Europe-East articles from May 2006

Europe-East archives from May 2006

ACCESSION TREATY RATIFIED BY SWEDEN.(accession treaty for Bulgaria and Romania's entry into the European Union)(Brief article)
May 24, 2006... The Swedish Parliament on 9 May ratified the Accession Treaty for Bulgaria and Romania's entry into the EU. MPs from all the parliamentary groups in the Riksdag delivered statements in support, hoping the two countries will join as planned on 1...

AVIATION : AIR DEAL SIGNED WITH GEORGIA.(European airlines flies between Caucasus country)(Brief article)
May 24, 2006... The European Union and Georgia signed on 3 May an aviation agreement to allow European airlines to fly between the Caucasus country and any EU member state, the European Commission announced. The deal was signed by Transport Commissioner...

JUSTICE AND HOME AFFAIRS COUNCIL : ANTI-PROSTITUTION TRAFFICKING PUSH FOR WORLD CUP.(Football )(Brief article)
May 24, 2006... Responding to fears this summer's World Cup in Germany will be a magnet for forced prostitution, EU Justice and Home Affairs Ministers have taken preventive measures. Conclusions adopted on 27 April urge deployment of police officers to help...

ASYLUM PROBLEMS.(Brief article)
May 24, 2006... Refugees, many of them Chechen, on the Slovak-Ukraine border are having problems getting protection, the UN Refugee Agency UNHCR has said. Stricter border controls in Ukraine make it hard for asylum-seekers to reach neighbouring EU countries....

BALKANS SCHOOL LAUNCHED.(Regional School of Public Administration)(Brief article)
May 24, 2006... Western Balkans countries Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Serbia and Montenegro/Kosovo launched on 2 May in Brussels a Regional School of Public Administration that, it is hoped, will help...

ENLARGEMENT : BULGARIA AND ROMANIA UNFAZED BY EU ENTRY DECISION DELAY.
May 24, 2006... Sofia and Bucharest reacted calmly to the European Commission's move to delay a final decision on their EU entry date, saying its findings were fair. The EU executive said on 16 May that the two countries should be able to enter in January 2007...

ENLARGEMENT : BULGARIAN BUSINESSMEN IN FAVOUR OF SPEEDY EU ENTRY.
May 24, 2006... The sooner Bulgaria joins the EU the better from the economic point of view, according to members of a Bulgarian business delegation who were meeting EU officials ahead of a key 16 May progress report from the European Commission. The...

ENLARGEMENT : BULGARIAN PREMIER UNDERSCORES IMPORTANCE OF 2007 EU ENTRY.(Brief article)
May 24, 2006... Bulgarian Prime Minister Sergey Stanishev underlined the importance of the European Commission naming January 2007 as the date when Bulgaria can join the EU, amid reports that the Commission was poised to leave the question open in an eagerly...

ENLARGEMENT : BULGARIA'S CHIEF PROSECUTOR LOOKS TO DO IT BY THE BOOK.
May 24, 2006... Boris Veltchev does not pretend to be a miracle worker but Bulgaria's new chief prosecutor can point to some signs that his country is finally producing the sort of concrete progress in the fight against organised crime and corruption that the...

CARROT FOR SERBIA TALKS.(Stabilisation and Association Agreement)(Brief article)
May 24, 2006... The EU and Serbia and Montenegro could yet conclude talks on a new Euro-integration accord by the end of the year, EU Foreign Ministers said on 15 May, despite the calling off of the 11 May round of negotiations on the Stabilisation and...

FORMER SOVIET UNION : CENTRAL ASIA STILL OUT OF REACH?
May 24, 2006... The EU is still not being mentioned in the same breath as strategic partners for Central Asia like Russia, China and the US, but in general there is appetite in the region for more active and visible EU engagement, according to the bloc's...

EU/PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY : COMMISSION PREPARING EURO 34 MILLION RELIEF AID PACKAGE.(European Union)(United Nations Agency for Palestinian refugees)(European Commission Humanitarian Aid Office)(Brief article)
May 24, 2006... With the debate raging at the international level on means of providing financial assistance to the Palestinian people without involving the Hamas government, the European Commission proposed a 34 million package for the Territories on 5 May....

ENLARGEMENT : DECISION ON BULGARIAN AND ROMANIAN ENTRY DATE DEFERRED.
May 24, 2006... The Commission put off on 16 May until later in the year a final verdict on when Bulgaria and Romania should join the EU, saying the two countries should be able to enter in 2007 as long as they address remaining shortcomings. Announcing the...

