Tag: enlargement

Former ultranationalist Tomislav Nikolić will be the next Serbian President after defeating the pro-European incumbent Boris Tadić  in a runoff yesterday (20 May). BETA, the EurActiv partner agency in Serbia, reports.

Turkey and the Western Balkan countries require practical integration measures to bridge the gap in the European Union's enlargement process, say Andrea Despot, Dušan Reljić, and Günter Seufert from the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP).

The EU's unwillingness to provide the region's countries with an unambiguous path to membership encourages the risk of ethnic nationalism and violence, says the Prime Minister of Kosovo Hashim Thaçi.

Serbia held joint parliamentary, presidential and local elections on Sunday (6 May), sending ultranationalist Tomislav Nikolić and incumbent President Boris Tadić to a presidential election run-off on 20 May. BETA, the EurActiv partner agency in Serbia, reports.

Turkey has indicated its intention to veto the EU's participation in the upcoming NATO summit in an apparent sign of growing disenchantment with the Union before the rotating EU presidency is taken up by Cyprus, a country that Turkey refuses to recognise.

A few might argue that signing the the Conformity Assessment and Acceptance Agreement with Israel will bring economic benefits to the EU. In fact, the EU has much more to gain from rejecting it, argue Kataryzna Lemanska and Stuart Reigeluth.

Switzerland said today (18 April) it would temporarily re-introduce an authorisation requirement for workers coming from the eight East European countries that joined the EU in 2004, a decision that was sharply  criticised by EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton.

Hundreds of young Macedonia Slavs marched in Skopje yesterday (17 April) to protest against the killings of five fishermen north of the capital. Speculation about Albanian-led gang-style executions were reinforced by threats from a so-called "Army for the liberation of Albanian lands" to launch new attacks. 

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan raised today (12 April) the prospect of calling on its NATO allies to protect its border after gunfire hit a Syrian refugee camp on Turkish territory.

Accession to the European Union means prosperity and new economic opportunities for businesses and people, or so goes the argument. In the case of Bulgaria, this is evidently true for the underworld, writes Barbara Frye.

Ukraine today, suffering from economic hardship and imperfect democracy, is reminiscent of Weimar Germany, says Viktor Tkachuk. He argues that instead of falling into dictatorship, the country can champion a new form of democracy through the direct participation of citizens and a leader with no ties to the existing political system.

Turkey, the European Union and the United States have always shared the same broad vision for the European neighbourhood, ranging from stability and prosperity, to peace and democracy in the region. During the Cold War and its immediate aftermath, this shared vision neither necessarily meant agreement on policy means, nor did it call for joint action, as the three followed parallel but not converging foreign policy courses, writes Nathalie Tocci.

The European Parliament adopted yesterday (14 March) resolutions on three countries, representing extremes in terms of their EU accession process: Iceland, which moves on a fast track; Macedonia, the accession talks of which are blocked for a seventh year due to a conflict with Greece; and Bosnia and Herzegovina, where the reform process is stalled.

As a new candidate for EU membership, Serbia will have to adopt the controversial ACTA agreement if the bloc ratifies it. Official statistics show that software piracy in Serbia remains higher than in any EU member. EurActiv Serbia reports.

The European Commission "deeply regretted" a spate of attacks between Macedonia's Slav and Albanian communities and called on politicians and civil society to handle the "emotional aftermath" with care, a spokesperson for enlargement Commissioner Štefan Füle said yesterday (12 March).  

Foreign Minister Enver Hoxhaj of Kosovo credits "Euro-Atlantic" support for helping to build the young country. In an interview with EurActiv.de, he urges the European Union to continue to provide aid and to help resolve lingering disputes with the EU's newest candidate country - Serbia.

Germany benefits greatly from the EU's regional policy in Central and East European nations through increased commerce, says a study commissioned by Poland that also says French companies are benefiting.

The Serbian public has received mostly approvingly, but without much euphoria, the long-anticipated news of the country achieving EU candidate status. Beta, EurActiv's partner agency in Serbia, reports.

Serbia clinched its coveted status of EU candidate country at a summit in Brussels last night (1 March), after Bucharest dropped its opposition following an agreement on a roadmap that should see Romania enter theSchengen passport-free area in September.

Romania tried unsuccessfully to block Serbia from gaining the status of EU candidate at the General Affairs ministerial meeting held yesterday (28 February), drawing accusations that it lacked "European spirit".

There are many good things that you can say about the EU, but the common fisheries policies has not been successful in fulfilling its objective, the Ambassador of Iceland to the EU, Mr. Thorir Ibsen told EurActiv. He said there was "nothing wrong" that Iceland, an EU candidate, would help this reform, as it has "more experience in this field than the EU".

Greek and Macedonian leaders are to meet on the sidelines of next week's EU summit amid few indications that they will make in headway in the dispute over national identity that has prevented Macedonia from starting accession talks since becoming an EU candidate seven years ago. 

A referendum organised in the Serbia-populated northern part of Kosovo on whether to recognise the government of the Albanian majority received a frosty reception from the European Commission today (14 February).

A violent standoff in northern Kosovo risks halting its fragile dialogue with Serbia, and the latter's EU candidacy process, says the International Crisis Group.