En un viejo país ineficiente, algo así como España entre dos guerras civiles, poseer una casa y poca hacienda y memoria ninguna. -- Gil de Biedma
Serbia is to file a formal application today to join the European Union according to officials. President Boris Tadić is to fly to Stockholm to submit the application to Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt. "President Boris Tadic will go to Stockholm on Tuesday to submit the application for EU membership," announced Serbian presidency spokeswoman Jasmina Stojanov. Reinfeldt called the announcement "a historic step". In a statement he welcomed the bid, saying "I look forward to receiving President Boris Tadic in Stockholm on Tuesday, December 22, when he officially hands over the application."
Serbia is to file a formal application today to join the European Union according to officials. President Boris Tadić is to fly to Stockholm to submit the application to Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt.
"President Boris Tadic will go to Stockholm on Tuesday to submit the application for EU membership," announced Serbian presidency spokeswoman Jasmina Stojanov.
Reinfeldt called the announcement "a historic step". In a statement he welcomed the bid, saying "I look forward to receiving President Boris Tadic in Stockholm on Tuesday, December 22, when he officially hands over the application."
This week, the former Yugoslavian Republic of Serbia, officially applied for membership in the European Union. German commentators worry that it's too much, too soon, and fret over how welcoming the former pariah nation into the European bloc might lead to trouble. On Tuesday, Serbian Prime Minister Boris Tadic handed in his nation's application for European Union membership. "It reflects the Serbian government's strong determination and the broad popular support for EU membership," Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt said during the handing-in ceremony. "A Serbian membership is important not just for Serbia, but for the region as a whole." Sweden accepted the candidacy because it currently holds the rotating EU presidency. "This is an important addition to the EU family," Reinfeldt said. Serbia joins a waiting list for membership in the 27-nation block that also includes Croatia, Turkey, Macedonia and Iceland. Bosnia and Kosovo have also expressed a desire to join the EU. Serbia is likely to have a long road ahead of it before it can become a member state. Recent events, however, do appear to have brought the country further down that path.
On Tuesday, Serbian Prime Minister Boris Tadic handed in his nation's application for European Union membership. "It reflects the Serbian government's strong determination and the broad popular support for EU membership," Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt said during the handing-in ceremony. "A Serbian membership is important not just for Serbia, but for the region as a whole." Sweden accepted the candidacy because it currently holds the rotating EU presidency. "This is an important addition to the EU family," Reinfeldt said.
Serbia joins a waiting list for membership in the 27-nation block that also includes Croatia, Turkey, Macedonia and Iceland. Bosnia and Kosovo have also expressed a desire to join the EU.
Serbia is likely to have a long road ahead of it before it can become a member state. Recent events, however, do appear to have brought the country further down that path.
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Cool-tempered and efficient, Swedish officials in the past six months managed to steer the EU out of the institutional crisis surrounding the Lisbon Treaty and to mitigate infighting between member states on the bloc's top jobs, climate change and financial supervision. Having kicked off on 1 July, the Swedish chairmanship of the EU came at a time of institutional limbo which hijacked politicians' and media attention from the issues of climate change and the economic crisis, which formed Sweden's original priorities. "The Swedish EU presidency was effective in securing the Lisbon Treaty to come into force on 1 December and in managing the transition from the old treaty," EU commission president Jose Manuel Barroso said earlier this month in Strasbourg. After a second Irish referendum on the Lisbon Treaty in September approving the document, "the unexpected happened" when Czech President Vaclav Klaus tabled fresh demands in order to complete the ratification of the document in all 27 member states, said Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt in the EU parliament in December.
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Cool-tempered and efficient, Swedish officials in the past six months managed to steer the EU out of the institutional crisis surrounding the Lisbon Treaty and to mitigate infighting between member states on the bloc's top jobs, climate change and financial supervision.
Having kicked off on 1 July, the Swedish chairmanship of the EU came at a time of institutional limbo which hijacked politicians' and media attention from the issues of climate change and the economic crisis, which formed Sweden's original priorities.
"The Swedish EU presidency was effective in securing the Lisbon Treaty to come into force on 1 December and in managing the transition from the old treaty," EU commission president Jose Manuel Barroso said earlier this month in Strasbourg.
After a second Irish referendum on the Lisbon Treaty in September approving the document, "the unexpected happened" when Czech President Vaclav Klaus tabled fresh demands in order to complete the ratification of the document in all 27 member states, said Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt in the EU parliament in December.