EP CIA INQUIRY : DE VRIES ROASTED BY MEPS FOR KNOWING NOTHING.(Gijs de Vries)(Members of European Parliament)(Central Intelligence Agency)(European Parliament)
May 24, 2006... The EU's Counter-Terrorism Coordinator Gijs de Vries was given a rough ride by MEPs on 20 April for proclaiming to know nothing about the US intelligence agency, the CIA's activities in Europe. 'I am not privy, nor is Javier Solana' [EU foreign...

RUSSIA : ENERGY CRACKS APPEAR AS PUTIN TALKS OF EUROPEAN "THREAT".(Vladimir Putin)(Brief article)
May 24, 2006... The European Commission appeared to try to play down signs of increasing strain between the EU and Russia over energy policy as Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested his country felt threatened by a lack of access to European energy...

FREE MOVEMENT OF WORKERS : EU-15 EASE RESTRICTIONS ON EU-8 WORKERS.(conferences)
May 24, 2006... At a press conference on 2 May, Vladimir pidla, the Commissioner responsible for Employment, Social Affairs and Gender Equality, welcomed the decision by several member states to open their labour markets to workers from the eight new East...

ECONOMIC AFFAIRS : EU ENLARGEMENT: PROOF IN FIGURES.(analysis)
May 24, 2006... With nine heads of state and government from the Balkans region meeting in Salonika, Greece, on 4 May to enhance cooperation in South-Eastern Europe with a view to accelerating the prospect of a fifth wave of EU enlargement, the European...

EU/GCC COOPERATION.(contracts)(Brief article)
May 24, 2006... In very general conclusions adopted following the joint EU/Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) session on 15 May in Brussels, the two parties confirm that they will continue to apply their cooperation agreement in various areas of common interest....

SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO : EU GETS NEW POTENTIAL MEMBER WITH MONTENEGRO INDEPENDENCE VOTE.
May 24, 2006... The EU was facing up to life with an extra potential member on its doorstep as Montenegrins voted on 21 May for independence from Serbia. Early referendum results said that 55.4% of voters backed independence for the small Balkan republic, a...

EU/PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY : EU HOPES TO HAVE NEW AID FUND BY-PASSING HAMAS BY JUNE.(European Union)(Brief article)
May 24, 2006... In conclusions adopted by the External Relations Council on 15 May in Brussels, the EU member states express serious concern about the deterioration of the humanitarian, economic and financial situation in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, but...

RUSSIA : EU LOOKS TO SET ENERGY RECORD STRAIGHT.(European Union energy partnership)(Industry overview)(Brief article)
May 24, 2006... EU officials wrote to the Russian Energy Minister on 2 May in a bid to bring clarity to a picture muddied by recent signs that the two sides are not seeing eye to eye on energy policy. The move came after a series of comments on energy ties...

EU/IRAN : EU MAKES FRESH BID TO FIND WAY OUT OF NUCLEAR IMPASSE.(European Union)(Brief article)
May 24, 2006... EU Foreign Ministers tried to keep the door open to a diplomatic solution to the growing row over Iran's disputed nuclear programme as they met on 15 May in Brussels. Amid concerns that Tehran might be seeking to develop a nuclear bomb, and...

BOSNIA : EU REGRETS NON-ADOPTION OF CONSTITUTIONAL REFORMS.(European Union)(Stabilisation and Association Agreement)(Brief article)
May 24, 2006... The European Union expressed disappointment after the Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) parliament failed to adopt late on 26 April proposed constitutional reforms to strengthen central government and aid the country's path to potential EU...

EU/PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY : EU TO SET UP INTERNATIONAL MECHANISM FOR DELIVERING AID.
May 24, 2006... In the transatlantic debate launched by the suspension of direct international aid to the Palestinian Authority, the EU has notched up a success. The four members of the Quartet (EU, United States, Russia and the UN), meeting in New York on 9...

CROATIA : FRATTINI EYES JUSTICE TALKS.(Franco Frattini)(Brief article)
May 24, 2006... EU Justice Commissioner Franco Frattini told Croatian Interior Minister Ivica Kirin on 11 May that he hoped it would be possible to start membership talks proper on justice issues with Zagreb by the beginning of 2007. After meeting the Minister...

ENLARGEMENT : FRATTINI SOUNDS OPTIMISTIC NOTE ON BULGARIAN AND ROMANIAN JUSTICE.(Franco Frattini )
May 24, 2006... Bulgaria and Romania have made significant progress and are on the right track as they try to ensure their justice systems are ready for EU membership, although Bulgaria may still need to do some added legal 'fine-tuning', according to EU...

