Europe-East articles from March 2008

Europe-East archives from March 2008

COMMISSION OPENS OFFICE IN MINSK.(European Commission)(Brief article)
March 17, 2008... Following a two-year delay, the European Commission signed, on 7 March, a memorandum of understanding with Belarus on the establishment of a permanent Commission delegation in Minsk. "This is a much-awaited development. I sincerely hope that...

NATO ENLARGEMENT MAY BE SLOWED DOWN.(North Atlantic Treaty Organization)(Brief article)
March 17, 2008... NATO's enlargement could be slowed down, according to the conclusions of the 6 March meeting of foreign affairs ministers from the alliance's 26 member countries. While three countries (Croatia, Albania and Macedonia) meet the technical...

ENLARGEMENT : ANKARA AND ZAGREB EXPECT PROGRESS IN ACCESSION TALKS.
March 17, 2008... Croatia and Turkey are now both seeking to accelerate their EU accession negotiations following a slowdown over the past six months. The two countries are hoping to open three or more new chapters each, out of the 35 into which the negotiations...

AUSTRIA AND POLAND RECOGNISE KOSOVO.(Brief article)
March 17, 2008... Austria's President Heinz Fischer empowered, on 27 February, the country's Foreign Ministry to take all steps necessary for recognising the newly independent state of Kosovo. Fischer's approval was the last legal step necessary for taking up...

EU/RUSSIA : BARROSO CONGRATULATES MEDVEDEV, OBSERVERS EXPRESS CONCERN.(European Union)(Jose Manuel Barroso)(Dmitry Medvedev)(Brief article)
March 17, 2008... European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso congratulated, on 3 March, Dmitry Medvedev on his victory in Russia's presidential elections and said he was confident that under Medvedev's leadership the EU and Russia "will consolidate" their...

CYPRUS : BARROSO URGES CHRISTOFIAS TO WORK TOWARDS ENDING DIVISION.(Jose Manuel Barroso, Demetris Christofias)
March 17, 2008... The victory of Demetris Christofias in Cyprus's presidential elections, held on 24 February, offers an "opportunity" to relaunch talks between the Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities on the island's re-unification, European Commission...

EU/BIH : COMMISSION: BOSNIAN SERBS HAVE NO RIGHT TO REFERENDUM.
March 17, 2008... The European Union has described as "unacceptable" the decision by the parliament of the Republika Srpska (RS) - one of the two political entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina predominantly inhabited by Bosnian Serbs- to hold a referendum on its...

EU/BALKANS : COMMISSION SEEKS TO NEGOTIATE A TRANSPORT TREATY'.
March 17, 2008... In parallel with the communication it will be presenting on the Western Balkans on 5 March, the European Commission will be seeking authorisation from the Council of Ministers to open negotiations with these countries (Croatia, Bosnia and...

EU/CROATIA : COMPROMISE LOOMING ON ZERP DISPUTE.
March 17, 2008... In a bid to break the prolonged stalemate over the Ecological and Fisheries Protection Zone (ZERP), Croatia, Slovenia and Italy, accompanied by the European Commission, are expected to hold a high-level meeting at the beginning of March to...

INTERVIEW WITH MEP HANNES SWOBODA, RAPPORTEUR ON CROATIA : CROATIA MAY JOIN THE EU IN 2011 OR 2012.(Member of European Parliament)(Interview)
March 17, 2008... In an interview with Europolitics New Neighbours, MEP Hannes Swoboda (PES, Austria), the rapporteur on Croatia, identifies the remaining outstanding issues which Croatia has to overcome to successfully conclude its EU accession negotiations by...

INTERVIEW WITH HERVE MORIN, FRENCH DEFENCE MINISTER : EASTERN EUROPE SHOWS ENTHUSIASM FOR ESDP.(Interview)
March 17, 2008... In the wings of the informal defence ministers' meeting in Brdo, Slovenia, on 21 February, Herve Morin spoke to journalists from four publications, including Europolitics New Neighbours. For him, the Europe of defence' is progressing,...

