Enlargement
Serbia to spend €2.5 billion to aid recovery from coronavirus crisis
Serbia plans to spend about €2.5 billion in loans and subsidies to businesses and payments to pensioners and other citizens to help them cope with the economic impact of the coronavirus, President Aleksandar Vučić said on Tuesday (26 January).
Georgian president visits Brussels in push for 2024 EU membership application
The President of Georgia Salome Zourabishvili is paying a visit to all three on European institutions Thursday and Friday (21-22 January) to cement Georgia’s bid for an EU membership in 2024. The visit of the Caucasian country’s head of state...
Bosnia to order Russian, Chinese vaccines ahead of COVAX, EU deliveries
Bosnia and Herzegovina plans to order Russian and Chinese-made coronavirus vaccines fearing that deliveries ordered under the COVAX scheme for poor countries and from the European Union will be too little too late, officials said on Thursday (21 January).
Athens seeks explanation for German FM’s silence over Turkey’s threats
Germany’s foreign minister Heiko Maas needs to explain why he remained silent after his Turkish counterpart Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu threatened Greece at a joint press conference earlier this week, former FM Dora Bakoyanni has said.
EU money won’t solve Bosnian migration mismanagement, rights groups say
Emergency funding won't suffice to avoid a repetition of humanitarian crises during winter months in Bosnia, which is the result of local migration mismanagement and EU border-tightening measures, human rights group said on Tuesday (12 January).
‘Consequences’ for Bosnia over freezing migrants: EU official
Bosnia risks "severe consequences" to its reputation if assistance is not urgently given to 1,700 migrants left without shelter for more than three weeks, the EU's foreign policy chief warned Monday (11 January).
Turkish FM says the EU has ‘over-politicised’ accession negotiations
The EU has “excessively politicised” the negotiations between Ankara and Brussels, Turkey’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu told EURACTIV’s partner EFE in a written interview, calling on the bloc to take a more positive approach. He reiterated his country’s...
EU enlargement in 2021: Moribund or revenant?
In the Western Balkans, where all EU applicant countries (bar Turkey) are located, the year ahead will be dominated by Europe's quest for a vaccine and efforts to restart the economy in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
Thirteen countries call on EU to support Eastern Partnership vaccine efforts
Thirteen member states issued a call to the European Commission to support the Eastern Partnership countries in their efforts to obtain affordable and fair access to the COVID-19 vaccines, according to a joint letter seen by EURACTIV.
EU denounces conditions for migrants in Bosnia
The living conditions of hundreds of homeless migrants in Bosnia, bordering the European Union, are "completely unacceptable", EU envoy Johann Sattler said Saturday (2 January).
Scottish leader Sturgeon tells EU ‘We hope to join you again’
Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon on Saturday (2 December) told the European Union "we hope to join you again soon" as an independent nation following Britain's full departure from the bloc.
Serbia opens Russian-Turkish gas project portion
Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić on Friday (1 January) opened a portion of a Russian gas project running through his country and hailed it as key for the security of its energy supply.
Migrants in limbo in Bosnia after camp fire
A thousand migrants from a burned-out camp were in limbo in Bosnia on Thursday (31 December), struggling with freezing temperatures and snow as efforts by local authorities to re-house them sparked protests from locals.
Police blame residents for fire at Bosnia migrant centre
A fire at a migrant centre housing about 1,200 people in northwestern Bosnia on Wednesday (23 December) was probably set by migrants displeased with its temporary closure, police and a United Nations official said.
Serbia to start COVID-19 vaccinations Thursday
Serbia will begin vaccinating people against Covid-19 on Thursday (24 December), President Aleksandar Vučić said Wednesday, making the Balkan state one of the first in Europe to launch a campaign with the Pfizer-BioNTech shot.
EU hopes for Eastern Mediterranean conference fritter away
The EU push for a multilateral conference on the Eastern Mediterranean to ease tensions in the region has reached deadlock, diplomatic sourced told EURACTIV.com.
The Brief, powered by Goldman Sachs – Which vaccine for the Western Balkans?
The first COVID-19 vaccine will be authorised within a week, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced this week, and EU member states have been pressing ahead with plans for mass vaccination programmes while also keeping measures tight to...
North Macedonia slams Bulgaria’s ‘blackmail’ in EU entry process
North Macedonia's foreign minister called on the EU Tuesday (15 December) to end the "blackmail" of his country through the imposition by Bulgaria of fresh obstacles to its membership of the bloc.
New Montenegro PM vows to fight graft in quest for EU
Montenegro's new prime minister predicted Tuesday (15 December) that his country would be the next to join the European Union and vowed to fight the political corruption that has tarnished its reputation.
European project in Serbia is now at mercy of Aleksandar Vucic
After eight years of democratic erosion, the regime of Alexander Vučić has fully restored authoritarianism. in Serbia. Today, he commands more unchecked political power than Slobodan Milošević did at the height of his rule in 1990, writes Igor Bandović.
Borrell dreams of ‘making multilateralism great again’
In a strategic article published on Monday, the EU chief diplomat, Josep Borrell, depicts the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on world affairs, warning of growing divergences between world players, backsliding in terms of global poverty and strengthening of the authoritarian regimes.
Russia’s Trojan Stream under the Black Sea
The EU’s tacit acceptance of the TurkStream is a serious and dangerous misjudgement of the perils this diversionary pipeline presents, writes Olga Bielkova.
Bullmann: EU needs open channel with Turkey, no ‘wrong compromises’ with Erdogan
German Chancellor Angela Merkel aims to keep a channel of communication open with Turkey as opposition forces in the country are advocating a different approach toward the EU, social democrat MEP Udo Bullmann told EURACTIV.