A collection of 9 posts
The EU can formally begin accession negotiations with Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) when a stable and pro-European coalition has been formed, according to Christian Schmidt, the international high representative overseeing the implementation of the Dayton Peace Agreement. The Dayton accords were signed in 1995 and ended the Bosnian War. The
Estonian Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur pushed back on Tuesday against criticism of the country’s joint ammunition procurement strategy, defending multilateral arrangements as the most efficient way to ensure quick and cost-effective delivery. Pevkur, a member of the Reform Party, rejected claims that Estonia would have received munitions faster through
After 13 years of knocking on the door, Romania and Bulgaria will join Europe’s Schengen travel zone by March 2024, the European Commission (EC) announced on Monday, 1 January. The Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) countries struck the agreement to join Schengen by air and sea only after Austria
EU members agreed to tighten sustainability regulations for batteries, with an almost unanimous vote at the Council of the EU, on Monday 10 July. The Council tweeted that it “has adopted today new rules that will, for the first time ever, cover the whole lifecycle of batteries. The goal is
Bosnia and Herzegovina became an official candidate for EU membership in Brussels on Thursday, as the European Council approved the recommendation made by the European Commission in October, and then voted through by the EU Council and General Affairs Council this week. The EU’s top diplomat Josep Borrell called
The EU formally approved on Tuesday Croatia joining the Eurozone on New Year’s Day 2023, and proclaimed the development as the end of an “amazing journey” for the Balkan country. Croatian Finance Minister Zdravko Maric declared Tuesday an “historic day” for the nation of 3.9 million people, which
The European Commission (EC) has activated against Hungary a “rule of law mechanism” that links alleged corruption to provision of EU funds. A formal notification was sent to the Hungarian government on Wednesday, after all the commissioners approved the move. On Wednesday morning journalists were briefed that the EU’s
Czechia’s Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky says one of his country’s goals when it heads the EU Council is to clarify the EU’s relationship with China. In an interview with Politico, Lipavsky spoke of Prague’s objectives in its 6-month stint in the rotating presidency, which begins in
EU lawmakers overwhelmingly adopted a position in favour of the Digital Markets Act on Wednesday, which would put constraints on “gatekeeper” tech companies such as US tech giants Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google and Microsoft. MEPs voted 642 in favour and 8 against, with 46 abstentions. Under the new rules big