February in Sarajevo. The agreement on police reforms and their implementation is a precondition for the country to...

DOHA ROUND : CHIRAC ATTACKS MANDELSON'S TRADE STRATEGY.(Jacques Chirac and Peter Mandelson )(Brief article)
March 22, 2007... French President Jacques Chirac has sent an unequivocal message to EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson by warning him against the temptation to make any new concessions on the agricultural aspect of the Doha Round trade negotiations at the...

EU/GEORGIA : CLOSER TIES WILL DEPEND FIRST AND FOREMOST ON INTERNAL REFORMS.
March 22, 2007... Following his visit to Azerbaijan on 19 February, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier was on 20 February in the Georgian capital Tbilisi. He met for talks with Georgian Foreign Minister Gela Bezhuashvili and Prime Minister Zurab...

EU/CROATIA : CROATIA'S JUDICIAL SYSTEM NEEDS FURTHER IMPROVEMENT, SAYS EU.
March 22, 2007... The EU Stabilisation and Association Council (SAC) says that the main challenges facing Croatia are the reform of its judicial system and the fight against corruption. "There is a lot of encouraging news on the progress Croatia has made on its...

EIB LOAN IN TURKEY.
March 22, 2007... The European Investment Bank is lending 55 million to Sisecam, a leading Turkish glass manufacturer, for funding part of a modernisation and capacity expansion programme at a production site in the province of Bursa, the country's second...

ENTERPRISE AWARDS.
March 22, 2007... National competitions will get underway during March to select contenders for the 2007 European Enterprise Awards. The initiative, now in its second year, is aimed at rewarding actions to promote entrepreneurship organised by local and regional...

EU/RUSSIA : EP APPROVES NEW VISA AND READMISSION REGIMES WITH RUSSIA.
March 22, 2007... The European Parliament approved on 15 February two reports by MEP Maria da Assuncao Esteves (EPP-ED, Portugal) on agreements between the European Community and the Russian Federation on the facilitation of the issuance of short-stay visas and...

EU/NATO/KOSOVO : EU AND NATO PLEDGE CLOSE COOPERATION ON KOSOVO.(Brief article)
March 22, 2007... With the Kosovo status negotiations approaching their final stage, top officials from the EU and NATO pledged on 26 February to closely cooperate in the field of security following the adoption of the UN Security Council resolution on the...

INTERVIEW WITH RUSSIA'S FORMER DEPUTY ENERGY MINISTER VLADIMIR MILOV : EU AND RUSSIA SHOULD HAVE ACCESS TO EACH OTHER'S MARKETS.
March 22, 2007... Alongside ownership unbundling and efficiency, security of energy supply is one of the major issues facing EU leaders when they meet on 8 and 9 March. Former Deputy Energy Minister Vladimir Milov, who helped formulate the Russian Federation's...

EU AND RUSSIA SPLIT OVER KOSOVO.(Brief article)
March 22, 2007... The EU has clearly stated that it is against any additional negotiations taking place between Serbia and Kosovo on the status of Kosovo for the time being. Reacting to Russia's statement that the decision by the UN Special Envoy Martti...

EU/ISRAEL : EU AND TEL AVIV TO MOVE BILATERAL COOPERATION TO A HIGHER LEVEL.
March 22, 2007... As part of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP), the EU and Israel intend to take their already established cooperation to a new level. During the 7thaEU-Israel Association Council in Brussels on 5 March, the two partners announced the...

EU-CROATIA MEMORANDUM.(Brief article)
March 22, 2007... Croatia and the European Union signed on 5 March a Joint Memorandum on Social Inclusion, which the European commissioner for employment, social affairs and equal opportunities described as an important step by Croatia on its road towards full...

EU FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE TO UKRAINE.(Brief article)
March 22, 2007... The European Commission has announced a 494 million aid package for Ukraine over the next four years. EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner said the assistance will focus on strengthening "good governance and democratic...

EU/BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA : EU MINISTERS URGE NEW BOSNIAN EXECUTIVE TO STEP UP REFORMS.(Brief article)
March 22, 2007... In its 5 March conclusions, the EU General Affairs and External Relations Council welcomed the formation of the new council of ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). EU foreign ministers encouraged the new authorities to "ensure a swift and...

