Kosovo conference great success: EU the big dono - Under UNSCR 1244/99

The international community pledged €1.2 billion to Kosovo at the donors’ conference organised by the European Commission in Brussels on July 11. The Commission contributed €508 million of this total. “I am proud that by pledging half a billion Euro, the EU today clearly demonstrates its commitment to Kosovo and to the stability of the Western Balkans", said European Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn.

French Presidency priorities for enlargement

France, which took over the rotating six-month Presidency of the European Union on 1 July, has included a section in its work programme entitled "Enlargement and neighbourhood: working to create an area of stability and prosperity".

Enlargement countries share in renewed Union for the Mediterranean

Several of the countries involved in the EU enlargement process were participants at the French Presidency’s Paris summit on the Union for the Mediterranean on 13 July. The summit, aimed by the Presidency to give "new impetus to the Euro-Mediterranean dialogue,” was attended by prime ministers and presidents of EU member states and of more than a dozen states with a Mediterranean shore-line or close associations.

Council endorses Western Balkans cooperation in fighting crime

The EU Council has approved further cooperation with the countries of the Western Balkans in fighting organised crime and terrorism. Conclusions were agreed by EU ministers on July 8 underlining the merits of a partnership on matters of security.

Welcome for new government in Serbia

The Serbian parliament approved a new government on 7 July, with Mirko Cvetkovic, a 57-year-old economist and former finance minister, as prime minister in a coalition led by the DS Democrats (the party of pro-EU President Boris Tadic) and including the reformed Socialists (SPS) of late president Slobodan Milosevic.

“No sabbatical” for the EU in enlargement agenda

“The June European Council reaffirmed its full support for the European perspective of the Western Balkans. It is a powerful message: the EU keeps its word. This is also a vital message to Turkey. The EU accession process is advancing: two more chapters were opened in mid-June”, EU Commissioner for Enlargement Olli Rehn told the European Parliament on 9 July.

European Parliament backing for "continued success in EU enlargement"

"Previous enlargements have undoubtedly been a success both for the EU and for the Member States which joined it and have contributed to the stability, development and prosperity of Europe as a whole", according to the European Parliament. It reiterated its “firm commitment to all candidate countries and to those which have been given clear membership prospects” in the report it adopted at its 10 July plenary session.

Regional cooperation in accession progress

The EU Committee of the Regions has been active in enlargement discussions in early July. Its working group on the Western Balkans met in Sarajevo on 8 July, and promoted the concept of regional cooperation a key element in advancing the accession process. The Committee’s President, Luc Van den Brande, also assured Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader Croatia of the Committee’s concrete support for EU membership when he visited Zagreb.

More threats to Western Balkans press freedom

The Vienna-based South East Europe Media Organisation, a network of editors, media executives and leading journalists from South East Europe and an affiliate of the International Press Institute, has expressed renewed alarm about new threats issued against Dusan Miljus, a journalist for Jutarnji list, a Croatian daily.

Concerns over Bosnia and Herzegovina anti-corruption fight

In a 9 July statement, Doris Pack, MEP (EPP-ED, Germany), Chairwoman of the Delegation for Relations with the Countries of South East Europe, expressed concern over reports of increased difficulties in the operating environment for anti-corruption watch-dogs such as Transparency International in the country.

Enlargement website of the European Commission