Postings mit Schlagwort "EU" (9)
Democratisation and reform in SEE
SEE Visions
Understanding Bosnia...
Wars of symbols
"By creating a project where everyone feels offended, Cerny (perhaps unintentionally) shows how fragile Europe is in a world constantly driven by wars of symbols and representation. It shows also how this war could ignite along the fringes of or even within the union." (more...)
EU Should Keep Up Pressure on Belgrade
Related stories: a recently published BIRN article on the fate of Sarajevo's Jews during the war and an IWPR article on Visegrad where people "do not know anything" about what happened during the war. A propos Visegrad and the war: if you are looking for an easy-to-read novel for the end of the Christmas/New Years holidays, I can recommend Sasa Stanisic': Wie der Soldat das Grammofon repariert/How the Soldier Repairs the Gramophone (click here or here to read an extract in English).
Visa facilitation in the W-Balkans
The European Citizen Action Service (ECAS) and King Baudouin Foundation (KBF) organise a conference on 10 December 2008 in Brussels on: “Does it really matter? Visa facilitation in the Western Balkans: Monitoring of the new agreements”. More information on the conference and the conference programme can be found here.
EULEX between hopes and fears
The new EULEX mission should be operational in a few days. Its legal basis is a report by the Secretary General on the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo which was adopted by the UN Security Council last week:
"I expect EULEX to move forward with its deployment in the coming period and to assume responsibilities in the areas of policing, justice and customs, under the overall authority of the United Nations, under a United Nations umbrella headed by my Special Representative, and in accordance with resolution 1244 (1999). UNMIK has been working closely with EULEX on technical arrangements designed to facilitate its deployment under resolution 1244 (1999)." (Ban Ki Moon in the Report of the Secretary-General on the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo from 24 November 2008) (click on "MORE" to read on)
State-building and EU integration
Tonight I just want to share a quote with you from an ECFR article by U. Guérot on EU and state building (the article is from February, but still remains of interest):
The EU and the Western Balkans: The Objectives of the Slovenian EU Presidency
From 12 to 13 September 2008, an international conference will take place in Berlin on "The EU and the Western Balkans: The Objectives of the Slovenian EU Presidency", co-organised by the Südosteuropa-Gesellschaft and the German Foreign Office (more info below):