EU NEIGHBOURHOOD POLICY ANALYSIS.(Brief article)
March 22, 2007... This publication, written by three French university professors, provides an interesting analysis of the EU's neighbourhood policy. It shows the two different aims of the policy. On the one hand, it offers non-EU countries an innovative EU...

INFORMAL DEFENCE COUNCIL : EU PLANS GRADUAL, EVENT-DRIVEN' WITHDRAWAL FROM BOSNIA.
March 22, 2007... The EU is about to start a gradual four-phase plan to withdraw its troops from Bosnia-Herzegovina. This was one of the outcomes of a wide-ranging discussion of EU defence ministers during a two-day informal meeting in Wiesbaden, Germany. ...

EU/KOSOVO/SERBIA : EU: RESOLUTION ON KOSOVO SHOULD BE ADOPTED AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
March 22, 2007... A decision on the future of Kosovo should be taken by the UN Security Council "without further delay", said the EU's Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn in a statement late on 10 March. His comment came after the UN Envoy Martti Ahtisaari said...

EU/EGYPT : EUROPEAN NEIGHBOURHOOD POLICY ACTION PLAN ADOPTED.(Brief article)
March 22, 2007... Concluding long and difficult negotiations, the EU and Egypt, during the EU-Egypt Association Council in Brussels on 6 March, adopted the action plan which will set the agenda for their bilateral cooperation for thenext 3-5 years. The action...

EU/SERBIA : EU SENDS STRONG POSITIVE SIGNAL TO SERBIA.
March 22, 2007... "Serbia could achieve [EU membership] candidate status in 2008, provided the new government, which is likely to be formed within two or three weeks, shows true commitment towards European integration," says Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn....

FOOT-AND-MOUTH VACCINES FOR TURKEY.
March 22, 2007... A consignment of 1.5 million doses of trivalent vaccine against foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), supplied by the European Commission to Turkey, will arrive on 9 March as a contribution towards the spring vaccination campaign against this disease...

IMMIGRATION : FRONTEX TARGETS ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS AT AIRPORTS.
March 22, 2007... Frontex, the European border control agency, is launching a pioneering operation to prevent illegal immigrants from entering the EU by air transport. Experts in border management services are to be deployed at the airports of Frankfurt, Madrid,...

EU/UKRAINE : KIEV & BRUSSELS AT ODDS OVER THEIR EXPECTATIONS OF NEW AGREEMENT.
March 22, 2007... The Commissioner for the EU's External Relations and Neighbourhood Policy,aBenita Ferrero-Waldner, made clear after the meeting with Andriy Veselovsky, Ukraine's Deputy Foreign Minister and head of Ukraine's negotiation team, that the new...

EU/CENTRAL ASIA : MINISTERS EXAMINE PROSPECTS FOR RELATIONS WITH UZBEKISTAN.(Brief article)
March 22, 2007... EU foreign ministers pledged to review, in May, their position on the restrictions that were imposed by the EU on Uzbekistan in response to the killing of hundreds of people by government forces in the city of Andijan in May 2005. The...

EU/MONTENEGRO : MONTENEGRO TAKES STEP TOWARDS JOINING THE EU.(Stabilisation and Association Agreement)
March 22, 2007... Montenegro's Prime Minister eljko turanovic and EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn initialled a Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) on 15 March in Podgorica. "This is a step forward towards Montenegro's membership of the EU,"...

DOHA ROUND : NO APPARENT PROGRESS ON DOHA.
March 22, 2007... The future of the Doha Round appears to be hanging by a thread as weeks go by without any indication of the results of the secret but intense consultations held over the past few weeks between the key negotiators. No breakthrough was made...

EU/RUSSIA/POLAND : NO BREAKTHROUGH IN TALKS ON RUSSIAN MEAT BAN.
March 22, 2007... The two-day consultations between Moscow and the representatives of Poland, Germany and the European Commission over the continuing Russian ban on Polish meat imports failed to break a stalemate which has been lasting for more than a year. ...

PUTIN SIGNS EU-RUSSIA READMISSION LAW.(Brief article)
March 22, 2007... Russian President Vladimir Putin signed on 4 March a federal law on the ratification of the Readmission Agreement, laying down the new rules under which Russia and the EU would exchange illegal immigrants. The law was passed by the state Duma,...

EU/CYPRUS/TURKEY : REHN INCREASES PRESSURE ON CYPRUS.
March 22, 2007... EU Enlargement CommissioneraOlli Rehn has reiterated his support for the Commission's proposal on a trade regulation facilitating direct trade between the EU and northern Cyprus. In a statement on 5 March, Rehn expressed his belief that "it is...