EP CIA INQUIRY : FURTHER EVIDENCE OF SWEDISH INVOLVEMENT IN RENDITIONS.(European Parliament)(Central Intelligence Agency)(Brief article)
May 24, 2006... MEPs have heard more evidence that Sweden helped the United States' intelligence agents expel two terror suspects to Egypt where they were allegedly tortured. Mats Melin, Swedish chief parliamentary ombudsman, told the EP inquiry committee on 4...

FYROM VISA MOVE.(Brief article)
May 24, 2006... The European Commission formally asked EU member states on 4 May to authorise it to open negotiations with the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia on a visa facilitation deal (to ease visa procedures) and a readmission agreement (on taking...

GAZPROM GETS ALL-CLEAR FOR UK STORAGE VENTURE.(Wingas UK Storage Ltd. is to fall under joint control of two companies)(ZMB GasspeicherHolding GmbH (ZGHG) of Austria to buy in)(Brief article)
May 24, 2006... British based Wingas UK Storage Ltd is to fall under joint control of two companies at least partly owned by Russian energy giant Gazprom, after regulatory clearance was given by the European Commission on 24 April. The company was previously...

PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY : HAMAS MINISTER GRANTED SWEDISH VISA.(Brief article)
May 24, 2006... At the risk of crossing the line drawn by EU member states, Sweden has granted a visa to a Palestinian Minister from Hamas. Sweden announced on 5 May that it had granted a visa to Palestinian Minister for Refugees, Atef Adouan, member of what...

BELARUS : INDIGNATION OVER DETENTION OF OPPOSITION LEADER.(Brief article)
May 24, 2006... EU representatives expressed dismay as reports arrived on 27 April of the detention of the main Belarus opposition leader Alexander Milinkevich and other members of the country's opposition following a demonstration in Minsk marking the...

EP CIA INQUIRY : ITALY, BOSNIA, SWEDEN CRITICISED IN MEPS' REPORT.(European Parliament)(Central Intelligence Agency)
May 24, 2006... The first findings of a European Parliament inquiry into CIA activities in Europe do not make pleasant reading for Italy, Bosnia and Sweden. Rapporteur Claudio Fava (Socialists, Italy) has slammed each of them for their role - be it active or...

JUSTICE TROIKA.(security building measures)(Brief article)
May 24, 2006... The first ever meeting between top EU, Russian and United States officials devoted to justice and security cooperation took place in Vienna on 4 May. A joint declaration issued afterwards singled out terrorism, organised crime, corruption and...

UKRAINE : KIEV CONTESTS ANTI-DUMPING MEASURES ON PIPES AND TUBES.(Brief article)
May 24, 2006... With an EU decision on whether to impose anti-dumping measures on Ukrainian pipe and tube manufacturers still in the balance, Kiev was defending its industry in the name of establishing closer ties with Europe. The Ukrainian Minister for the...

EURO-ZONE ENLARGEMENT : LITHUANIA DISQUALIFIED BUT SUPPORTED BY EUROGROUP CHIEF.(Brief article)
May 24, 2006... Necessarily disappointed, or at least feigning frustration, Lithuania took note on 16 May of the European Commission and the European Central Bank's negative conclusions on its hoped-for entry into the euro-zone at the beginning of 2007. The...

EP CIA INQUIRY : MEPS FAIL TO PROVE MACEDONIAN LINK.(Central Intelligence Agency)(Members of European Parliament)(Brief article)
May 24, 2006... An EP delegation to the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) on 27-29 April could not find out if FYROM helped US intelligence agency the CIA to torture and illegally transport a terror suspect. The mission tried to shed further light...

MIXED SIGNALS FROM BOSNIAN ECONOMY.(Brief article)
May 24, 2006... Parliamentarians from the EU and Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) have expressed concern about the 'mixed picture' of the Balkan country's economy, noting significant growth in GDP in recent years but also large trade and current account deficits,...

MOLDOVA WINE WORRY.(Brief article)
May 24, 2006... Estonian Socialist MEP Marianne Mikko has expressed concern about a Russian ban on Moldovan wine imports saying it is a political move calculated to deprive Moldova of much-needed export revenues. The MEP, who chairs the European Parliament's...

NEW AVIATION AGREEMENTS.(Brief article)
May 24, 2006... The Parliament voted in plenary session on 16 May in favour of six aviation agreements between the EU and Albania, Serbia-Montenegro, Macedonia, Romania, Moldova and Morocco. The aim is to replace those clauses in the existing bilateral...

