European Union

The Portuguese Parliament has overwhelmingly voted in favour of ratifying the EU's new Reform Treaty – named after the country's capital, where it was signed by European leaders last December.

The three leftist groups voted against ratifying the text, arguing that it goes against Portugal's sovereign interests and should therefore be subject to a popular referendum. But they were largely outnumbered and, in the end, Parliament approved the text by 208 votes to 21. 

According to EU diplomats, the Netherlands is under pressure from other EU countries to drop its opposition to the signing of a pre-accession Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) with Serbia, in a bid to boost the pro-European camp ahead of the parliamentary elections on 11 May.

The Netherlands objects to signing the SAA with Serbia if Belgrade does not "fully cooperate" with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY). The conditions include the handover of General Ratko Mladic and former political leader Radovan Karadzic to the Hague tribunal of war criminals. Serbia denies both men are on its territory. 

The Dutch position can be partly explained by the fact the country is hosting the ICTY. But it is also due to bad memories from the recent past. The Srebrenica massacre in Bosnia in 1995, when an estimated 8,000 Bosniak men and boys were killed by the army of Republika Srpska and other paramilitary units, took place despite the presence of 400 armed Dutch peacekeepers in the area.

The upper house of Bosnia and Herzegovina's (BiH) state-level parliament adopted two police reform laws Wednesday (April 16th), opening the door for the country's Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) with the EU.

They finally accepted a compromise proposal offered by High Representative Miroslav Lajcak and envisioning the creation of seven state-level co-ordination bodies that will assume authority over the country's ethnically divided police forces within a year after the adoption of constitutional reform. Favouring more centralisation of police, the ruling Bosniak Party of Democratic Action and the Serb Democratic Party are criticising the legislation, claiming it offers only "cosmetic" changes that will not improve security in BiH.

EU officials on Wednesday hailed Bosnia's adoption of long-disputed police reforms, saying it opened the way for the Baltic state to sign the first accord on the way to European Union membership. "I welcome the final adoption of the police reform laws, which paves the way towards signing the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA)," EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn said in a statement. The SAA trade and aid pact "will not only bring practical benefits in trade and thus for the economy of Bosnia and Herzegovina, but it is also the gateway towards candidate country status for EU accession," Rehn added.

Earlier Wednesday lawmakers in Bosnia's upper house definitively adopted the police reforms, removing the last hurdle for the country to sign the key pact on closer EU ties. Two police reform bills passed by 10 to four votes, ending years of dispute among Bosnia's Croat, Muslim and Serb leaders about the extent to which they should integrate the country's separate ethnic police forces. The lower house of the Bosnian parliament approved the reforms last week.

"Croatia is a prime example of how the EU can use its leverage within the accession process to push for an end to impunity for war crimes," the organisation's Secretary General Irene Khan stated. Ms Khan was in Brussels on Tuesday to meet top EU officials – including EU enlargement commissioner Olli Rehn, High Representative Javier Solana, and European Parliament president Hans-Gert Poettering, in order to raise awareness of the problem and call for more action from the bloc.

"So we think it's absolutely crucial that the EU and Croatia get it right this time because that's also going to send a very strong signal to the other countries in the region that are seeking to have greater integration with the EU."

The EU presidency on Friday said it hoped to begin Bosnia's formal path towards European Union membership as soon as possible, after the country's lawmakers adopted a key police reform package."Police reform is the crucial step for Bosnia-Herzegovina which should allow the country to further progress on the path towards EU integration," the EU's Slovenian presidency said in a statement.

Bosnian lower-house lawmakers adopted the police reforms by 22 votes to 19 late Thursday.The decision stills need confirmation in the upper house but that is considered a formality.

In the end the EU and the Bosnian parliament accepted a reform which envisages setting up seven new state-level police coordination bodies, without immediately affecting the autonomy of police forces of the country's two highly autonomous post-war regions.The adopted bills stipulate the new bodies will assume authority over separate police forces after a year, in a way defined by constitutional reform.Bosnian initialled the SAA in December, and EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn said last month that Brussels expected to fully sign the agreement with Bosnia in April, pending the implementation of the police reforms.

The European Union is racing against time -- and some of its own member states -- to create incentives for Serbian voters to choose a Western future when they go to the polls for parliamentary elections on May 11. The EU, whose image was tarnished in the eyes of many Serbs when most members backed Kosovo's independence, is dangling the prospect of future membership to Serbia. But Brussels is struggling to give the offer a definitive shape. The main problems boil down to two names and one abbreviation -- Kosovo, Mladic, and an SAA.

Wish List The speaker of the Serbian parliament, Oliver Dulic, who was in Brussels last week, handed the European Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee a detailed wish list. The pro-European politicians whom Dulic represents want the EU to sign an SAA with Serbia by the end of this month, give it candidate status by the end of the year, ease visa restrictions by early 2009, and launch accession talks with Serbia in the second half of 2009. Dulic says such tangible offers could sway Serbian voters on May 11. He said the EU must err on the side of generosity, if anything, to compensate for a feeling in Serbia that the country is always fated to get the sharp end of the stick.

