Margot Wallström presented her ‘best arguments’ for rescuing the Constitution in front of the Parliament on 22 November 2006 and called for a ‘second chance’ despite member state’s disenchantment.

Almost a decade after the Dayton Agreement, and almost five years after the fall of the Milosevic regime in Belgrade, the Western Balkans are a relatively stable region with no military conflicts, no ongoing ethnic cleansing, where elections are free, if not always fair. In Thessaloniki in June 2003, the European Union committed itself to integrating the countries from the region. But what does this commitment really mean?

The Copenhagen criteria are the rules that define whether a nation is eligible to join the European Union. The criteria require that a state have the institutions to preserve democratic governance and human rights, a functioning market economy, and that the state accept the obligations and intent of the EU. These membership criteria were laid down at the June 1993 European Council in Copenhagen, Denmark, from which they take their name.

Auf dieser Seite Beitrittspartnerschaften/europäische Partnerschaften PHARE SAPARD und ISPA CARDS Finanzhilfen nach Staaten: 2007 ein einziges Instrument: IPA (Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance)

On July 14, the European Union's Council of Ministers adopted a new framework for providing aid to candidate countries and would-be candidates. Called the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (I.P.A.), it aims to consolidate several aid programs, thereby increasing efficiency, and better targeting the funds. It sounds like a sensible idea, but it could be a mixed bag for the official candidate countries — Croatia, Macedonia, and Turkey — as well as candidate-hopefuls Albania, Bosnia, Montenegro, and Serbia.

Talks between the EU and Turkey on how to solve the Cyprus impasse broke down without agreement on Monday with the Finnish EU presidency saying it does not believe it can broker a solution on the issue during its presidency of the EU. >

Finland has during its EU presidency quietly attempted to create a basis for breaking the EU's constitutional deadlock, with its prime minister Matti Vanhahen due to present a "summary" of Helsinki's findings at the EU leaders' summit on 14-15 December. The spokeswoman of Finnish prime minister Matti Vanhanen told EUobserver that Helsinki had been holding "confessionals at the ministerial level" with all EU capitals on the fate of the EU constitution, which was rejected by French and Dutch voters last year.

Following the announcement by the Finnish Presidency that diplomatic efforts to ensure that Turkey meets its obligations under the Ankara Protocol have not bear fruit, the Commission today decided to put forward its recommendation on the continuation of Turkey’s accession negotiations.

The European Commission has recommended sanctioning Turkey for its stance on the Cyprus issue by suspending parts of Ankara's EU accession talks, in a move sparking immediate political debate among EU member states.

Member states and MEPs clinched an informal deal on the EU's REACH chemicals safety bill on Thursday night (30 November) in a text that tries to steer a middle way between industry and environmental concerns but is likely to draw fire from pro-green pressure groups.

Cyprus has threatened to block an EU agreement on the fate of Turkey's membership talks if the union does not impose a new deadline on Ankara to normalise relations with Nicosia.

EU member states and MEPs have reached a compromise deal on the next year's EU budget, with national governments agreeing to consult the European Parliament on budgetary implications of foreign policy activities and on the appointment of special envoys abroad.

Das siebte Rahmenprogramm für Forschung ist in zweiter Lesung im Parlament angenommen worden. Somit steht einem pünktlichen Inkrafttreten des bisher umfassendsten Forschungs- und Technologieprogramms der EU am 1. Januar 2007 nichts mehr im Weg.

The EU's enlargement commissioner on Thursday allayed fears in Croatia that the bloc's internal reforms will impede the country's bid for membership by 2010. In his third visit of the year, Olli Rehn also stressed urgency in reform efforts, particularly in the judiciary and public administration, as well as the fight against corruption.

PODGORICA -- Montenegro and a EU team have finished pre-membership negotiations, EU and Montenegrin officials said Friday. With "technical negotiations finished," the so-called Stabilization and Association Agreement could be signed within weeks, said Montenegro's minister for European integration, Gordana Đurović. The agreement, also known as SAA, is designed to prepare EU hopefuls for possible membership. The EU has encouraged newly independent Montenegro to work toward joining the bloc.

Die für Außenbeziehungen und > Europäische Nachbarschaftspolitik zuständige EU-Kommissarin Benita > Ferrero-Waldner hat heute neue Vorschläge zur Stärkung und > Weiterentwicklung der Europäischen > Nachbarschaftspolitik > [1] > vorgelegt. Die ersten achtzehn Monate praktischer Umsetzung der > Europäischen Nachbarschaftspolitik (ENP) waren bereits erfolgreich. In > ihrer jüngsten Mitteilung zur Europäischen Nachbarschaftspolitik legt > die Kommission jetzt dar, wie die ENP noch wirksamer gestaltet werden kann, > indem die EU reformwilligen Partnern hilft, ihre Reformen schneller und > effizienter voranzubringen, und sie bei eher reformträgen Partnern mehr > Überzeugungsarbeit leistet und ihnen mehr Anreize bietet. Der Mitteilung > mit den neuen Vorschlägen sind im Anhang Berichte über die > Fortschritte in den Partnerländern, die 2005 mit der Umsetzung ihrer > ENP-Aktionspläne begonnen > haben > [2] > , > beigefügt. Die Mitteilung über die Europäische > Nachbarschaftspolitik wird auch während der Ratspräsidentschaft, die > Deutschland im ersten Halbjahr 2007 übernehmen wird, wieder aufgegriffen > werden. >

In 2004, the European Union adopted the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP)[1] to support its partners’ political, economic and social reform processes and to deepen bilateral relations with them. Today, Commission reports on the progress achieved by the first partners to have agreed ENP Action Plans with the EU: Ukraine, Moldova, Israel, Jordan, the Palestinian Authority, Tunisia and Morocco – during the first eighteen months of their implementation.

Academics and parliamentarians discussed the Union’s further enlargement recently, with the panel urging that the public be better informed.