Europe-East articles from September 2007

Europe-East archives from September 2007

FIRST EIB LOAN TO UKRAINE.(Brief article)
September 24, 2007... The European Investment Bank (EIB) granted in late July a loan of 200 million to Ukraine for repairs to the M-06 motorway, the main route between Ukraine and the European Union linking the Ukrainian capital to the neighbouring EU member states...

EU/TURKEY : EU MEMBER STATES HAIL ERDOGAN'S ELECTION VICTORY.(Brief article)
September 24, 2007... EU officials and the majority of EU member states welcomed the resounding election victory of the Turkish ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) as a promising sign for greater political stability in Turkey. EU Commission President Jose...

EU/UKRAINE : AHEAD OF SUMMIT, YANUKOVICH STRESSES DISAGREEMENTS WITH EU.
September 24, 2007... Shortly before the EU-Ukraine summit on 14 September, Ukraine's Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich criticised the EU for its moves on trade and current visa policies. "There is the visa regime which we feel is too tough. And as for trade, we see...

EU/ENP : BRUSSELS CONFERENCE DISCUSSES NEIGHBOURHOOD POLICY PRIORITIES.(European Neighbourhood Policy )
September 24, 2007... The ministers and other representatives from all of the countries covered by European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP), participating alongside their counterparts from the EU in the first ever international conference on the ENP, have called on the...

EU/RUSSIA : CHIZHOV: EU'S CRITICISM OVER LITVINENKO CASE "AN UNPLEASANT SURPRISE".
September 24, 2007... Russia's Ambassador to the EU Vladimir Chizhov said on 18 July that the EU's criticism of Russia over the way it handles the Litvinenko case "will certainly affect relations between the EU and Russia". The day before, the EU criticised...

IMMIGRATION : COMMISSION CALLS FOR BETTER INTEGRATION OF IMMIGRANTS.
September 24, 2007... Addressing a conference on legal immigration, organised by the Portuguese Presidency of the European Union in Lisbon on 13 and 14 September, Vladimir Spidla, the European commissioner for employment, social affairs and equal opportunities,...

EU/US/MONTENEGRO : COMMISSION UNHAPPY WITH PODGORICA-WASHINGTON IMMUNITY PACT.
September 24, 2007... An agreement between the United States and potential EU candidate country Montenegro is causing disquiet in the European Commission. Under the deal, the Montenegrins pledge not to hand over US personnel to the International Criminal Court (ICC)...

EU/ENVIRONMENT : COUNCIL RESTATES ITS POSITION AHEAD OF BELGRADE CONFERENCE.(Conference news)
September 24, 2007... The Environment for Europe' process 'will enhance the implentation of multilateral environmental agreements and national environmental policies throughout the pan-European region and advance the objectives of sustainable development in the...

EU/TURKEY : EU COUNTS ON GUL TO PUT EUROPEAN COMMITMENTS INTO ACTION.
September 24, 2007... The election, on 28 August, of Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul as the president of Turkey and the arrival in office of a new government "with a clear popular mandate" will give "fresh, immediate and positive impetus to the accession process to...

EU/TURKEY : EU HAILS BABACAN'S APPOINTMENT AS TURKEY'S FOREIGN MINISTER.
September 24, 2007... Turkey's new President Abdullah Gul approved, on 29 August, a new reform-oriented cabinet presented by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, with Ali Babacan replacing him as foreign minister. Babacan will also retain his role as chief...

EU HAILS ELECTION OF PRESIDENT IN ALBANIA.(Brief article)
September 24, 2007... EU foreign ministers welcomed, on 23 July at the External Relation Council, the conclusion of the electoral process in the Albanian parliament and the election of a new president. Following three unsuccessful rounds of elections and just a few...

EU/TURKEY : EU MEMBER STATES HAIL ERDOGAN'S ELECTION VICTORY.(european union)(Brief article)
September 24, 2007... EU officials and the majority of EU member states welcomed the resounding election victory of the Turkish ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) as a promising sign for greater political stability in Turkey. EU Commission President Jose...

EU/RUSSIA : EU MINISTERS HAVE LOW EXPECTATIONS OF NEXT SUMMIT WITH MOSCOW.(Brief article)
September 24, 2007... EU foreign ministers do not foresee any improvement in their thorny relations with Moscow before the parliamentary and presidential elections scheduled for December and March 2008 respectively in Russia. We cannot expect the next EU-Russia...