Slovakia has become the ninth country to ratify the new EU Treaty as deputies approved the text by a margin of 103 votes to five - after settling a dispute over a controversial media bill that had dragged on for months.

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico expressed his relief following the vote, saying "with this document, the EU will be closer to Slovak citizens"

Meanwhile, Polish President Lech Kaczynski added his signature to the Treaty, clearing the final hurdle in the country's ratification process. It had already been approved by both chambers of the Polish Parliament last week (EurActiv 02/04/08).  The Polish president and his brother, former prime minister and current opposition leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski, had long delayed ratification, demanding legal guarantees that the new Treaty would not threaten Polish interests.  Ahead of Poland and Slovakia,  seven countries have ratified the Treaty, namely Bulgaria, France, Hungary, Malta, Romania, Slovenia and Austria, which was the most recent signatory (EurActiv 10/04/08). The text has to be approved by all 27 member states to enter into force. 

The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC), an initiative launched in February to promote regional cooperation in the Western Balkans, is hanging in the balance as the region hovers between resolving the conflicts it has inherited or a prolonged period of stagnation, according to RCC Secretary General Hido Biscevic. Other related news: MEP Van Orden: 'Not happy' about Kosovo outcome Poll: Serbs pro-EU, but not ready to give up Kosovo Croatia says it will do 'whatever it takes' to join EU in 2010 Montenegro's pro-European president re-elected EU to 'wait and see' on Serbia, Turkey accession Speaking at a conference organised by the Friedrich Ebert foundation, Biscevic stressed: "It's make or break time."  The new structure, which is a regionally-owned successor to the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe, is taking shape at a difficult moment, he emphasised, pointing to indications that the Balkans are again becoming a playground for "strategic players". 

he Stability Pact, which was launched in 1999 at the EU's initiative, aimed to stabilise the region and enhance conflict prevention by bringing the participants' political strategies in line with one another and coordinating new initiatives in the region. When the Commission decided that the Stability Pact had achieved its objectives and could be phased out, the countries of the region decided to establish a successor to the Pact to continue promoting regional cooperation – the Regional Cooperation Council, based in Sarajevo.  The Stability Pact, which will finish its work in June 2008, handed over its mandate to the RCC on 27 February 2008 and the new structure is now becoming operational. But fresh difficulties in the region following Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence from Serbia mean that there is still a major role to play for the international community. 

Speaking at a press conference with Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn on Tuesday (7 April), Jandrović said 2008 was a "crucial year in terms of the efforts needed to meet the criteria for membership". He hoped to complete two more benchmark chapters by the end of April and the rest by the end of the Slovenian EU Presidency.  Revealing that negotiations with Croatia have been "advancing well", Rehn expressed his confidence that the country would join the EU in 2010 provided that it met all the benchmarks by June 2008. 

A large majority of Serbs still want their country to join the EU (63.9%), although the figure has dropped compared to last October, when 71.5% voiced their support for EU accession, reveals the poll, which was released yesterday (9 April).  However, 71.3% of Serbian citizens consider it unacceptable that the possibility of EU membership is made conditional on Serbia's recognition of its former province's secession. 

Serbia's Kosovo Minister Slobodan Samardzic added that it would be interesting to see whether the EU would continue the stabilisation and association process now that Kosovo is an independent state.  "Should the EU happen to do that, and does it only with independent states, that would automatically mean that the EU was breaching Article 135 of our agreement on stabilisation and association with the EU, where Kosovo's position is clearly defined," the minister explained. 

Governments Kosovar Constitutional Commission: Kosovo's Constitution Press articles B92.net: Poll: Serbians want EU, but not without Kosovo B92.net: Tadić speaks against interference in elections BBC: Kosovo adopts a new constitution

The European Parliament is preparing a report that argues in favour of significantly slowing down the process of further enlargement of the EU, warning that hurried expansion will lead to a fragmented Union. Prepared for the foreign affairs committee by German centre-right MEP Elmar Brok, the draft report says: "Further enlargement without adequate consolidation could lead to a Union of multiple configurations, with core countries moving towards closer integration and others lying at its margins."

Enlargement strategy should "be flanked by a more diversified range of external contractual frameworks." Countries could then graduate to more integrated agreements if they fulfilled certain conditions.

Despite the proposal for a stronger political relationship with the EU, the report's emphasis on its own ability to absorb new member states represents a blow to countries such as Ukraine and Georgia which have been strongly lobbying Brussels for hints that they can eventually join the club.

Incumbent Filip Vujanovic claimed victory after Sunday's (6 April) first presidential elections in Montenegro since the Balkan country declared its independence from Serbia in May 2006, in a vote seen as supportive of Vujanovic's desire for further EU integration. More on this topic: LinksDossier:   EU-Western Balkans relations News:   EU to 'wait and see' on Serbia, Turkey accession News:   NATO setback upsets Macedonia's EU hopes Other related news: Serbia says it remains committed to European perspective EU wants Serbia to stay on European path Serbian government faces collapse over Kosovo EU reaffirms Western Balkan membership perspective Bosnia-Herzegovina makes progress on EU membership Vujanovic won 51.4% of the vote, according to AP, ahead of his pro-Serb challenger Andrija Mandic, who gained 20.4%. Liberal candidate Nebojsa Medojevic received 15.7%. 

