Belgian EU presidency would support enlargement
Belgium will support the enlargement of the European Union to include Croatia, Iceland and Turkey during its forthcoming presidency of the bloc. READ MORE
Turkish President: We don’t want anything other than EU membership
Turkey will not accept any new framework of relations to the EU except full membership, Turkish President Abdullah Gül told EurActiv in an exclusive interview. READ MORE
Strategic decisions adopted by the European Council will help prevent crises in the future
President of the Republic of Lithuania Dalia Grybauskaitė calls the decisions adopted by the European Council strategic and important for Lithuania and for the whole European Union. The Heads of States gathered in Brussels agreed that all Member States will perform stress tests on their banking systems in the effort to stabilise financial markets. According to President Dalia Grybauskaitė, testing in Lithuania will be performed by the central bank and the Ministry of Finance. READ MORE
EU approves harsh new sanctions against Iran
The European Union and the United States apparently find it easier to take on the Iranian nuclear problem than the global financial crisis. On June 17, EU government chiefs agreed to new sanctions against Iran at a Brussels summit. U.S. President Barack Obama was no doubt pleased to hear the news, even though the U.S. and the EU had most likely coordinated the sanctions in advance. READ MORE
The EU needs a foreign policy doctrine
Today's world contains two declining global powers (Russia and the US) and two emerging ones (China and the EU). While China's rise is unstoppable, the EU must establish its own foreign policy doctrine, which in an interdependent world must be one of "inclusiveness" and soft power, writes Romanian MEP Adrian Severin, vice-president of the Socialists & Democrats group in the European Parliament, in an exclusive commentary. READ MORE
EU starts defining energy strategy for next decade
EU ministers on the 31th of May gave their first views on the upcoming EU energy strategy for 2011-2020, agreeing that it should be ready for endorsement by EU leaders in March 2011. READ MORE
Israel's reputation in tatters as EU, world powers review relations
Israel's relations with the EU and other world powers have taken a battering in the wake of the Israeli attack on the Gaza aid flotilla. In spite of this, experts believe Israel will not buckle under growing pressure. READ MORE
Saakashvili’s dream is to have easy access to Europe
Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili believes that Europe must not be a tough target for his country as he said at the debates in Tbilisi's House Of Europe opened specifically for such discussions. Logomachies, as creators of the institution believe, will accelerate Georgia's accession to Europe. Experts in Tbilisi and Moscow comment on real progress of Georgia's integration into Europe. READ MORE
A new impetus to the relations between the EU and its neighbours in the East
Lithuania will remain an active participant of the European Union’s Eastern Partnership initiative and will make every effort to ensure its successful implementation, Lithuania’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Audronius Ažubalis said at the Eastern Partnership Foreign Ministers’ Informal Meeting on 24 May in Sopot, Poland. READ MORE
The EU and natural gas: The new security agenda
Energy supply should dominate the EU's overall security objectives for the immediate future, given its dependence on Russia. READ MORE
