Enlargement
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Croatia
A small “yes” to EU
23 January 20122PresseuropNovi List, Slobodna Dalmacija, Jutarnji List -
20 January 201215Tportal Zagreb
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13 December 201116Milliyet Istanbul
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1 December 20112Tportal Zagreb
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EU-Ukraine
Don’t pulls the blinds down on Kiev
25 October 20113Postimees Tallinn -
European Union
An enlargement of illusions
13 October 20113Dagens Nyheter Stockholm -
Croatia
EU drawn into election campaign
23 September 20112PresseuropVečernji list -
24 August 2011PresseuropDanas
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Germany-Serbia
Plain speaking in Belgrade
22 August 2011PresseuropDer Tagesspiegel -
5 August 20113PresseuropNezavissimaïa Gazeta
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2 August 2011PresseuropHürriyet
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Croatia
Still a long road to Europe
13 June 20111Novi List Rijeka -
Croatia
Barroso opens door to EU
8 June 20113PresseuropJutarnji List -
Croatia
Pope: EU good for the soul
6 June 2011PresseuropVečernji list -
Romania-Bulgaria
On the road to Schengen
3 May 2011PresseuropRomânia libera -
20 April 20113Novi List Rijeka
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Croatia
National hero sentenced
15 April 20111PresseuropVečernji list -
Croatia
EU – what's it in aid of?
12 April 2011Tportal Zagreb -
8 March 2011PresseuropRzeczpospolita
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4 March 20114The Guardian London
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Turkey
No more Mr. Nice Guy
2 March 20113Frankfurter Rundschau Frankfurt -
22 February 20111PresseuropLe Soir
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Croatia
EU accession on track
21 February 20111PresseuropVjesnik -
24 January 2011PresseuropTema
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EU accession
The Balkan family photo is blurred
21 January 20112Politika Belgrade -
Balkans
The big cleanup begins
23 December 20104Monitor Podgorica -
Neighbourhood Policy
Ukraine gets visas, but not free trade
23 November 2010PresseuropDziennik Gazeta Prawna -
Institutions
EU grows weary of enlargement
10 November 20101Presseurop -
26 October 2010Blic Belgrade
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Serbia
Dark side of the Yugosphere
13 October 2010Il Sole-24 Ore Milan -
EU accession
Turkey's elite is napping
11 October 20102Taraf Istanbul -
Enlargement
One day Turkey will run the EU
28 September 20105Die Presse Vienna -
Germany
Westerwelle talks Turkey
23 September 20101PresseuropThe Wall Street Journal Europe -
Turkish referendum
Erdogan buries Atatürk
13 September 20103Zaman Istanbul -
Moldova
Referendum flop
6 September 2010PresseuropTimpul -
Balkans
Montenegro – come if you're rich
26 August 2010The New York Times New York -
Switzerland
An embarrassment of Swiss
20 August 2010PresseuropTribune de Genève -
Switzerland
Le Petit Suisse stuck in Europe’s rump
17 August 20101Le Figaro Paris -
10 August 2010PresseuropEUobserver.com
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Diplomacy
Can Cameron put Turkey on the table?
28 July 20102Presseurop -
22 July 20101Jurnalul Naţional Bucharest
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Turkey
Ankara still keen on Europe
2 July 2010PresseuropThe Times -
Iceland
Iceland turns away from EU
17 June 2010PresseuropLe Figaro -
17 June 2010PresseuropHürriyet
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14 June 2010PresseuropDe Volkskrant
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Armenia / Turkey
Erevan and Ankara talks stall
23 April 2010PresseuropZaman -
9 April 2010PresseuropDie Presse
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Greece/Macedonia
Athens offers Skopje a name tweak
6 April 20101PresseuropAdevărul -
Turkey
Is the EU afraid of Ankara?
25 March 20101Le Soir Brussels -
25 February 2010PresseuropLe Soir
On 22 January, Croats voted in favour of ratifying the Treaty of Accession to the EU, prompting a sigh of relief in Brussels. The record voter abstention rate, however, must give cause for concern, notes the Croatian press. 
On January 22, Croatia must ratify by referendum the Treaty of Accession to the EU. But the campaign, coming just as the country is about to enter a Europe in crisis, has been marked by second thoughts and a new nationalist rhetoric. 
Buoyed by their country’s political and economic dynamism, more and more Turkish leaders are critical of a European Union that is mired in crisis. However, a Turkish columnist argues that this is not likely to have an impact on Ankara’s desire to join the EU. 
