European Union

With just three years of European Union membership under its belt, Slovenia will take on the EU presidency today (1 January) landing itself a highly politicised agenda. Of all the issues that the small ex-Yugoslav state will have to deal with over the next six months, two are set to dominate the agenda - the Kosovo question and the EU renewable energy package.

The European Union has given the political green-light to a 1,800-strong police and civilian mission to be deployed in Serbia's breakaway region of Kosovo, although differences remain over the possible recognition of Kosovo's independence.

However, it remains unclear when precisely the EU's mission, consisting of 1,800 policemen, prosecutors and judges, can be deployed on the ground. While Luxembourg's Jean Asselborn said the mission would be deployed "just after Christmas [2007]", Bulgarian foreign minister Ivailo Kalfin indicated a less ambitious time-frame - "before the end of the summer [2008]". According to Slovakia's foreign minister Jan Kubis, the specifics of the mission should be concluded in January next year, after a round of consultations with the UN body.

Divisions on Serbia The summit also highlighted the persistent divisions among member states concerning whether to link the further integration of Serbia with the arrest of remaining war crimes suspects, notably general Ratko Mladic.

Die EU-Staats- und Regierungschefs haben offiziell einen neuen Vertrag unterzeichnet: Er soll die Entscheidungsprozesse in der EU vereinfachen und ihre Kompetenzen auf neue Bereiche, wie Energie und Zusammenarbeit der Justizbehörden, ausweiten. Die verspätete Ankunft des britischen Premierministers Gordon Brown warf jedoch einen Schatten auf die Unterzeichnungszeremonie. Zum gleichen Thema: LinksDossier:   Der ‚Vertrag von Lissabon’ [DE] News:   EU nach Vertrag: auf ‚Anpassung an Globalisierung’ konzentrieren [DE] Analysis:   Die Umsetzung des Vertrags von Lissabon

12 December 2007 The resolution of a major political crisis appear to have given Bosnia and Herzegovina’s politics a positive new direction. By Srecko Latal in Sarajevo The leaders of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s ruling coalition on Tuesday took another major step away from the recent political crisis and back onto the EU accession path.At a meeting in Laktasi, near Banja Luka, leaders of the six ruling parties agreed on the appointment of a prime minister; they also agreed to establish a task force that will draft legislation on police reform in the next two months, and, in addition to these practical measures, they agreed that a number of important issues – which have been sidelined by the recent crisis – will now be resolved as quickly as possible.

Broschiert: 297 Seiten Verlag: Nomos; Auflage: 1 (24. Oktober 2007) Sprache: Deutsch ISBN-10: 3832929754 ISBN-13: 978-3832929756

Taschenbuch: 171 Seiten Verlag: Nomos; Auflage: 2 (2007) Sprache: Englisch ISBN-10: 3832925139 ISBN-13: 978-3832925130

The 1244 resolution - adopted in 1999 - authorised international civil and military presence in Kosovo, then part of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, placing it under interim UN administration. Europe is trying to use the same resolution to authorise a partial shift of power from UN to EU authorities enabling them to provide an initial supervision of the soon-to be declared independent Kosovo. Such an approach would be referred to as a "coordinated" statement of independence, as opposed to a unilateral step and would enable the EU - including other sceptical states such as Romania, Slovakia, Greece and Spain - to recognize the move.

Bosnia and Herzegovina has taken a 'new step towards its European future' with the initialling of a Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA), which is set to provide closer ties with the EU and trade benefits for the Western Balkan state.

The agreement was reached after a political deal on police reform was struck. Police forces in the Western Balkan country are ethnically divided into Bosnia's two regions, the Muslim-Croat Federation and the Serb Republika Srpska. The implementation of the police reform is also a condition for the full signing of the SAA expected in mid-2008.

