European Union

Am 26. Oktober hat der Deutsche Bundestag mit einer überwältigenden Mehrheit, 529 von 551 Stimmen, dem Beitritt Rumäniens und Bulgariens zur EU zugestimmt. Der Bundestag forderte zudem die Bundesregierung auf, Druck auf die Kommission auszuüben, schon

We are asking for a date [for starting accession talks], because being a candidate country without a date is like arranging a wedding without music and so we can not start with the wedding," foreign minister Antonio Milososki explained.

It seems like the referendum on the new Serbian constitution succeeded. The two-day period of voting, all the calls for a 'yes' vote, the exclusion of Kosovo Albanians from voting lists, the showing of 'patriotic' movies in Serbian media worked, not-so-su

Ukraine president Viktor Yushchenko continued to hammer on enlargement as the EU-Ukraine meeting in Helsinki drew to a close on Friday (27 October) afternoon, but got zero political commitment in return.

Two months before the start of the German EU presidency, the grand coalition government that will chair EU Council meetings during the first half of 2007 has not yet found agreement on priorities for the term. EurActiv compares the two parties' positions

Talking to EurActiv, Alexander Stubb MEP, gives his opinion on "enlargement capacity". Stubb is rapporteur to the European Parliament's Committee on Constitutional affairs, which is to draft a report on the "institutional aspects of the EU's capacity to i

Broad analysis of the situation in Bulgaria during the presidential elections and before it's accession to the EU on Januar 1st 2007.

Die Europäischen Sozialdemokraten wollen zur Wiederbelebung des europäischen Verfassungsvertrages beitragen. Die Sozialdemokraten unterstützen auch die Idee, dass die deutsche Ratspräsidentschaft dafür eine "Roadmap" entwerfen soll.

Background, issues, positions and some very useful links concerning the discussion about the so called absorption capacity of the EU.

"The reform process came to a standstill before the elections.The reform process howevermust be restarted not next month, not in January, but now," the UN and the EU's Bosnia envoy Christian Schwarz-Schilling said.

EU foreign ministers have formally endorsed the accession of Romania and Bulgaria to the bloc in 2007 - but the slow entry preparations of the two countries has prompted the EU to draw lessons for future enlargements of the bloc. [...]

Contents: Introduction -- 1989 and beyond : the new Europe takes shape -- Beyond Copenhagen : the deepening of EU-CEE relations -- Closing the deal : Helsinki to Copenhagen -- The Council of Ministers and eastern enlargement -- The European Commission an

Analyse der Auswirkungen der Erweiterung auf die verschiedensten Felder.

Contents: The institutional framework -- Visas and border controls -- Legal migration -- Irregular immigration -- Asylum law -- Civil cooperation -- Substantive criminal law -- Criminal procedure -- Policing and customs.

Setting the EU in a proper economic and theoretical context, the authors provide a chapter-by-chapter analysis of each of the EU's major policy areas. Arguing that traditional accounts of EU integration are inadequate, the authors develop an innovative ne

The European Commission is starting to take a position in the expected re-negotiations of the EU constitution, with communication commissioner Margot Wallstrom saying the "core" of the current text should be the "departure point." [...]

Die Auslieferung des mutmaßlichen Kriegsverbrechers Ratko Mladic an den Internationalen Strafgerichtshof in Den Haag sei "ausschlaggebend" für die Fortsetzung der vorläufig auf Eis gelegten Verhandlungen mit Serbien, so die finnische Ratspräsidentscha

EU Constitution provides the most comprehensive account of why the Constitution developed and what its implications are. It clearly explains: the political crisis behind the Constitution; the power politics at work in the negotiations; how the Constitut

Die EU hat den Druck auf die Türkei und Zypern erhöht, Bewegung in die Verhandlungen über ihre Beziehungen zu bringen und eine Lösung zu finden. Dies ist entscheidend dafür, zu welchem Schluss die Kommission bezüglich der EU-Beitrittsverhandlungen m