Eurasia

The European Union has given the green light to the beginning of free trade talks with Moldova by December 2011, reads the final declaration from the Eastern Partnership summit. “Moldova has achieved significant successes in the negotiations about the EU Association Agreement. The more the country draws closer to the …

EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fuele has confirmed that €96 million of funding from a special Balkans assistance package will be allocated to Bosnia and Herzegovina. Previously, Fuele had suspended the allocation after political infighting broke out between leaders in Bosnia’s two semi-autonomous entities, the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, FBiH, …

Croatia’s accession to the European Union will offer a new hope for the entire western Balkan region, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said after meeting his Croatian counterpart Gordan Jandrokovic on Monday. “The accession treaty will be signed in December, ahead of Christmas,” said Sikorski, whose

European Parliament Rapporteur for Serbia, Jelko Kacin, said on Monday that along with EU candidate status, Serbia should also get a date for the beginning of negotiations. He pointed out, however, that in order to make progress in the Euro-integration process, the country needed to resolve the issue of Kosovo.

NATO has repeatedly stated the Karabakh settlement issue to be outside of the Alliance’s scope, Romanian ambassador to Armenia said. “This, however, does not mean NATO is not concerned over the issue,” Crina Prunariu told a news conference in Yerevan.

A delegation headed by Bulgarian Economy, Energy and Tourism Minister Traicho Traikov has ended a working visit to Uzbekistan. Traikov held meetings with Uzbek Economy Minister Galina Saidova and Foreign Economic Relations, Investments and Trade Minister Ravshan Gulyamov.

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen says the situation in northern Kosovo and KFOR’s role will be one of the key topics of the NATO defence ministers’ meeting this week. The summit will be held in Brussels on Wednesday and Thursday of this week.

Serbian Minister for Kosovo Goran Bogdanovic has called on KFOR and EULEX to protect the Serb community in Kosovo. He said that the fact that the international community kept silent about the killings was unacceptable.

European Commission (EC) report on Serbia has already been written and the Commission is now working out some minor details. The only part that is unfinished is the one that refers to Kosovo.

Moldova’s Acting President, Parliament Speaker Marian Lupu and the Chairman of Ukraine’s Parliament Volodymyr Lytvyn have broadened the consolidation and fosterage of the good friendship relations between Moldova and Ukraine in all the fields of common interest.