06 December 2007 As the Serbian authorities prepare measures against Kosovo and the countries that will recognize its expected unilateral declaration of independence, diplomats warn such moves are likely to backfire. By Julijana Mojsilovic in Belgrade Ahead of the December 10 deadline for Kosovo’s status, there is mounting speculation about how the Serbian government is likely to respond to Kosovo’s anticipated declaration of independence.Facing the prospect of losing some 15 per cent of its territory, Serbia seems ready for a list of measures, such as sealing the border with Kosovo and severing or downgrading diplomatic ties with the countries that recognize the self-proclaimed independent state.

The presidents of Bosnia’s six major parties making up the parliamentary majority signed on Sunday a police reform declaration, which is expected to remove obstacles to the initialing and signing of a pre-membership agreement with the EU.The European Unione xecutive welcomes Bosnian agreement on police reform.

This week Switzerland holds its national elections, while in Lisbon the EU leaders agreed on a new treaty. The two events have no direct connection, because Switzerland is not an EU member. However, a Swiss would have little difficulty understanding the EU's institutional quarrels. Switzerland has been successfully dealing with the challenge of keeping a multi-confessional, multi-lingual society together for more than 150 years, while respecting a large degree of autonomy for its 26 cantons.

Hohe Wahlbeteiligung bei polnischen Wahlen: Kaczynski geschlagen [DE][en][fr]  Erschienen: Montag 22. Oktober 2007 Die EU könnte durchatmen: die Wahltagsbefragung der polnischen Parlamentswahlen vom 21. Oktober 2007 hat das Ende der zweijährigen Regierungszeit des Premierministers Jarosław Kaczyński angedeutet. Diese war fortwährend von Auseinandersetzungen mit anderen EU-Mitgliedstaaten gekennzeichnet.

The European Union has overnight agreed the precise text of its new 'Lisbon Treaty' to be formally signed off on 13 December in the Portuguese capital. At around 02:00 local time on Friday morning - following shorter-than-usual discussions - Portuguese prime minister Jose Socrates announced that a deal has been struck, describing it as "victory for Europe".

EU leaders are gathering in Lisbon on Thursday (18 October) in an effort to put a full stop behind the 2005 political debacle, which saw French and Dutch voters rejecting the draft European Constitution. If all goes as planned, the 27-nation bloc will by the end of tomorrow have politically agreed a new 'Reform Treaty', but much will depend on how far Italy and Poland are prepared to go to defend their particular demands.

Croatia and the EU: the 28th member state?  Published: Monday 15 October 2007 European Policy Centre Despite the considerable progress made by Croatia since the beginning of accession negotiations, much remains to be done, said panellists at a joint EPC-King Baudouin Foundation conference. Related: LinksDossier:   EU-Croatia relations News:   Croatia wants to join by 2009 despite ‘enlargement pause’ News:   Croatia urged to reform as EU door remains shut The panellists agreed that accession negotiations have become more complex as the "acquis communautaire" has grown and the number of member states has risen. As a result, the new candidate countries, like Croatia, have to face more complicated requirements. 

Montenegro takes first step towards EU membership[fr][de]  Published: Tuesday 16 October 2007 The EU and Montenegro have signed a Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA), boosting the former Yugoslav state's hopes of becoming a full EU member. Related: LinksDossier:   EU-Western Balkans relations News:   Bulgaria rows with Montenegro over euro notes spelling Brief News: The signing of the SAA and the so-called Interim Agreement took place on Monday (15 October) at a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg.

Serbia's cooperation with the UN war crimes tribunal is still not sufficient, its chief prosecutor Carla Del Ponte told EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg on Monday (15 October). She said some progress could be noted, but in order to prove its full cooperation with the International Crime Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague, Belgrade has still to arrest and hand over former Bosnian Serb military chief Ratko Mladic.

Montenegro is hoping to lodge an official application for EU membership in the first half of 2008, the country's prime minister Zeljko Sturanovic said on Monday (15 October). Mr Sturanovic made the announcement during a press conference after having signed a Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) with the EU earlier in the day in Luxembourg.