EU/WESTERN BALKANS : EU SIGNS VISA AGREEMENTS WITH THE WESTERN BALKAN STATES.(Brief article)
September 24, 2007... On 18 September, the EU signed visa facilitation agreements with all the Western Balkan countries, making it easier and cheaper for citizens from those countries to travel to the Union. The documents, which also include readmission agreements,...

EU/BELARUS : EU SLAMS BELARUSIAN REGIME FOR ARRESTS OF OPPOSITION YOUTH LEADERS.(Brief article)
September 24, 2007... EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner has slammed Belarusian authorities for the imprisonment of two opposition youth group leaders. After being detained for robbery, Pavel Severinets and Aleksei Shein were sentenced on 24...

EU/TURKEY : EU URGES ANKARA TO PRESS ON WITH REFORMS.
September 24, 2007... The Turkish government that emerged from the elections of 22 July should waste no time getting back to its legal and economic reform process, 'with determination and concrete results', to give new impetus to the EU accession negotiations, noted...

EU/TURKEY : EU WELCOMES FRANCE'S CONCESSION TO ANKARA.(European Union)
September 24, 2007... The EU has welcomed a softening of the French line towards Turkey joining the EU, as expressed by President Nicolas Sarkozy on 27 August. "We welcome this contribution," said a European Commission spokesperson, while the Portuguese EU...

EU/TURKEY : EXPERTS CALL ON TURKEY TO START NEW ROUND OF REFORMS.
September 24, 2007... Turkey has to send a strong positive signal to the EU by re-launching its reform process without further delay. That was the main message delivered by participants to a round-table debate on the future of EU-Turkey relations, chaired by MEP...

DEFENCE : FEITH (COUNCIL) SETS OUT MAIN LINES OF ESDP MISSION TO KOSOVO.
September 24, 2007... "The success of the mission will depend on the political framework in which it will be deployed," said Pieter Feith, deputy director of the ESDP (European Security and Defence Policy) in the EU Council, to MEPs on 11 September. He was setting...

IMMIGRATION : FISHERMEN ACCUSED OF TRAFFICKING IMMIGRANTS WIN SUPPORT FROM MEPS.
September 24, 2007... At least 106 MEPs have so far signed a petition calling for the release of seven Tunisian fishermen currently being held in Italy on charges of aiding illegal immigration. The fishermen were arrested by Italian authorities on the island of...

FRANCE STILL WAVERING.(Jean-Pierre Jouyet)(Brief article)
September 24, 2007... Simple clumsiness or testing the waters? The French Secretary for European Affairs, Jean-Pierre Jouyet, has relaunched speculation on a potential change in France's position regarding the enlargement of the Union, contesting the systematic...

IMMIGRATION : FRATTINI GIVES DETAILS ON BLUE CARD' FOR HIGHLY SKILLED WORKERS.
September 24, 2007... The creation of a blue EU labour card' for highly-skilled migrants will be put forward by the European Commission, in October, when it presents two new legislative proposals relating to legal migration. The intention is that the card...

EU/FYROM : FYROM WANTS DATE FOR EU ENTRY TALKS INCLUDED IN COMMISSION REPORT.(European Union)
September 24, 2007... The EU is calling on the government of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) to step up the pace of reforms to meet conditions under which accession negotiations can be opened "as soon as possible". It welcomed the resumption of...

JUSTICE AND HOME AFFAIRS : ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION TO BE A MAJOR FOCUS OF PORTUGUESE JHA AGENDA.
September 24, 2007... Making progress on measures linked to the fight against illegal immigration is set to be one of the main themes of the Portuguese Presidency in the field of Justice and Home Affairs. According to the Presidency's plan of activities, the...

EU/US/KOSOVO : IN WASHINGTON, MEPS URGE UNITY ON KOSOVO.(members of the parliment)(European Union)
September 24, 2007... The need to maintain unity on the future status of UN-administered Kosovo was stressed by a delegation of five Liberal and Democrat MEPs in Washington from 9-11 September. "Ultimately, we agree only independence will bring a solution. But this...

