EUROPE: Schengen Brings East Closer to Europe

Along the railway station in Csop, Ukraine, home to a substantial Hungarian-speaking community, shops and stores for various goods have sprung up, and the town's main streets and buildings look fresher and newer than is the norm in inland Ukraine.

BALKANS: Ethnic Divisions Plunge Bosnia Into Chaos

The resignation of Bosnia-Herzegovina Prime Minister Nikola Spiric shows yet again that 12 years after the war ended, the unified state is still unable to function.

BULGARIA: Teachers Launch Unprecedented Strike

Bulgarian teachers are starting the sixth week of general strike after rejecting a final offer made by the government before it went on to adopt next year's budget.

POLAND: Friendlier Days with Neighbours Appear

The change of government in Poland heralds a new era in its cooperation with the European Union, and changes are also expected in Warsaw's policies towards both Russia and the United States.

RUSSIA: All Set for Uneasy Dialogue with EU

Encounters between Russian President Vladimir Putin and European Union leaders can be embarrassing affairs - at least for those EU politicians who fret whenever the bloc's image as a defender of democracy is sullied.

CORRUPTION: Little Check on Czechs

Corruption remains a key - and unresolved - issue in the Czech Republic's moves to reach the standards of Western Europe.

MIGRATION: Fortress Europe Should Lower Its Drawbridge, Says NGO

The European Union is set to open its doors wide to qualified immigrants with its blue card system, and at the same time slam them even more tightly shut to undocumented workers, of whom there are 10 million in the bloc, including 700,000 in Spain.

GREECE: A Country Is In a Name

U.N. Secretary-General's special mediator Matthew Nimits has invited Greece and Macedonia to resume negotiations over what Macedonia calls itself.

EUROPE: Move to Halve Pesticides Use

Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) are seeking that pesticide use be halved within a decade in order to reduce the amount of hazardous chemicals in the environment.

UKRAINE: Westwards, But Not Much More

Ukraine's opposition forces have reached a coalition agreement that will give the populist Yuliya Timoshenko the post of Prime Minister. Foreign policy might change, but realism will prevail.

ROMANIA: When a President Discriminates

Twice this year, the Romanian National Anti-Discrimination Council has had to issue judgments about problematic statements made by President Traian Basescu. In one of the instances, the Council declared the head of state guilty of discrimination against the Roma.

CZECH REPUBLIC: A Century of Welfare Nears Its End

The reforms proposed by the governing coalition in the Czech Republic could dismantle not only the most successful welfare state in the post-communist region, but also break a long tradition of social solidarity in a country that boasts the lowest poverty rate in Europe.

POLAND: Uncertain Steps Towards a New Government

With this Sunday's early general elections, Poles will give a verdict on whether they approve of Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski's "Fourth Polish Republic", as the present term of government has been called.

BALKANS: Dial 9191 for Mladic

Serbia has offered a record one million euros reward each for information leading to the arrest of Ratko Mladic, former commander of the Bosnian Serb Army, and his associate Radovan Karadzic.

TURKEY: Armenian Ghosts Refuse To Go Away

The decision last week by the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Relations to adopt a resolution recognising as genocide the massive killings of Armenians in 1915 and 1916 by Ottoman military forces in eastern Anatolia has marked a decisive turn in the relationship between the legislative of the United States and the Turkish government.

Q&A: “Where Europe Has Failed These Europeans”

Thomas Hammerberg was elected Commissioner of Human Rights of the Council of Europe in October 2005. He plays a crucial role in promoting implementation of the recommendations of the human rights system of the Council.

SLOVAKIA: Playing the Anti-Hungarian Card

Following months of strained ties with Hungary, Slovakia's government looks increasingly isolated after parliament approved a resolution hostile to the country's Hungarian minority.

BULGARIA: Luxury Hotels Coming Up in National Parks

Bulgarian Prime Minister Serghei Stanishev and former premier Simeon Saxe-Coburg attended a ceremony Tuesday marking the official start of a grandiose tourism project dubbed Super Borovits. An unusual show of political unity across party lines, it was meant to promote the tourism industry. But Super Borovits has been highly criticised for threatening nature.

POLAND-RUSSIA: Once an Enemy, Always an Enemy

Poland remains Russia's most staunch enemy in the Central European region. But besides history, ideology and energy are playing a key role in the diplomatic impasse.

HUNGARY: Debate on Fascist Danger Resurfaces

The ghost of fascism has resurfaced in Hungary following the set up of a paramilitary organisation promising to "protect the homeland". But the organisation's minuscule size made many critics wonder why so much attention was devoted to it.

RUSSIA: Putin Could Lead Another Way

If President Vladimir Putin does accept the post of prime minister offered him by the pro-Kremlin United Russia party, he would take a step down in the political hierarchy. For a while, anyhow.