NEWCASTLE DISEASE IN BULGARIA.(Brief article)
May 24, 2006... The European Commission announced on 11 May that it had decided to widen a regionalised import ban on Bulgarian poultry, poultry meat and meat products, ratites, game and hatching eggs, due to an outbreak of Newcastle Disease. The ban, which is...

EU/MOROCCO : NEW FISHERIES AGREEMENT GETS EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT'S APPROVAL.(European Union)(Fisheries Partnership Agreement)(Brief article)
May 24, 2006... The European Parliament approved the Fisheries Partnership Agreement between the EU and Morocco on 16 May, despite some MEPs' reservations about its international legal ramifications regarding Western Sahara. The new pacta covers 119...

CHILD PROTECTION : NEW LAW LEAVES ROMANIAN ORPHANS ABANDONED, SAY MEPS.(Members of Parliament)(Brief article)
May 24, 2006... Orphans in Romania who believed they had found new families abroad are facing being abandoned for a second time, due a new Romanian adoption law, according to Members of the European Parliament who organised a public hearing on 25 April. ...

NO AGREEMENT ON IRAN MOTION.(Brief article)
May 24, 2006... Foreign Ministers from the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and Germany failed to agree on a binding draft resolution on Iran on 8 May in New York. Russia and China maintained their opposition to the text proposed...

PARIS FOR CAREFUL EXPANSION.(Brief article)
May 24, 2006... In a draft paper suggesting a set of conclusions for the 15/16 June European Council, the government in Paris stresses that the EU's enlargement plans must take into account the capacity of the bloc to take in new members. The document offers a...

PIEBALGS VISITS KAZAKHSTAN.(Andris Piebalgs)(Brief article)
May 24, 2006... Andris Piebalgs has become the first European Energy Commissioner to visit Kazakhstan. The purpose of his 4 May visit was to strengthen cooperation with the Caspian region's large oil and gas producer with estimated reserves of at least 95...

PIPELINE POLITICS.(Brief article)
May 24, 2006... Language reportedly used by the Polish Defence Minister about a planned gas pipeline linking Russia and Germany via the Baltic Sea but by-passing Poland received a rebuke from the European Commission on 2 May. Responding to questions, the...

EU/PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY : PRESIDENT ABBAS IN NEW APPEAL TO EU.(European Union)(Mahmoud Abbas)(Brief article)
May 24, 2006... The President of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, has reiterated his appeal to the European Union to recognise the advantages of good neighbourhood relations and the dangers of cutting off aid. His comments came on 16 May in a speech...

JUSTICE AND HOME AFFAIRS COUNCIL : PRICE OF A VISA TO GO UP TO EURO 60.
May 24, 2006... The price of issuing a Schengen short-stay visa is set to increase from 35 to 60, following an agreement reached by EU Justice and Home Affairs Ministers in Luxembourg on 27 April. The initiative, spearheaded by France, is justified by the...

EU/RUSSIA : PROGRESS IN TALKS ON FLIGHTS OVER SIBERIA.(European Union)
May 24, 2006... Russia has agreed that the exorbitant fees paid by European airlines for flying over Siberia should be abolished from 1 January 2014. The Russians had indeed already accepted this deadline back in 2004, but had since tended not to give the...

EASTERN EUROPE : REASSURING TONES FROM COMMISSION ON EU-RUSSIA TRADE RELATIONS.(European Union)
May 24, 2006... EU dependence on Russian energy supplies emerged as a prime concern for MEPs in an exchange of views with the European Commission in Parliament's International Trade Committee. Economic relations with Russia and Ukraine were the subject of...

ROMANIAN BIRD FLU BAN WIDENED.(Brief article)
May 24, 2006... An EU ban on imports of live poultry, poultry meat and poultry products from some parts of Romania will be widened. A Commission proposal to this effect was endorsed on 16 May by the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health. The...

ROMANIAN CORRUPTION REPORT.(Brief article)
May 24, 2006... Romania should join the EU on 1 January, 2007, as planned, but the pressure should be maintained on the government in Bucharest to continue efforts to fight corruption, according to the anti-corruption NGO Transparency International Romania. In...

RULE OF LAW AND ENLARGEMENT.(Brief article)
May 24, 2006... An inter-parliamentary colloquium on 25 April in Brussels bringing together MEPs and MPs from candidate countries pointed to the increasing importance of the rule of law and independent judiciary as a condition for EU accession. EU Justice...

