Just weeks before the European Commission is due to publish an assessment on Bulgaria and Romania’s accession to the EU, the French Senate cautioned against “stigmatising” the EU’s most recent members and suggested fine-tuning the Union’s Cooperation and Verification Mechanism, set up to assist the two countries after their entry. …

EU officials in Brussels admit Sunday’s crucial parliamentary elections in Albania demonstrated electoral progress, but warn that more needs to be done before the country can be said to have achieved full international standards. EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn has noted in a statement that “tangible progress has been made …

Dutch Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen is scheduled to visit Serbia in July to discuss trade cooperation between the two countries, but the visit will not change the Netherland’s against Serbia’s Stabilization and Association Agreement, SAA. A Dutch Foreign Ministry statement said that Verhagen would discuss with his Serbian counterpart Vuk …