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Widespread declining sperm counts, increased rates of breast and testicular cancer, earlier onset of puberty and children's behaviour problems are a handful of the health effects attributed to so-called chemical cocktails, a growing concern amongst European Union governments. The effects of endocrine disruptors are thought to have their greatest effect on animals in their infancy On Tuesday (22 december), environment ministers from across the bloc ordered the European Commission to take action on the matter and investigate where current legislation is lacking and to plug the holes. The EU, like most other powers, focuses on the benefits and dangers of chemicals on a "chemical-by-chemical" basis. That is, regulators look at the effects of each individual chemical. Only recently have scientists begun to be concerned about the combination effects of chemicals that otherwise appear safe in isolation but when absorbed together - in a "chemical cocktail" - could have unexpected and dangerous consequences. "Chemicals that we surround ourselves with every day can be dangerous to public health in combination. Evaluating the risks posed by individual chemicals on their own is not enough," the ministers said in a statement after meeting in Brussels.
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Widespread declining sperm counts, increased rates of breast and testicular cancer, earlier onset of puberty and children's behaviour problems are a handful of the health effects attributed to so-called chemical cocktails, a growing concern amongst European Union governments.
The effects of endocrine disruptors are thought to have their greatest effect on animals in their infancy
On Tuesday (22 december), environment ministers from across the bloc ordered the European Commission to take action on the matter and investigate where current legislation is lacking and to plug the holes.
The EU, like most other powers, focuses on the benefits and dangers of chemicals on a "chemical-by-chemical" basis. That is, regulators look at the effects of each individual chemical. Only recently have scientists begun to be concerned about the combination effects of chemicals that otherwise appear safe in isolation but when absorbed together - in a "chemical cocktail" - could have unexpected and dangerous consequences.
"Chemicals that we surround ourselves with every day can be dangerous to public health in combination. Evaluating the risks posed by individual chemicals on their own is not enough," the ministers said in a statement after meeting in Brussels.
The EU needs to take further steps to protect people from the chemical cocktails they encounter in everyday life, environment ministers agreed yesterday (22 December). The EU has a wealth of chemicals law, covering specific areas, such as pesticides, cosmetics and toys, as well as the overarching REACH regulation on the registration and authorisation of chemicals. But none of these address the fact that people are exposed to chemicals from multiple sources, for example from food, clothing and furniture. During their meeting in Brussels the environment ministers agreed that "further action in the field of chemicals policy research and assessment methods to address combination effects of chemicals is required". Denmark had lobbied to put the issue on the EU's agenda following Danish studies highlighting potential risks to young children. Troels Lund Poulsen, Denmark's environment minister, hailed the council conclusions as "a great victory".
The EU needs to take further steps to protect people from the chemical cocktails they encounter in everyday life, environment ministers agreed yesterday (22 December).
The EU has a wealth of chemicals law, covering specific areas, such as pesticides, cosmetics and toys, as well as the overarching REACH regulation on the registration and authorisation of chemicals. But none of these address the fact that people are exposed to chemicals from multiple sources, for example from food, clothing and furniture.
During their meeting in Brussels the environment ministers agreed that "further action in the field of chemicals policy research and assessment methods to address combination effects of chemicals is required".
Denmark had lobbied to put the issue on the EU's agenda following Danish studies highlighting potential risks to young children. Troels Lund Poulsen, Denmark's environment minister, hailed the council conclusions as "a great victory".
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso will after the Christmas holidays propose that the executive takes member states to court over a decision to slash a pay rise for EU officials. Member states on Wednesday (23 December) unanimously agreed to cut the planned 2010 wage increase from 3.70 percent to 1.85 percent. President Barroso will propose that the commission takes court action. The move follows a push by EU budget paymasters Germany, the UK and the Netherlands, as well as poorer countries, such as Poland, to reduce the hike amid negative public opinion caused by the recession. Lawyers in the commission and the EU Council have said that the cutback is illegal, as it violates the terms of an earlier agreement on calculating EU officials' wages. "The president [Mr Barroso] and vice president Kallas are going to inform the college of the state of play at the first college meeting in January," commission spokesman Amadeu Altafaj Tardio said on Wednesday.
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso will after the Christmas holidays propose that the executive takes member states to court over a decision to slash a pay rise for EU officials.
Member states on Wednesday (23 December) unanimously agreed to cut the planned 2010 wage increase from 3.70 percent to 1.85 percent.
President Barroso will propose that the commission takes court action.
The move follows a push by EU budget paymasters Germany, the UK and the Netherlands, as well as poorer countries, such as Poland, to reduce the hike amid negative public opinion caused by the recession.
Lawyers in the commission and the EU Council have said that the cutback is illegal, as it violates the terms of an earlier agreement on calculating EU officials' wages.
"The president [Mr Barroso] and vice president Kallas are going to inform the college of the state of play at the first college meeting in January," commission spokesman Amadeu Altafaj Tardio said on Wednesday.
