Europe-East articles from October 2003

Europe-East archives from October 2003

ENLARGEMENT: WALLSTROM POINTS TO HEALTH BENEFITS OF EU MEMBERSHIP.(Brief Article)
October 16, 2003... EU accession will help bring "significant health improvements" in the acceding countries, according to EU Environment Commissioner Margot Wallstrom. Speaking on October 6 in Warsaw, the Commissioner said that full implementation of the EU...

EU/UKRAINE: FUNDS FOR BORDER FACILITIES.(Brief Article)
October 16, 2003... Ukrainian Justice Minister Aleksandr Lavrinovich said that the EU is to allocate Euro 8 million to finance the construction of facilities along Ukraine's northern and north-eastern borders, according to information from the Ukrainian Mission to...

EU/AZERBAIJAN: NEW REGIONAL CUSTOMS TRAINING CENTRE CREATED.(Brief Article)
October 16, 2003... A new $2.2 million Regional Training Centre for customs officials at Baku, Azerbaijan, was officially inaugurated on September 30. Funded by Azerbaijan and set up in conjunction with the World Customs Organization (WCO), it is the third such...

ENLARGEMENT: FIGURES ON ACCEDING COUNTRIES' FOREIGN INVESTMENT RELEASED.(Brief Article)
October 16, 2003... In 2001, the acceding countries reached the EU-15 level of 4.6% in terms of the ratio of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows to Gross Domestic Product (GDP), but per capita inward FDI in the acceding countries, at Euro 251, was five times...

LITHUANIA: RURAL TOURISM ON THE UP.(Brief Article)
October 16, 2003... Lithuanian farms offering rural tourism services attracted more than 125,000 visitors up to the end of September this year, up by more than one third on the same period in 2002, according to figures from the Lithuanian Rural Tourism...

ENLARGEMENT: NEW ECB REPORT ON BOND MARKETS AND INTEREST RATES.(Brief Article)
October 16, 2003... The European Central Bank (ECB) announced on October 6 the publication of the second edition of a report on "Bond markets and long-term interest rates in EU accession countries". Covering the ten acceding countries plus Bulgaria and Romania,...

ENLARGEMENT AT THE EU SUMMIT.
October 30, 2003... The main agenda items of the European Council meeting in Brussels on October 16-17 were not focused specifically on EU enlargement, but the imminence of this major shift in the EU's geography and character were reflected repeatedly throughout...

PUBLICATION OF REGULAR REPORTS APPROACHES.(Brief Article)
October 30, 2003... While remaining tight-lipped about the detail, the European Commission adopted on October 27 a reassuring tone about the Regular Reports on the acceding/candidate countries that are due out on November 5. These will review progress on...

EU/SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO: EBRD LOAN LOOKS TO MODERNISE COAL INDUSTRY.(Brief Article)
October 30, 2003... The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) announced on October 21 that it is providing a Euro 60 million loan to help rehabilitate Serbia and Montenegro's coal mining sector in order to meet the country's growing energy...

IMMINENT MACEDONIAN MEMBERSHIP BID COULD BE ON THE CARDS.
October 30, 2003... The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) is sizing up an EU membership bid and, it seems, for the not too distant future. FYROM Foreign Minister Ilinka Mitreva visited Brussels on October 27 for meetings with European Commission...

SOLANA PRAISE FOR CONDUCT OF ALBANIAN LOCAL ELECTIONS.(Brief Article)
October 30, 2003... EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana has praised Albania for the conduct of its October 12 local elections. He congratulated the country for its "further step towards compliance with international commitments and standards for democratic...