Enlargement
-
European Union: An enlargement of illusions
13 October 2011853 Dagens Nyheter Stockholm -
Croatia : EU drawn into election campaign
23 September 20112PresseuropVečernji list -
Serbia: Merkel: “Choose between Kosovo or EU"
24 August 2011PresseuropDanas -
Germany-Serbia: Plain speaking in Belgrade
22 August 2011PresseuropDer Tagesspiegel -
Ukraine: The invasive generosity of Budapest and Bucharest
5 August 2011303PresseuropNezavissimaïa Gazeta -
Turkey: Erdogan reins in the military
2 August 2011PresseuropHürriyet -
Croatia: Still a long road to Europe
13 June 2011751 Novi 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 201121PresseuropRomânia libera -
Balkans: Croats come face to face with their history
20 April 2011563 Novi List Rijeka -
Croatia: National hero sentenced
15 April 20111PresseuropVečernji list -
Croatia: EU - what's it in aid of?
12 April 201167 Tportal Zagreb -
Balkans: Serbia and Kosovo start negotiations
8 March 201122PresseuropRzeczpospolita -
Turkey: What Erdoğan knows about Europe
4 March 20111064 The Guardian London -
Turkey: No more Mr. Nice Guy
2 March 20112203 Frankfurter Rundschau Frankfurt -
Iceland: Another referendum amidst doubt on Europe
22 February 2011401PresseuropLe Soir -
Croatia: EU accession on track
21 February 20111PresseuropVjesnik -
Albania: Tirana mayhem as political stalemate sours
24 January 2011PresseuropTema -
EU accession: The Balkan family photo is blurred
21 January 20111152 Politika Belgrade -
Balkans: The big cleanup begins
23 December 2010994 Monitor Podgorica -
Neighbourhood Policy: Ukraine gets visas, but not free trade
23 November 201020PresseuropDziennik Gazeta Prawna -
Institutions: EU grows weary of enlargement
10 November 2010581 Presseurop -
Serbia: We can't bluff our way to Brussels
26 October 201045 Blic Belgrade -
Serbia: Dark side of the Yugosphere
13 October 201067 Il Sole-24 Ore Milan -
EU accession: Turkey's elite is napping
11 October 2010402 Taraf Istanbul -
Enlargement: One day Turkey will run the EU
28 September 20102535 Die Presse Vienna -
Germany: Westerwelle talks Turkey
23 September 20101PresseuropThe Wall Street Journal Europe -
Turkish referendum: Erdogan buries Atatürk
13 September 20102583 Zaman Istanbul -
Moldova: Referendum flop
6 September 2010PresseuropTimpul -
Balkans: Montenegro - come if you're rich
26 August 201058 The 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 2010251 Le Figaro Paris -
Iceland: Accession talks – and fishing row – with Brussels begin
10 August 201020PresseuropEUobserver.com -
Diplomacy: Can Cameron put Turkey on the table?
28 July 2010192 Presseurop -
Balkans: Kosovo still on the road to nowhere
22 July 2010341 Jurnalul Naţional Bucharest -
Turkey: Ankara still keen on Europe
2 July 2010PresseuropThe Times -
Iceland: Iceland turns away from EU
17 June 2010PresseuropLe Figaro -
Turkey: Brussels to sweet-talk Ankara
17 June 2010PresseuropHürriyet -
Serbia: Mladic capture no longer accession issue
14 June 2010PresseuropDe Volkskrant -
Armenia / Turkey: Erevan and Ankara talks stall
23 April 2010PresseuropZaman -
Turkey: Ankara makes gesture to Kurds
9 April 2010PresseuropDie Presse -
Greece/Macedonia: Athens offers Skopje a name tweak
6 April 20101PresseuropAdevărul -
Turkey: Is the EU afraid of Ankara?
25 March 2010241 Le Soir Brussels -
Iceland: Another step towards EU membership
25 February 2010PresseuropLe Soir -
History: Can't take the Ottoman out of the Balkans
8 February 20101063 Globus-Skopje Skopje -
Serbia: Europe, looks good from back of queue
1 February 2010Politika Belgrade -
Moldova: First steps to Brussels
13 January 2010PresseuropTimpul -
Iceland: President puts the people before banks
6 January 2010PresseuropThe Times -
EU accession: Bulgaria a new hurdle for Turkey
5 January 2010PresseuropEUobserver.com
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.
Five centuries of Turkish domination left their mark on culture, cuisine, language and even gestures in Balkan countries. It is an influence that is still apparent in attitudes that have affected the pace of integration in the European Union for a number of Balkan states.
Since 19 December, the citizens of Serbia are no longer required to apply for visas to enter the countries of the European Union. The change encouraged some Serbs to travel abroad for the first time in their lives.