Commissioner Margot Wallström has announced that she is stopping writing her weblog that she started in 2004. She was the first Commissioner to use the online diary as a way of communicating with the public. Since then many others, including MEP's, Commissioners and others in the European Union political and policy scene have followed her. In her post announcing the end of her blog she said "I really enjoyed it but it was more time consuming than I had expected. It sounds easy to sit down and write a piece per week but finding the time to do this when you have to do a lot of travelling and many many meetings to prepare for and attend is not as easy as it sounds." It is also not easy to write an interesting weblog either, but the Commissioner has managed to do that, by mixing the professional with the personal and lifting the curtain a little on what goes on behind the scenes. She says that "I have managed to write 265 blog posts since the beginning, covering everything from the EU to dancing, music, books, Chinese mining, jam and wars." As Nosemonkey, a journalist and fellow blogger said "Not sure if the experiment entirely worked, but the blog did make you seem like one of the more human Commissioners...
"seem" being the operative word, since she didn't even acknowledge open letters signed by EU citizens. Goodbye Margot.
The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that provisions in the constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina reserving certain offices of state for members of Bosnia's three `constituent peoples' are discriminatory and unlawful. The case had been brought in 2006 by Dervo Sejdić, a Roma, and Jakob Finci, who is Jewish. The court today (22 December) ruled in their favour by 14 votes to three. Bosnia's constitution was drafted as part of the 1995 Dayton peace accords, mostly by lawyers from the US Department of State with input from EU diplomats. It established a three-member presidency with one representative for each of Bosnia's `constituent peoples' - Bosniaks (Bosnian Muslims), Serbs and Croats. The upper house of parliament is also made up of representatives of the three communities. Members of other communities and those who do not claim any particular ethnic affiliation are excluded from holding such positions of power. Finci, Bosnia's ambassador to Switzerland, is a former head of the country's small Jewish community, which dates back to the15th century. Finci told European Voice: "This ruling was against Bosnia and Herzegovina, but at the same time I am sure that it was in favour of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The court's ruling is a major step towards an end to discrimination on ethnic grounds, and I am glad that the court has recognised the wrong that was done in the constitution 14 years ago.
The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that provisions in the constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina reserving certain offices of state for members of Bosnia's three `constituent peoples' are discriminatory and unlawful.
The case had been brought in 2006 by Dervo Sejdić, a Roma, and Jakob Finci, who is Jewish. The court today (22 December) ruled in their favour by 14 votes to three.
Bosnia's constitution was drafted as part of the 1995 Dayton peace accords, mostly by lawyers from the US Department of State with input from EU diplomats. It established a three-member presidency with one representative for each of Bosnia's `constituent peoples' - Bosniaks (Bosnian Muslims), Serbs and Croats. The upper house of parliament is also made up of representatives of the three communities. Members of other communities and those who do not claim any particular ethnic affiliation are excluded from holding such positions of power.
Finci, Bosnia's ambassador to Switzerland, is a former head of the country's small Jewish community, which dates back to the15th century.
Finci told European Voice: "This ruling was against Bosnia and Herzegovina, but at the same time I am sure that it was in favour of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The court's ruling is a major step towards an end to discrimination on ethnic grounds, and I am glad that the court has recognised the wrong that was done in the constitution 14 years ago.
The Socialist majority in the Greek parliament appeared set to approve the country's 2010 Budget last night. After a tense, five-day debate in the 300-seat chamber, the 160-strong Pasok party was set to back the Government's line that economic recovery can best be achieved by addressing tax evasion and corruption rather than by slicing public sector pay. However, the risk that Greece could default on its growing public debt next year still looms large after this week's move by Moody's, the ratings agency, to downgrade the country's credit status. That followed similar moves by Standard & Poor's and Fitch. George Papandreou, the Prime Minister, has given few details of his much-heralded tax reform programme so far. His Government's plan to raise the corporate tax rate is still vague and jittery money is already leaving the country. About €5 billion (£4.5 billion) is believed to have fled to the friendlier business environment of Cyprus over the past two months.
The Socialist majority in the Greek parliament appeared set to approve the country's 2010 Budget last night.
After a tense, five-day debate in the 300-seat chamber, the 160-strong Pasok party was set to back the Government's line that economic recovery can best be achieved by addressing tax evasion and corruption rather than by slicing public sector pay.
However, the risk that Greece could default on its growing public debt next year still looms large after this week's move by Moody's, the ratings agency, to downgrade the country's credit status. That followed similar moves by Standard & Poor's and Fitch.
George Papandreou, the Prime Minister, has given few details of his much-heralded tax reform programme so far. His Government's plan to raise the corporate tax rate is still vague and jittery money is already leaving the country. About €5 billion (£4.5 billion) is believed to have fled to the friendlier business environment of Cyprus over the past two months.
