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Ratifizierung und Referendum: aktueller Stand Eine Verfassung für Europa: Themenblätter Die Themenblätter erklären thematisch geordnet die wesentlichen Veränderungen in der Verfassung. Ihre Darstellung ist präzise und detailliert, ein Index ist beigefügt Zusammenfassung des Verfassungsvertrags Wichtige Reden Diskussionsveranstaltungen der Zivilgesellschaft Informationen aus den Mitgliedsländern

C.E.E.O.L. is an online archive which provides access to full text PDF articles from 371 humanities and social science journals and re-digitized documents pertaining to Central, Eastern and South-Eastern European topics.

The European Union plays a significant role in both your private and your professional life. Its 32 activities are described on these pages, offering you a summary of the basic facts about the activity concerned, as well as a description of important developments and future challenges. If you wish to further explore a particular activity, click on its name on the left-hand menu. All the information is updated every 3 months.

Balkan-Monitor.eu provides news and views about the Western Balkans. It’s the home of the Gallup Balkan Monitor survey that continually monitors the views of the Balkans residents: from their living standards, happiness and attitudes towards the EU, to their employment opportunities, feelings about living abroad and the performance of their governments. With its partner, the European Fund for the Balkans, Gallup has developed a one-stop-shop for anyone requiring strategic insights into the Balkans.

Pristina is still opposed to the compromise deal between Serbia, the European Union and the United Nations on the deployment of EULEX, the EU's police and justice mission in Kosovo, and its stance will not change, Kosovo's prime minister, Hashim Thaci, said on Sunday (16 November). "Kosovo will not change its position. It is the points of this plan that need to change. We have a state position and we will defend that position until the end," Mr Thaci was reported as saying by Serbian news portal B92.net.

Under pressure from Belgrade, the UN presented a revised six-point plan to Kosovo leaders last week, under which EULEX would be neutral regarding Kosovo's status and would enter the Serb-dominated parts of Kosovo. Pristina considers that the revised proposal clashes with its interests, however.

One year after Kosovo declared independence from Serbia, MEPs on Thursday (5 February) called on all EU countries to recognise Europe's newest state. The European Parliament "encourages those EU Member States which have not already done so to recognise the independence of Kosovo," reads the resolution adopted by MEPs in Strasbourg today.

The document was approved by a large majority - 424 MEPs voted in favour, 133 - against, while 24 abstained. Kosovo declared unilateral independence from Serbia on 17 February last year and it has so far been recognised by 54 states worldwide, including the US and most EU countries. To date, five EU member states – Romania, Slovakia, Greece, Cyprus and Spain – have not recognised its independence. In the resolution, the parliamentarians also welcomed the "successful deployment" of the European police and justice mission EULEX to Kosovo. After having faced numerous delays, EULEX entered its operational phase two months ago – on 9 December – taking over police, justice and customs tasks from United Nations personnel in Kosovo.

Meanwhile, officials and legal professionals in Kosovo have said say they find the EULEX-operated courts better than UNMIK's judicial authorities, according to news portal Balkan Insight. "There are great differences from the previous judiciary," Osman Kryeziu, chief prosecutor in Pristina's District Court, was quoted as saying. "There's less bureaucracy, more cooperation and commitment to work. EULEX judges have a completely different working culture," he added. For his part, Azem Vllasi, a lawyer in Pristina who worked in both the UNMIK and EULEX judicial systems, as well as in the local one, told Balkan Insight that EULEX was already proving to have the most professional one. "My experience shows there are essential differences. There is more professionalism and greater obedience to the law and regulations [with EULEX]," Mr Vllasi said.