On 4 December, voters in Croatia will elect a new parliament. A few days later, Zagreb is set to sign its accession to the European Union. However, before it officially becomes part of the EU in July 2013, the country will have to implement far reaching reforms, which neither the government or the opposition appear ready to announce to their fellow citizens. 
Although the recent sentencing of the former muse of the Orange Revolution, Yulia Tymoshenko, has raised doubts about the independence of the Ukrainian justice system, the EU should not give up on dialogue with Kiev, which remains eager to build relations with the EU. 
In opening up the prospect of accession to several candidate countries, the European Commissioner for Enlargement means to put on a show of optimism. But it only reinforces the impression that Europe doesn’t know where it’s going, writes the Swedish daily Dagens Nyheter. 
Croatia got the green light to join the European Union on July 1, 2013, it was announced on June 10. But several events, the latest of which is the scattered confrontations during Split’s Gay Pride Day this weekend, highlight that the road to Europe remains long, notes Boris Pavelic in Croatian daily Novi List. 
The conviction of former General Gotovina for war crimes on April 15 has been received very badly by a people who consider him a hero of the wars in former Yugoslavia. But this verdict is also a chance to think about what happened, a Croatian columnist writes. 
"For or against joining the EU?" Between now and the end of the year, the citizens of Croatia will be called on to answer a question they increasingly see as irrelevant. Having overcome many obstacles on the road to accession, they are no longer interested in a Europe that is strongly associated with their country’s discredited political elite. 
Despite the Turkish Prime minister's criticisms of the EU, it's clear his country's future lies with the union, argues a Guardian columnist. 
The Turkish prime minister is in Germany parading the self-confidence of his country. Encouraged by a booming economy and increasingly becoming a role model for emerging Arab democracies, Turkey is finding the EU increasingly unnecessary, writes the Frankfurter Rundschau. 
The population census demanded by Brussels has become a political challenge in most of the countries of the western Balkans. Twenty years after the start of the wars in former Yugoslavia, the venture brings ethnic and social tensions back into the spotlight. 
Croatia, Kosovo, Montenegro: in the space of a fortnight, the leaders or ex-leaders of all three countries have been arrested or accused of wrongdoing. Meanwhile, reports a Montenegro weekly, the EU is paving the way for the accession of all three Balkan countries.
For the European press, the publication of the annual “progress report” on prospective candidates for EU accession, has failed to dispel the general apathy that surrounds the question of enlargement. 
On 25 October, the union’s 27 member states decided to forward Belgrade’s request for EU accession to the European Commission. But the process that is now underway will still have to overcome a significant number of obstacles, reports Serbian daily Blic. 
With Serbia’s candidacy for EU accession up for review at the end of the month, the tension fomented by Serb ultranationalists is mounting dangerously: witness Serb hooligans’ recent attacks on the Gay Pride parade in Belgrade and at the Italy-Serbia match in Genoa. 
Since talks began in 2005, Turkey’s EU membership bid has stalled. For Istanbul daily Taraf, the blame is not only due to reluctant EU states, but should also be shared by a Turkish political elite incapable of acting in the interests of its own people.
Turkey isn’t even a member yet, but deputy prime minister Ali Babacan is already demanding a leading role in Europe for his country. All you have to do is look at Turkey's economic and demographic growth to see it's likely to get what it wants, says Die Presse 
In voting Yes to wide-ranging constitutional reform, the Turkish electorate has demonstrated a wish to modernise the country and seek ever closer links with the EU, even if this was not a part of the campaign agenda. 
Eager to join the European Union, Montenegro is cleaning up its image of corruption and pulling out all the stops to attract foreign capital. 
The Swiss are about to reveal their future stance in their increasingly fraught relations with Brussels. One thing is sure, they are not about to join the anytime soon 
In one of his major speeches on Europe, the British prime minister made his strongest endorsement to date for Turkish accession to the EU. While the British press is in general well disposed, the continent, and even some elements of the Turkish press remain dubious about the impact of his declaration. 
On 22 July, the International Court of Justice ruled that the independence of the former Yugoslav province does not violate international law. For Europe, the future of this quasi-fictive state remains a geopolitical headache. 
Following recent declarations by the Turkish Prime Minister on the deportation of Armenian immigrants, Europe's silence is testimony to the EU's ambiguous attitude towards the aspiring member state. Seen as not sufficiently European for immediate inclusion, Turkey is at the same time too important and powerful to be ignored.