EP COMMITTEE ADOPTS CROATIA, FYROM REPORTS.(Brief article)
March 17, 2008... The European Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee adopted, on 27 February, an own-initiative report by Hannes Swoboda (PES, Austria) on Croatia which underlines the need for Zagreb to resolve outstanding bilateral border issues with its...

INTERVIEW WITH DMITRY ROGOZIN, RUSSIAN AMBASSADOR TO NATO : "EUROPE SHOULD DEVELOP ITS DEFENCE POLICY WITH RUSSIA".(Interview)
March 17, 2008... As Russia prepares to take over the rotating presidency of the United Nations Security Council, its Ambassador to NATO, Dmitry Rogozin, agreed to talk to Europolitics New Neighbours. Although a diplomat, he is above all a politician, with very...

EU/RUSSIA : EUROPE UNAFFECTED AS MOSCOW CUTS GAS SUPPLY TO UKRAINE.
March 17, 2008... The newly elected President of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev, who is also chairman of the gas giant Gazprom, decided to reduce, by 25% (ie by 40 million cubic metres/day), Russian gas supplies to Ukraine. Gazprom also specified that "deliveries to...

COUNCIL : "EU SHOULD NOT BUILD A WALL AGAINST TURKEY," SWEDISH PM TELLS EP.
March 17, 2008... Sweden intends to serve as an example in the fight against climate change when it assumes the rotating Presidency of the Council in the second half of 2009. Furthermore, it will adopt a very clear position in favour of Turkey's accession to the...

EU/BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA : EU URGES POLITICAL CONSENSUS IN SARAJEVO.
March 17, 2008... The EU's foreign ministers urged, on 10 March, the government of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) to make "further efforts to ensure the swift and effective fulfilment of all the four conditions necessary for signing the Stabilisation and...

EU/ALBANIA : EU URGES TIRANA TO SPEED UP ELECTORAL REFORM.
March 17, 2008... The European Union urged, on 11 March, the government of Albania to continue the current pace of EU-related reforms, with a special emphasis on the fight against organised crime and corruption, as well as the reform of the electoral system....

EU/TURKEY : EU WELCOMES TURKEY'S NEW LAW ON FOUNDATIONS.
March 17, 2008... The European Commission hailed the adoption by the Turkish parliament of a new law on foundations on 20 February. In a statement issued on the same day, Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn called the Turkish legislators' decision "a welcome step...

EU/ALBANIA : FRATTINI LAUNCHES VISA-FREE TRAVEL TALKS.
March 17, 2008... Negotiations to liberalise the European Union's visa regime for Albania were opened by Franco Frattini, vice-president of the European Commission, on 7 March in Tirana. Albania is the fourth country from the Western Balkan region to have...

EUPM BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA : GENERAL COPPOLA ON DIFFICULTIES OF POLICE REFORM.
March 17, 2008... Speaking to journalists in Brussels, General Vincenzo Coppola, head of the EU Police Mission (EUPM) in Bosnia and Herzegovina, made a point of highlighting the need for police reform in this country. "This reform is equally if not more...

GERMANY RECOGNISES KOSOVO.(Brief article)
March 17, 2008... The German government formally recognised Kosovo as a new independent state on 20 February. German President Horst Koehler sent the same day a letter to his Kosovar counterpart, Fatmir Sejdiu, paving the way for Berlin and Pristina to establish...

EU/GEORGIA : "GROWING ANXIETY" OVER MOSCOW'S POTENTIAL RECOGNITION OF ABKHAZIA.(Brief article)
March 17, 2008... Russia appears to be preparing itself to recognise Abkhazia, a republic with a population of around 200,000, which is seeking independence from Georgia, a senior EU official said. "There is a growing preoccupation and anxiety that Russia may be...