Last autumn, Montenegro signed a Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) with the EU, which is seen as a stepping stone on the way to EU membership (EurActiv 16/10/07). The country is expected to present its bid for full membership soon. 

Press articles AP: Incumbent Claims Victory in Montenegro Balkan Insight: Vujanovic Set For Montenegro Poll Victory DTT-Net: Montenegro, the vicius circle of politics, mafia and crime

Stable Mates by Amela Bulja and Armela Subasic 1 April 2008The Bosnian integration chief sits down with TOL to discuss progress and obstacles on the path to the European Union. SARAJEVO | Bosnians are waiting eagerly to see whether their country will ink an agreement with the European Union in the coming weeks to take a step closer to joining the European family. In an interview with Transitions Online, Osman Topcagic, who heads the Bosnian Directorate for European Integration, said he is optimistic that despite some possible hiccups, a Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) will be signed.

The EU wants the Western Balkans to become as "normal, prosperous and boring" as Scandinavia, with the help of Stabilisation and Association Agreements that EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn hopes to sign soon with all countries in the region, he told the Foreign Affairs Committee Wednesday. MEPs and experts also debated "enlargement fatigue", the EU's "absorption capacity", Serbia and Turkey.

Elmar Brok (EPP-ED, DE), who is drafting an EP report on the Commission's 2007 enlargement strategy paper, said that this was "not an attempt to block any further accessions". The EU "needs to see its own limits" if it wants to remain an effective institution, he said, arguing that granting some special status short of enlargement to neighbouring countries would strengthen their European perspective, rather than blocking the possibility of their joining the Union later on.

The EU wants to "deepen" its ties with four of its neighbours - Ukraine, Moldova, Morocco and Israel - external relations commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner said in Brussels on Thursday (3 April).

The ENP covers Algeria, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Egypt, Georgia, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Moldova, Morocco, Syria, Tunisia, Ukraine, as well as the Palestinian Authority. It was designed with the aim of offering EU neighbours closer – or privileged – cooperation with the bloc, but it does not foresee eventual EU membership, a fact repeated regularly by Brussels. But referring to Ukraine, Ms Ferrero-Waldner noted: "For the future, nothing is ruled out and nothing is ruled in, the [EU] door is neither open nor closed."

EU divisions were apparent on the eve of the NATO summit in Bucharest on 2-4 April with several heavyweights, including France, opposed to the planned Eastern expansion of the military alliance. EurActiv Romania contributed to this report from Bucharest.

Several EU heavyweights (Germany, France, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands and Belgium) are opposed to such a project.  In the meantime, several representatives of the new EU members expressed their support for opening the NATO door to Kiev and Tbilisi.

French Prime Minister Francois Fillon said that President Nicolas Sarkozy would oppose the idea at the Summit in Bucharest. "France is not green-lighting Ukraine and Georgia's accession. Paris has a different opinion to that of the US on the matter", Fillon told France Inter Radio, quoted by Rompres. Romanian President Traian Basescu, who is hosting the largest-ever summit of NATO's 26 member states, stated that including Ukraine and Georgia in the MAP is "a logical step from the Romanian point of view". 

Referenda linked to future EU enlargements will no longer be compulsory in France under a draft law amending the Constitution to be adopted in July. The move primarily aims to allow Croatia to join the bloc next year but also clears the way for Turkey's accession bid, EurActiv France reports.

The "referendum lock" contained in article 88-5 of the French Constitution will be entirely lifted when both houses of Parliament adopt the law at a Congress meeting on 7 July, in what will seem a symbolic gesture from France just days after it assumes the rotating EU Presidency on 1 July.

03.04.2008 - Die Europäische Union hat im Rahmen der Europäischen Nachbarschaftspolitik (ENP) ihre Beziehungen zu den Nachbarländern deutlich ausgebaut. Dabei konnten Reformen in den Bereichen Demokratisierung und Wirtschaft erfolgreich unterstützt werden. In ihrer heutigen Mitteilung benennt die EU-Kommission konkret erzielte Fortschritte in den Bereichen politischen Zusammenarbeit, Handel, Migration und Visaerleichterungen, Energie, Verkehr, Forschung und Innovation bis hin zur Mobilität von Studenten und Jugendlichen.

Weitere Informationen finden Sie hier. Zu den einzelnen Länderberichten gelangen Sie hier. Mehr zur Europäischen Nachbarschaftspolitik finden Sie auf den Seiten der Kommission.

The constitution is expected to come into effect on 15 June - around the time when the European Union's mission, known as EULEX, is supposed to take over authority from the United Nations.

The aim of EULEX, consisting of over 2,000 personnel, is to help the Kosovo authorities in all areas related to the rule of law, in particular in the police, judiciary, customs and correctional services. However, it is still uncertain when exactly the transfer of power will take place, as the move lacks UN approval. Its top body, the Security Council, is divided over the issue, with Russia - Serbia's key ally - being the main opposition force.