EU/RUSSIA : RUSSIA BLOCKS POULTRY IMPORTS.(European Union)(Brief article)
May 24, 2006... Despite the establishment of a regular dialogue between the European Union and Russia, Moscow decided unilaterally on 27 April to block poultry imports regardless of their source, on health grounds. EU Health and Consumer Protection...

VISAS / IMMIGRATION : RUSSIAN DEALS PREPARED AS FRATTINI OUTLINES THINKING.(Franco Frattini)(Brief article)
May 24, 2006... EU member states have been formally asked to approve the signature and conclusion of agreements between the EU and Russia on easing visa procedures and taking back illegal immigrants. The European Commission proposed on 26/27 April Council...

RUSSIAN MINISTER IN TALKS WITH MEPS.(Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA)(Brief article)
May 24, 2006... The EU and Russia should look to deepen their ties when it comes to renewing or renegotiating next year their Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA), according to German MEP Elmar Brok (EPP-ED). The European Parliament's Foreign Affairs...

SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO : SAA TALKS BREAK DOWN OVER WAR CRIMES FAILINGS.(Stabilisation and Association Agreement)
May 24, 2006... The EU has put talks on a new Euro-integration accord with Serbia and Montenegro on hold because war crimes fugitive Ratko Mladic has still not been handed over. EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn confirmed late on 28 April that the next...

EU/BALKANS : SINGLE AVIATION MARKET BECOMING A REALITY.(European Union)(European Common Aviation Area)
May 24, 2006... The highlight of the European aviation summit in Strasbourg on 4 and 5 May was undoubtedly the signing of a political agreement with Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Macedonia, Romania, Serbia-Montenegro and the United Nations...

EURO-ZONE ENLARGEMENT : SLOVENIA TO JOIN THE SINGLE CURRENCY CLUB ON 1 JANUARY 2007.
May 24, 2006... It came as no surprise when the European Commission and the European Central Bank announced in chorus on 16 May that Slovenia respects all the convergence criteria for the euro-zone and can go ahead and join the single currency club on 1...

EP CIA INQUIRY : SOLANA ENTERS NO COMPETENCE PLEA.(European Parliament)(Central Intelligence Agency)(Javier Solana)
May 24, 2006... MEPs were once again frustrated in their efforts to find out about the CIA's anti-terrorist activities in Europe when EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana testified for their inquiry on 2 May. "I have no information that tells me with...

SOLIDARITY FUNDS FOR ROMANIA, BULGARIA & AUSTRIA.(Brief article)
May 24, 2006... An Amending Budget was approved by the European Parliament on 27 April, meaning that financial resources allocated from the European Solidarity Fund in order to help Bulgaria, Romania and Austria will be entered into the 2006 EU budget. The...

RUSSIA : SUMMIT SET TO TACKLE ENERGY AND FUTURE TIES.
May 24, 2006... Energy and the future foundations for EU-Russia ties are set to be among the priority themes at the 25 May EU-Russia summit in Sochi. EU Foreign Ministers are due to discuss the summit preparations on 15 May in Brussels, and according to a...

EU/IRAN : TEHRAN MAY HAVE TO CHOOSE BETWEEN INCENTIVES AND SANCTIONS.
May 24, 2006... In an attempt to break the deadlock at the United Nations Security Council on the Iranian nuclear programme, Europe has agreed, with Washington's support, to prepare some new proposals to put to Tehran. The Europeans are hoping that a strategy...

ENLARGEMENT : TURKEY WOULD JUMPSTART EU ECONOMY, SAYS ISTANBUL COMMERCE BOSS.
May 24, 2006... Turkey represents a golden opportunity for the EU and the 25-member bloc cannot hope to be a prominent actor in the global economy without Turkey in the coming fifty years, according to the President of the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce, Murat...

EP CIA INQUIRY : US TERROR SUSPECT POLICY HAS CHANGED, MEPS LEARN.(Members of European Parliament)
May 24, 2006... MEPs have been told by a top United States official that the US has changed its policy on treatment of terror suspects. Legal advisor to the US State Department John Bellingeraimplicitly admitted renditions took place in 2002-2003 but are not...

UZBEKISTAN SANCTIONS.(Brief article)
May 24, 2006... EU Foreign Ministers reaffirmed on 15 May in Brussels measures taken against the Uzbek government after it refused last year to sanction an independent inquiry into the forcible suppression of 12-13 May 2005 demonstrations in the eastern city...