EU/CROATIA : HURDLES TO CLEAR BEFORE ENERGY CHAPTER IS CLOSED.
March 17, 2008... Accession negotiations with Croatia are well on track and the candidate country considers 2009 as a target year for its joining the EU. Chapter 15 (energy) of the accession negotiation was opened for discussion at the Council and EU negotiators...

EU/UKRAINE : KIEV WANTS RECOGNITION OF ITS "EUROPEAN ASPIRATIONS".
March 17, 2008... The EU-Ukraine Parliamentary Committee acknowledged, on 27 February, that the neighbour status', which Ukraine has been enjoying as member of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP), falls short of Kiev's expectations. The representatives of...

EU/SERBIA : KOSTUNICA: COMMISSION'S PLAN ON WESTERN BALKANS "UNACCEPTABLE".
March 17, 2008... Serbia's Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica described as "unacceptable" the European Commission's recommendations on Serbia spelled out in its latest communication on the Western Balkan region issued on 5 March. "These EC findings are completely...

EU/FYROM/GREECE : NAME DISPUTE TALKS YIELD NO RESULT.(Brief article)
March 17, 2008... The latest effort to resolve the long-standing name dispute between Greece and the Former Yugoslavian Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) has ended without any result. UN Special Envoy Matthew Nimetz said that neither Skopje nor Athens accepted his...

EUROPE OF DEFENCE : NATO SUMMIT TO TACKLE ISSUES OF RELEVANCE TO EU.
March 17, 2008... The 20th NATO summit, to be held from 2 to 4 April in Bucharest, Romania, is an important event for the Euro-Atlantic defence organisation, both in qualitative and quantitative terms, and also as regards European defence policy(1). The subjects...

INTERVIEW WITH YVES DE KERMABON, HEAD OF THE EULEX KOSOVO MISSION : "OUR MISSION IS IN EVERYBODY'S INTEREST".(Interview)
March 17, 2008... Having re-cently commanded the KFOR troops, your knowledge of Kosovo is extensive. How would you assess the current situation? It's too early to make any definite judgements. The Serbians are clearly under shock from the declaration of...

MEDITERRANEAN UNION : PARIS AND BERLIN AGREE ON CLUB MED' PROJECT.(Brief article)
March 17, 2008... After months of growing tension, France and Germany have finally agreed a compromise on the Mediterranean Union (MU) project, paving the way to a joint proposal at the spring European summit. Nicolas Sarkozy and Angela Merkel managed to iron...

EU/KOSOVO : REHN: PRISTINA TO BENEFIT FROM PRE-ACCESSION ASSISTANCE.
March 17, 2008... Despite differing views on Kosovo's independence among the member states, the European Union has been continuing its engagement with this new state. "All the Community programmes and projects are running according to schedule," an EU official...

EU/BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA : REHN: SARAJEVO COULD SIGN PRE-MEMBERSHIP DEAL IN APRIL.
March 17, 2008... Despite its internal political problems, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) is fully committed to developing closer ties with the EU, Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn said following his meetings with the country's top political leaders. "With a...

EU/SERBIA : RUPEL HOPES FOR PRO-EU VICTORY IN SERBIA.(european union)
March 17, 2008... The European Union hopes that the pro-integration forces will win the early parliamentary elections in Serbia scheduled for 11 May. "Now with the election coming, I hope that the pro-EU forces will win [...] I have seen some encouraging signs:...

RUSSIA: KOSOVO MISSION ILLEGAL.(Brief article)
March 17, 2008... Russia, which opposes Kosovo's independence, said that the mission sent by the European Union to accompany independence had no legal basis. "The decision to deploy a European Union mission in Kosovo has no legal basis," said Russian Foreign...

EU/MEDITERRANEAN : SARKOZY SCALES DOWN CLUB MED' AMBITIONS.
March 17, 2008... French President Nicolas Sarkozy will face the challenging task of convincing his European partners to embark on his Mediterranean Union project during the European summit, on 13 March in Brussels. Sarkozy, jointly with German Chancellor Angela...

