Thu 2 Sep 2010
This Sunday (5 September) Moldovan citizens will go to the polls to decide whether they are in favour of the election of their president by popular vote. Currently, the head of the former Soviet republic is elected by the parliament, a procedure which usually involves a long series of backstage negotiations between the parties represented in the legislature.
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Thu 2 Sep 2010
Turkey's main opposition party, the Republican People's Party (CHP) has detailed its hostility to the constitutional amendments proposed by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), which will be voted upon in a referendum on 12 September. CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu renewed his call on all "democrats" in Turkey to vote against the amendments in an eight-page letter circulated to the Brussels press on 1 September.
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Wed 1 Sep 2010
On 31 August during an opposition demonstration in Moscow a Dutch MEP of the Social Democratic fraction (S&D group), Thijs Berman, was assaulted by Russian police officers. This was stated by his Finish colleague from the Green party, who chairs the EU’s parliament's human rights subcommittee and who was also present at the event, Heidi Hautala. Berman together with the delegation of three other MEPs attended the protest rally organised by the Russian opposition. Hautala said that Berman was pushed hard-handily by the police. "This is an amazing way of dealing with democracy, shocking," Berman told international reporters. "A government that considers itself strong should be able to allow a few protesters." Hautala said: "It is disappointing to see that a country that wants to profile itself as such a strong actor in the world cannot even tolerate a few dissenting voices."
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Tue 31 Aug 2010
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Cracks in Serbia's long-uncompromising position on Kosovo appeared on the weekend as Serbia’s President Boris Tadic said Serbia is open to discussing a compromise over its UN General Assembly (UN GA) resolution.
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Wed 25 Aug 2010
Ukraine's pro-Russian president Viktor Yanukovych yesterday (24 August) gave assurances of his commitment to EU integration, while claiming that his rapprochement with Russia is not hindering, but contributing to the process. "European integration remains a priority for our foreign policy," Mr Yanukovych said in an address marking the 19th anniversary of Ukraine’s independence from the Soviet Union. At the same time, Yanukovych added that: "normalising our relations with Russia does not only not hinder our EU integration but on the contrary contributes to it."
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Mon 23 Aug 2010
Moscow police have released an opposition leader on 23 August and two other prominent activists who were detained at a march in the Russian capital on 22 August. Nemtsov is now being charged in two separate courts. In the first one he is charged with refusing to obey the police during the rally on 22 August. On 24 August he was accused of the same charge over another unsanctioned protest in July, when he was briefly arrested. Nemtsov denies both charges. He faces possible fines and prison sentences of up to 15 days in each case.
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Fri 20 Aug 2010
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and his Armenian counterpart, Serzh Sarkisian, have signed a deal today (20 August) extending Moscow's lease of a military base in the South Caucasus country until 2044. The new deal commits Russia to update Armenia's military hardware and ensure both countries' security, together with Armenian armed forces. At a news conference after the signing in Yerevan, Sarkisian praised the deal, which he said would expand the sphere of Russia's "geographic and strategic" responsibilities. "The Russian side has made a commitment to ensure the military security of Armenia and to cooperate in equipping our armed forces with advanced weaponry," Sarkisian said.
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Tue 17 Aug 2010
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Last week Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said he will resign if his party fails to win the general elections that are planned for next year. "If my party comes out as the second party in the 2011 elections – and I do not expect such a thing – I will step down from the party leadership," a local news agency quoted Erdoğan as saying in an interview. "I would hold myself responsible in the first degree for putting my party in that position," he added.
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Mon 16 Aug 2010
After a lengthy investigation, the Human Rights Watch (HRW) said today (16 August) that some Kyrgyzstan government forces helped ethnic Kyrgyz to attack Uzbeks during the country's explosion of ethnic bloodshed last June, urging a probe into the actions of security forces. The rights group presented its findings in a report, which comes as tensions persist in the volatile south of the country ahead of the October elections. At least 371 people were killed in June in the southern region, where the interim government has struggled to impose control since it took power after the April overthrow of President Kurmanbek Bakiyev.
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Mon 9 Aug 2010
On 5 August it has been announced that the leaders of the two (out of four) coalition partners may run against each other in the direct presidential elections. By doing so Prime Minister and chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party, Vlad Filat, and Democratic Party leader Marian Lupu could put at risk the pro-Western ruling coalition that last year ended a decade of Communist Party rule and brought the country closer to the EU.
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Fri 6 Aug 2010
During a demonstration in Bishkek, in support of ultranationalist Meken Tuu Party leader Urmat Barktabasov, 20 people and the leader himself were arrested on charges of plotting a coup. President Roza Otunbaeva ordered the security forces to disperse approximately 2,000 demonstrators and arrest them if necessary, arguing that some of the protestors were armed and preparing a coup d’etat. The arrests and the confrontation between demonstrators and the security forces was the biggest sign of unrest since ethnic clashes in June killed at least 350 and forced hundreds of thousands to flee their homes in the south of the country.
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Thu 5 Aug 2010
Kyrgyz President Roza Otunbaeva has admitted that Kyrgyz security forces abused the rights of minority Uzbeks in the wake of deadly ethnic riots in June. The acknowledgment comes after allegations from the United Nations and human rights groups that Kyrgyz security forces targeted Uzbeks after the riots.
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Wed 4 Aug 2010
The former Deputy High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), Raffi Gregorian, claimed that there is no political will among the international community to deal with Milorad Dodik, the Prime Minister of Republika Srpska (RS). According to Gregorian, the members of the Peace and Implementation Council (PIC, consisting of 55 countries and agencies that support the peace process in BiH), which is assigned with overseeing the implementation of the Dayton Peace Agreements (DPA), can not agree on the measures to be taken against Dodik.
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Tue 3 Aug 2010
The Croatian EU accession talks have entered the final phase as the country has opened all negotiation chapters and closed two thirds of them, making it possible to finish accession talks in the first half of 2012. On 27 July Croatian and EU negotiators closed Chapter 12 (Food Safety, Veterinary and Phytosanitary Policy) and Chapter 32 (Financial Control). On 1 August Slovenia and Croatia reached an agreement over Nova Ljubljanska Banka, allowing the Ljubljana-based bank to operate in the neighbouring country and speed up Croatia’s entry into the European Union.
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Mon 2 Aug 2010
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Between 27 and 30 May Friedrich Ebert Stiftung in cooperation with Alfred Mozer Stichting and the European Forum for Democracy and Solidarity organized a seminar for young and promising politicians and members of social democratic parties from the countries of former Yugoslavia and Albania. The seminar, in which 27 participants participated, took place in Bečići in Montenegro and can be considered a great success.
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