The European Commission said on Friday (7 June) that both Ukraine and Moldova are sufficiently ready for the formal opening of EU accession talks.
A dozen EU member states have made a joint push to move forward the accession process for candidates Ukraine and Moldova and formally kickstart membership talks by the end of June, according to a letter to the Belgian EU presidency, seen by Euractiv.
In the next European Commission mandate, the enlargement and neighbourhood file is expected to be one of the most prized possessions when it comes to the distribution of EU top jobs between member states.
New EU priorities, such as defence, should not come at the cost of helping poorer EU regions, European Commissioner for Cohesion Elisa Ferreira told Euractiv on Monday (3 June) in Berlin.
EU member states said on Wednesday (29 May) they are hopeful to agree on the negotiation frameworks for Ukraine and Moldova in the first week of June, though some objections from Hungary remain.
The European, Economic and Social Committee has taken a unique approach to enlargement, using a future-proofing strategy to engage with EU candidate countries through a pilot initiative to include them in policy development discussions.
The UN General Assembly voted Thursday (23 May) to establish an annual day of remembrance for the 1995 Srebrenica genocide, despite furious opposition from Bosnian Serbs and Serbia.
Georgia must repeal the 'foreign influence' law as it could be used to silence critical voices, according to The Council of Europe’s top constitutional law body, the Venice Commission, on Tuesday (21 May). Georgian lawmakers passed the controversial Kremlin-style law last …
Several EU member states called on Tuesday (21 May) for the bloc to start membership negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova by the end of June, but several technical and political obstacles remain for the decision to be taken.
Speaking in Brussels on Tuesday (14 May), Mehmet Şimşek added that the EU and Turkey share “equal blame” for the deterioration in their relationship in recent years.
Welcome to EURACTIV’s Global Europe Brief, your weekly update on the EU from a global perspective. You can subscribe to receive our newsletter here. What seemed like a breakthrough a year ago is now facing a stalemate: Neither Belgrade nor Pristina …
Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Belgrade on Tuesday (7 May) has raised eyebrows at a time when Serbia's President Aleksander Vučić has continued to resist increasing pressure to align foreign policy with the West, in particular the EU.
European affairs ministers and their counterparts from EU candidate countries started talks on Tuesday (30 April) on how to strengthen the rule of law both within the bloc and in countries seeking to join it.
The EU should develop an 'equivalent' version of the World War Two-era US Marshall Plan to fund development projects in Moldova and war-torn Ukraine, Moldovan President Maia Sandu said on Monday (29 April).
As the European Commission prepares proposals for a further round of enlargement, the two decades since the 2004 'big bang' enlargement show the ups and downs that could lie ahead. On Wednesday (1 May), the EU commemorates 20 years since the last …
The EU's refugee funding for Turkey does not have enough impact, while the European Commission has failed to present a sufficient cost analysis and long-term plan, EU auditors said in a report on Wednesday (24 April).
The Parliament plans to open a new office in the Western Balkans, as a strategy to enhance its oversight over the enlargement process the European Parliament's administrative body plans in a document seen by Euractiv.
European diplomats have been negotiating “how much positive” a message toward Turkey will be at the EU summit on 17 April as well as if something tangible could be offered to Ankara, Euractiv has learnt.
Kosovo took another step towards becoming a member of the Council of Europe (CoE), a pan-European human rights body, on Tuesday (16 April) as its parliamentary assembly overwhelmingly passed a report recommending membership, with even representatives from non-recognising states voting in support.
With some EU member states and sectors likely to be exposed more than others by the European Union's future enlargement rounds, a new fund is needed to compensate for imbalances, according to a draft report by former Italian prime minister …
EU leaders are expected to stress the importance of making progress in the Cyprus settlement talks, according to draft conclusions, seen by Euractiv, for an EU summit on 17-18 April, amid new calls from Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar for a 'two-state solution' for the divided island.
The EU’s new funding package for the six Western Balkans hopefuls, aimed at boosting fledgling reforms in the region, could see reform plans submitted and first disbursements made ‘before the end of the summer break’, Enlargement Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi told Euractiv.
Bosnia's international peace overseer on Tuesday (26 March) imposed changes to the country's election law to ensure its integrity, including barring convicted war criminals from running, ahead of a vote in October.
EU leaders gave the political green light on Thursday (21 March) for opening membership talks with Bosnia and Herzegovina but also made clear the Western Balkan country would have to undertake more reforms before the actual talks could start.