SLOVENIA RECOGNISES KOSOVO.
March 17, 2008... On 6 March, Slovenia became the 15th EU member state and the first Yugoslav successor country to recognise Kosovo, which declared independence on 17 February. Previously, 14 other EU members have established formal diplomatic relations with...

ENLARGEMENT : SLOWER PACE IN ACCESSION TALKS MORE REALISTIC, SAYS DIPLOMAT.
March 17, 2008... The outcome of the forthcoming Intergovernmental Conference in April may bring disappointment to Croatia and Turkey. Contrary to these countries' expectations, the EU member states are not likely to be ready to give their assent to the opening...

EU/KOSOVO/SERBIA : SOLANA DENOUNCES VIOLENCE IN BELGRADE.
March 17, 2008... On the sidelines of the informal meeting of EU defence ministers in Brdo, Slovenia, on 22 February, Javier Solana commented on the attacks in Belgrade against certain diplomatic missions, including the US Embassy. He noted that it would be...

SOUTH OSSETIA APPEALS FOR RECOGNITION.(Brief article)
March 17, 2008... The parliament in South Ossetia, a tiny Georgian territory with a population of less than 100,000, sent, on 5 March, an appeal to the UN, the European Union, the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and Russia for recognition as an...

EU/FYROM : TALKS OPEN ON VISA-FREE REGIME.(european union)(Brief article)
March 17, 2008... The European Union launched, on 20 February, visa facilitation talks with the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM). This decision, according to Commissioner for Justice and Security Franco Frattini, sends "a strong, positive political...

EU/KOSOVO : THACI: PRISTINA TO CLOSELY FOLLOW AHTISAARI'S PLAN.
March 17, 2008... Kosovo's institutions have formally started to implement the plan developed by UN Special Envoy Martti Ahtisaari, the country's Prime Minister, Hashim Thaci, said on 20 February at a joint press conference with EU foreign policy chief Javier...

INTERVIEW WITH MEP MAREK SIWIEC, VICE-PRESIDENT OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT : "THE BALL IS NOW IN UKRAINE'S COURT".(Interview)
March 17, 2008... You are regularly visiting Ukraine. What are your conclusions from your recent visits? Is the country finally on the right track following months of political turmoil? Ukraine is a country where unpredictability and the lack of stability...

EU/BALKANS : TRANSPORT TREATY' WILL FACILITATE INVESTMENTS, SAYS BARROT.
March 17, 2008... The European Commission proposed, on 5 March, opening negotiations with the Western Balkans (Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania, Montenegro, Serbia, Macedonia and Kosovo) for the conclusion of a Transport Community Treaty'. The EU...

EU/UKRAINE : UNION AND KIEV SET OUT PRIORITIES FOR 2008.
March 17, 2008... The European Union intends to conclude the negotiations with Kiev on a new enhanced agreement in 2009, the Joint Evaluation Report of EU-Ukraine Action Plan adopted at the EU-Ukraine Cooperation Council on 11 March says. The document, obtained...

EU/MONTENEGRO : VISA-FREE TALKS OPEN WITH PODGORICA.(Brief article)
March 17, 2008... The European Union opened, on 21 February, talks with Montenegro on a visa-free regime. The launch of negotiations with this tiny Balkan country of less than 700,000 citizens constitutes a strong, positive political message from the European...

ENLARGEMENT : WESTERN BALKANS: NEW CARROTS AND OLD STICKS.
March 17, 2008... Faced with a prolonged stalemate in the Western Balkans states' EU integration bid, the European Commission put forward, on 5 March, a set of new incentives for the region. This basket, containing more carrots than sticks, is supposed to...

EU/CROATIA : ZAGREB COULD SUSPEND ECOLOGICAL ZONE TO SALVAGE EU BID.
March 17, 2008... In a bid to unblock Croatia's EU accession negotiations, the ruling Democratic Union (HDZ), led by Prime Minister Ivo Sanader, is intent on suspending the application of the Ecological and Fisheries Protection Zone (ZERP) in the Adriatic to the...