European Union Archives

DEVELOPMENT: Poor Could Lose 67 Billion Dollars

Poor countries risk receiving 50 billion euros (67 billion dollars) less than what they have been promised from the European Union by 2010 unless the bloc improves the quality of its development aid, anti-poverty campaigners have warned.

BALKANS: Serbia Plunges Back into the Past

By Vesna Peric Zimonjic

Serbia took a plunge into its dubious past with the election of ultranationalist Tomislav Nikolic from the Serbian Radical Party as parliament speaker, the second most powerful position in the country.

FRANCE: Another Political Thatcher Is Born

By Julio Godoy

Nicolas Sarkozy's triumph in the French presidential elections could open the way for deep political and social changes, not unlike those that began with the era of Margaret Thatcher in Britain in the 1980s.

BULGARIA: Addicted to Russia’s Energy

By Claudia Ciobanu

A member of the European Union since Jan 1 2007, Bulgaria still takes its cues on energy from Russia.

SLOVAKIA: Hungarian Autonomy Feared

By Zoltán Dujisin

There are fears the election of a new leader for the ethnic Hungarian party in Slovakia will revive the most explosive domestic political topic in the country - autonomy for the Hungarian minority.

ALBANIA: Long and Winding Road Straightening Out

By IPS Correspondents

For a corner of the world where until 17 years ago a foreign visitor was either the exotic Marxist-Leninist relishing the successes of a communist system or the adventurer looking for a good story to tell back home, Albania has made quite a jump.

CLIMATE CHANGE: EU Emissions to Rise, Despite Claims

By IPS Correspondents

One month after the European Union's leaders promised robust action against climate change, green campaigners have accused key EU bodies of implementing policies that will lead to increased emissions of greenhouse gases.

RUSSIA-EU: Glowing Tributes Cover Growing Cracks

By IPS Correspondents

European Union leaders reacted to the news of Boris Yeltsin's death by heaping lavish praise on the Russian president for his decisive role in copper-fastening a rapprochement with the West during the 1990s.

UKRAINE: Compromise in Sight

By Zoltán Dujisin

Ukraine's political crisis could be solved soon as government and the pro-presidential opposition have entered into a dialogue following weeks of bitter confrontation.

POLAND: Socialist Model City Fights for a Future

By Zoltán Dujisin

From communist showcase to bastion of anti-communism, the Stalin-era model city of Nowa Huta is now being stigmatised by Poles who depict it as Krakow's criminal hub and a place without a future.

BALKANS: Send Me A Dalekoumnozitelj, I Am Croat

By Vesna Peric Zimonjic

Forget the past, they say, because the language it left in the Balkans is too mixed up with Serbs and Bosniaks. Croat linguists are now producing a language of their own. If you want to send them a fax about this, you'd have to call it a dalekoumnozitelj.

NORTHERN IRELAND: Opponents Sketch a Blueprint for Peace

By Sanjay Suri

The photographers clicked madly away when Ian Paisley, leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) in Northern Ireland sat down at the same end of the table as Gerry Adams, leader of the Sinn Fein party in a new power sharing agreement.

HUNGARY: NATO Radar Runs Into Opposition

By Zoltán Dujisin

Hungary's plans to host a NATO radar are being met with stiff resistance by locals who cite health and environmental fears. But their municipal representatives are seemingly yielding to government pressure.

BALKANS: Serbs in New Fear of Wahhabis

By Vesna Peric Zimonjic

The detention of seven young "Wahhabis" in the southern Serb region Sanjak has set off new fear of the spread of Islamists in the region.

HUNGARY: Fond Only Of Hungarians

By Zoltán Dujisin

Hungarians are growing increasingly xenophobic - even towards non-existing peoples - a study by a sociology institute shows.

ROMANIA: Young Turn Away from Politics

By Claudia Ciobanu

Students in Romania have gone back to having student-like problems.

SERBIA: Kosovo Sails Away

By Vesna Peric Zimonjic

After more than a year of UN sponsored negotiations, a decision on the southern Serbian province Kosovo is now imminent.

SERBIA: Two Anniversaries And A Question

By Vesna Peric Zimonjic

Talks on the troubled southern Serbian province Kosovo ended last weekend at a significant moment for Serbia, when the anniversaries of the death of two leading historical figures were being marked.

UKRAINE: Flirting with NATO Under Russian Eyes

By Zoltán Dujisin

Western-leaning elites in this nominally neutral country would like to see Ukraine join the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) despite strong popular opposition.

ROMANIA: Past Steps In to Upset Russians

By Claudia Ciobanu

Russia and neighbouring Moldova have expressed anger over a Romanian court decision declaring Romania's invasion of the former Soviet Union in 1941 legitimate.

SLOVAKIA: Steering Clear of the U.S.

By Zoltán Dujisin

Robert Fico, the charismatic Prime Minister of Slovakia, is shifting his country's foreign policy into an unusual direction in this traditionally pro-U.S. region.