EU/KOSOVO/SERBIA : KOSOVO AND SERBIA STICK TO THEIR GUNS IN VIENNA.(European Union)
September 24, 2007... The first round of renewed talks on the future status of Kosovo, held on 30 August in Vienna under the auspices of the Contact Group's Troika of mediators from the European Union, the United States and Russia, ended without any breakthrough....

EU/KOSOVO : MEMBER STATES CLOSE RANKS.(European Union)
September 24, 2007... With three months to go before the 10 December target date for concluding the negotiations on the future of Kosovo, the EU27 are trying to settle their differences in order to put pressure on the Serbian and Kosovar parties, leading them to...

ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION : MEPS BACK PLANS FOR EU-WIDE RULES ON TREATMENT OF ASYLUM SEEKERS.
September 24, 2007... Firm backing has been given by MEPs to plans to create a common EU policy on the return of illegal immigrants to their countries of origin. The plans set out binding rules for member states on how illegal immigrants, including asylum...

ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION : MEPS EXPECTED TO RAISE PROPOSED LIMIT TO DETENTION FOR DEPORTEES.
September 24, 2007... MEPs are expected, on 12 September, to propose significant changes to European Commission proposals on how member states should handle the deportation of illegal immigrants. One of the most striking of the expected amendments is an...

EU/CYPRUS : NO BREAKTHROUGH IN CYPRUS RE-UNIFICATION TALKS.(European Union)(Tassos Papadopoulos)(Mehmet Ali Talat)
September 24, 2007... Cypriot President Tassos Papadopoulos and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat met on 5 September in the UN-patrolled buffer zone of Nicosia for the first time in a year to prepare the ground for a revival of the stalled UN process to...

NO RECOGNITION OF NAGORNO-KARABAKH POLL.(Brief article)
September 24, 2007... The EU said, on 19 July, that it does not recognise the independence of Nagorno-Karabakh or the legitimacy of 'presidential elections", which were held on the same day in the breakaway province. The presidential elections "should not have any...

EUROPEAN SECURITY AND DEFENCE POLICY : PORTUGAL DEVELOPING AFRICA STRATEGY TO AVOID FUTURE CRISES.
September 24, 2007... Speaking to MEPs at the European Parliament subcommittee on security and defence on 17 July, Ambassador Carlos Pais, Portugal's representative to the Political and Security Committee, said that the second EU-Africa summit was "of the essence"...

EU/MOROCCO : RABAT BUILDS FURTHER LINKS WITH EUROPE.(Brief article)
September 24, 2007... Morocco has reaffirmed its links with Europe by asking for an "advanced status" in its relations with the EU at a meeting of the EU-Moroccan Council of Association in Brussels on July 23. It was agreed that a working group be established to...

REHN WARNS BOSNIA OVER POLICE REFORM.(Brief article)
September 24, 2007... The EU's Enlargement Commissioner, Olli Rehn, expressed, on 31 August, his criticism at the decision by the two party leaders of Bosnia and Herzegovina (on 30 August) to reject a draft proposal for police reformasubmitted by the High...

EU/TURKEY : RELATIONS WITH EU ARE GOVERNMENT'S FIRST PRIORITY, SAYS ERDOGAN.
September 24, 2007... Turkey's newly appointed government, led by the Justice and Development Party's (AKP) leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan, won a vote of confidence in the parliament on 5 September. The majority of MPs approved the composition of new Turkish executive...

RELAUNCHING THE BARCELONA PROCESS.(Brief article)
September 24, 2007... The Barcelona Process, which began in 1995 and brings together EU countries and ten countries from the southern Mediterranean basin, plays a key role in facilitating more political and security dialogue, shared economic development and the...

EU REFORM : SARKOZY'S WISE MEN COMMITTEE' IDEA GAINING GROUND IN THE EU.
September 24, 2007... French President Nikolas Sarkozy's recent proposal to set up a special committee of wise men' to contribute to ongoing discussion on the future of Europe's political project is winning growing support in the EU. After the UK Foreign Secretary...