REHN ON ALBANIA ELECTIONS.
March 22, 2007... Taking note of the preliminary assessment of the OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation Mission on local government elections on 18 February in Albania, Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn said that "the assessment notes the overall competitive conduct...

EU/BIH : REHN SLAMS BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA FOR LACK OF PROGRESS.
March 22, 2007... Speaking on the lack of progress in Sarajevo's EU bid at the plenary session of the European Parliament on 14 March, EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn said that Bosnia and Herzegovina need to get going. Rehn slammed the leaders of Bosnia...

EU/KOSOVO : REPORT ON KOSOVO WATERED DOWN IN EP FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE.
March 22, 2007... Following the unsuccessful conclusion of the UN-led talks on the status of theaprovince of Kosovo, the European Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee, meetingaon 12 March, expressed its full support for UN Special Envoy Martti Ahtisaari's...

RESTRICTIVE MEASURES ON TRANSNISTRIA.(Brief article)
March 22, 2007... The European Union still believes that the position adopted by leaders of the Transnistrian region of Moldova is unacceptable, as is their reluctance to look for a peaceful and global solution to the conflict in their region. The Council,...

EU/RUSSIA : RUSSIA THREATENS EU WITH A MEAT BAN ONCE AGAIN.
March 22, 2007... Following a troubled period at the end of 2006, dark clouds are again looming on the horizon of EU-Russia food trade relations. Russia's agriculture watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor threatened on 2 March to suspend meat imports from EU countries...

SERBIA REJECTS KOSOVO PLAN.(Brief article)
March 22, 2007... Serbia's newly appointed parliament overwhelmingly rejected on 14 February the UN plan, drafted by Special Envoy Martti Ahtisaari, for the future status of the breakaway province of Kosovo. The 250-member parliament voted 225-15 to reject the...

EU/RUSSIA : SIBERIA OVERFLIGHTS: HELSINKI AGREEMENT BEGINS LEGISLATIVE PASSAGE.
March 22, 2007... The legal procedure on the agreement for Russia not to charge airlines for flying over Siberia is underway. The European Commission formally presented, on 14 February, a proposal for a decision on the signature and provisional application of...

EU/DANUBE/BLACK SEA : SIXTEEN COUNTRIES SIGN WATER PROTECTION DECLARATION.
March 22, 2007... To bring the Danube River Basin in line with the legally binding EU Water Framework Directive by 2015 - this is the commitment made by the 16 countries bordering on the Danube River and the Black Sea(1) in the Declaration on the Enhancement of...

EU/ARMENIA : STEINMEIER INSISTS UPON REFORMS AND GOOD NEIGHBOURHOOD POLICY.
March 22, 2007... On the occasion of his trip to Armenia on 20 February - the last stop on his visit to the southern Caucasus - the German Minister for Foreign Affairs, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, emphasised the importance of the parliamentary elections due in...

EU/SOUTHERN CAUCASUS : STEINMEIER NOTES IMPORTANCE OF EU'S NEIGHBOURHOOD POLICY.(European Neighbourhood Policy)(Brief article)
March 22, 2007... German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier began a tour of the Southern Caucasus on 18 February. The region is an important focus of efforts to further develop the EU's European Neighbourhood Policy, one of the priorities of the German EU...

DOHA ROUND : SUBTLE DIPLOMACY NEEDED TO BREAK THE DEADLOCK.
March 22, 2007... The big political announcements in January have given way to subtle diplomacy in a bid to relaunch the multilateral negotiations of the Doha Round, which have been deadlocked since July 2006. The key players in the negotiations held a meeting...

EU/THIRD COUNTRIES : THIRTEEN MEMBER STATES ASKED TO REVIEW THEIR AVIATION AGREEMENTS.
March 22, 2007... The European Commission, on 14 February, gave the green light for the conclusion of 34 aviation agreements negotiated between the EU and third countries between August 2005 and October 2006, although 27 of them were toned down substantially...

EU/TURKEY : TUSIAD: 2014 A "REALISTIC DATE" FOR ANKARA TO JOIN THE EU.
March 22, 2007... The Brussels-based representation of TUSIAD, the Turkish Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association, has released a statement in which it identifies 2014 as a realistic date for Turkey to join the EU. If growth continues at the current rate...