Thu 17 Jun 2010
This week international organisations have criticised controversial Armenian legislation, which media freedom organisations say will allow the government to retain its control over Armenia's broadcast media.
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Tue 15 Jun 2010
The decision of the EU Foreign Ministers to start the ratification process of the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) with Serbia is a “big step and important moment for the country”, Deputy Prime Minister Božidar Đelić said. The 27 EU Foreign Ministers took the decision on 14 June after the chief prosecutor at the International Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia (ICTY), Serge Brammertz, delivered his biannual report on Belgrade’s cooperation with the ICTY, saying: “Serbia has maintained its cooperation with the Tribunal, with a view to deliver positive results.” SAA must be ratified by all 27 EU member states in order to come into force, and represents the next major step in Serbia's path toward the EU.
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Mon 14 Jun 2010
Ethnic unrest continues in Kyrgyzstan's southern cities of Osh and Jalal-Abad between ethnic Kyrgyz and Uzbek groups. The Kyrgyz Health Ministry has reported that at least 113 people have been killed – 92 in Osh and 21 in Jalal-Abad – and more than 1,400 injured in the past three days of violence. Tens of thousands of members of the Uzbek minority are reported to have fled their homes to escape attacks by Kyrgyz gangs, who have been accused of slaughters and setting fire to Uzbek-operated properties.
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Wed 9 Jun 2010
On Tuesday 30 March the Foundation for European Progressive Studies (FEPS) and the European Forum for Democracy and Solidarity organised a fringe meeting: “EU enlargement state of play” in Sarajevo in the framework of the PES Balkan Conference. The meeting was an interesting start to the discussions at the PES Balkan Conference. Approximately 40 participants — representatives of social democratic political parties and foundations from southeast Europe and the EU, non governmental organisations, EU institutions, international organisations and experts on the issue — actively participated in the discussion and had the opportunity to listen to interesting speakers.
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Wed 9 Jun 2010
On June 8th a Ukrainian court stripped two TV channels – Channel 5 and TVi – of their broadcast frequencies, in annulling the January results of a tender by the country’s National Council on Television and Radio Broadcasting that had allocated the frequencies. The two channels are considered among the few Ukrainian TV channels that provide independent news coverage.
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Wed 9 Jun 2010
The Netherlands will give up its resistance against closer cooperation between the EU and Serbia if the upcoming report of Chief Hague Prosecutor Serge Brammertz in the second half of June is positive. As a consequence, the ratification of the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA), signed in the spring of 2008, but immediately blocked by the Netherlands demanding Belgrade’s full cooperation with the Hague Tribunal, can start. According to the head of the Serbian government office for cooperation with the Hague Tribunal Dušan Ignjatović, the report does not have to include the term “full cooperation” which was for a long time a demand of the outgoing Dutch minister of Foreign Affairs Maxime Verhagen.
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Tue 8 Jun 2010
This week (5 June) Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and German Chancellor Angela Merkel suggested to consider the creation of a Russia-EU committee on foreign policy and security at ministerial level. Merkel and Medvedev made the proposal at a joint press conference following bilateral talks in Germany. According to local media, the 10-hours lasting meeting was attended by the two leaders and a few adviso
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Mon 7 Jun 2010
Yesterday (6 June) Slovenians narrowly approved a border arbitration deal with Croatia in a referendum. The vote should boost Croatia's chances of joining the EU in 2012 if it succeeds in completing entry talks in the next year.
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Thu 3 Jun 2010
The Party of European Socialists (PES) on 2 June welcomed the successful conclusion of the Spanish EU Presidency’s Sarajevo Conference. The 2 June conference, to renew EU commitment to EU membership for Western Balkan countries, brought together Foreign Ministers from the EU and the region as well as representatives from the U.S., Turkey, Russia, NATO, the OSCE and the Venice Commission.
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Thu 3 Jun 2010
A highly anticipated report by the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY), Serge Brammertz, on Serbia's and Croatia's cooperation with the court appears less positive than both countries were expecting. But it might just be enough to allow them to move another half step down the path towards EU integration.
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Wed 2 Jun 2010
In an EU ambassadors meeting held on 28 May a proposal has been made to abolish the posts of EU special representatives in Moldova and the Southern Caucasus. This idea was outlined in a letter written by EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton at 21 May in which she discussed the reorganisation of the current structure of EU envoys. Many member states are surprised by this suggestion.
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Tue 1 Jun 2010
During elections held in the Kosovar city of Mitrovica on Sunday 30 May, protests broke out between Kosovo Albanians and Kosovo Serbs. Police used tear gas to separate the protesters during elections organised by Serbian authorities.
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Tue 1 Jun 2010
On 1 June the two-day EU-Russia summit in Rostov-on-Don was closed by a concluding press conference of European Council President Herman van Rompuy in the presence of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso. The summit was described as a successful and friendly event compared to prior summits and both partners agreed on important issues.
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Mon 31 May 2010
On Sunday 30 May local elections were held in Georgia. Georgians casted ballots to elect 64 new municipal councils for four-year terms in elections that are seen as the first test of the strength of President Mikheil Saakashvili's government since the disastrous 2008 August war with Russia. The most crucial test, however, was in the capital of Tbilisi, which, in addition to choosing a city council, also directly elected its mayor for the first time. That race, observers say, will largely set the political landscape for parliamentary elections in 2012 and presidential elections in 2013.
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Mon 31 May 2010
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On 27-28 May a fact-finding mission took place in Moldova organised by the European Forum for Democracy and Solidarity and the Party of European Socialists (PES).
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