EU/SERBIA : SERBIA HOPES TO INITIAL SAA IN EARLY OCTOBER.(Serbia is progressing "well", said the EU's Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn at a joint conference with Serbia's Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic. Rehn reiterated, however, that "the conclusion of the agreement depends on Serbia's full cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY)". Jeremic confirmed his government's will to arrest all ICTY indictees still at large without delay and expressed hope that the SAA agreement can be initialled "in the early days of October" and signed by the end of 2007. He pledged rapid progress in implementation of the adopted reforms and reassured Rehn about his government's strong commitment to European integration. Jeremic also welcomed progress in negotiations on visa facilitation and readmission agreements, which are due to be signed on 18 September and enter into force on 1 January 2008. Both Rehn and Jeremic dismissed the idea, expressed last week by the Netherlands, of dividing Kosovo along ethnic lines. "We are opposed to the partition of any sovereign country. Therefore we rule out this proposal," said Jeremic. Rehn pointed out that the preservation of the territorial integrity of Kosovo is one of the guiding principles of the Contact Group and underlined that the EU wants to respect it. He made clear, however, that "almost every solution acceptable for Kosovo and Serbia would be acceptable for the EU". Jeremic said that Serbia supports the work of the troika mediators designated by the Contact Group to supervise talks on Kosovo's status. He expressed hope for a solution and appealed to Kosovo leaders to refrain from expressing any threats of unilateral acts.Copy To CutCopyPasteSelect All FindReplace Create TableDelete TableCreate TBCAuthorTitle Annotation Text BiographeeNames of PersonsCase NameCompany NamesEventsGeographic Scope DesignatorsGeographicGovernment AgenciesNamed CharacterNamed ThingsOrganizationsProductsStatutesSubject DescriptorsWorks)(Brief article)
September 24, 2007... The technical dimension of the negotiations on the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) with Serbia is progressing "well", said the EU's Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn at a joint conference with Serbia's Foreign Minister Vuk...

EU/SERBIA : SERBIA STEPS UP PRESSURE ON EU TO PREVENT RECOGNITION OF KOSOVO.
September 24, 2007... Serbia's top politicians have been continuing their diplomatic offensive in the European Union in a bid to prevent any unilateral recognition of Kosovo by the Union, in the event that the province were to decide to break away from Serbia....

ENLARGEMENT : SLOVENIA FAVOURS THE BALKAN STATES JOINING THE EU.(Brief article)
September 24, 2007... Slovenia wants to make the enlargement of the European Union to include all the Balkan countries a priority of its EU Presidency in the first half of 2008, Slovenia's Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel announced on 27 August. This is "a task which...

SOCRATES DISCUSSES KOSOVO WITH BUSH.(Brief article)
September 24, 2007... The future status of Kosovo featured prominently in talks between EU Council President Jose Socrates and US President George Bush in Washington on 17 September. Calling it a "delicate problem," the Portuguese prime minister said at a joint...

EU/KOSOVO : STATUS TALKS RESUME IN LONDON.(Brief article)
September 24, 2007... The Contact Group Troika mediating the Kosovo status negotiations met on 18 September in London with officials from Kosovo and Serbia. The two-day consultations aim at preparing the ground for direct talks between the two sides, which are due...

TURKISH WORKERS : STUDENT AU PAIRS AND THEIR RESIDENCE RIGHTS.
September 24, 2007... The European Court of Justice was asked to examine several cases involving young Turkish au pairs and students who were carrying on a secondary activity in the United Kingdom (Payir, Akyuz and Ozturk cases, C 294/06). The Court was asked to...

ENLARGEMENT/ENERGY : SURVEY: 2004 ENLARGEMENT NO THREAT TO ENERGY SECURITY.(Survey)(Brief article)
September 24, 2007... A survey by a Spanish-led consortium, commissioned by the European Commission's DG Energy and Transport (DG TREN) in January 2007, indicates no major short-term disruptions from the EU's 2004 enlargement in general terms of the security of...

EU/TURKEY : TURKEY AIMING TO BECOME A "FIRST-CLASS DEMOCRACY".
September 24, 2007... Just a few weeks ahead of the publication of the European Commission's progress report on Turkey, the country's newly appointed Foreign Minister, Ali Babacan, assured the EU that his government was truly determined to implement democratic...

UKRAINIANS PREFER RUSSIA TO EU.(Survey)(Brief article)
September 24, 2007... A survey conducted by the Yaremenko Ukrainian Institute for Social Studies and the Social Monitoring Centre has found that 57 percent of Ukrainians are against Ukraine's accession to NATO, while 19.9 percent support the country's membership of...