SE European media roundup on EU-related issues on 19-25 May 05
BBC Monitoring Service – United Kingdom
May 26, 2005
For queries and feedback please contact Duty Editor, Europe, on
0186254 (internal) or 0118 948 6254 (external), or email
[email protected]
The following is a roundup of media reports on EU-related issues from
the applicant countries in Southeastern Europe between 19 and 25 May
2005:
BULGARIA
Elections/EU/opposition
Sergey Stanishev, leader of the opposition Bulgarian Socialist Party,
the BSP, presented the party’s election platform. He said the next
four-year period would be decisive for Bulgaria’s place in the
European Union. Stanishev pledged to run the country in a European
manner if the BSP won the elections. “We need Eurorealism rather than
scepticism and excessive expectations. The people in our country are
expecting a change in the leadership. They would like to feel that the
state institutions are concerned about them, and this is precisely the
policy that BSP offers,” he said. He said Bulgaria could not risk EU
membership over the Kozloduy nuclear plant issue. He also said there
was no serious progress in judicial reform or preparing a new penal
code.
(BGNES web site, Sofia, in Bulgarian 1314 gmt 24 May 05; BTA web site,
Sofia, in English 20 May 05; BGNES web site, Sofia, in Bulgarian 0749
gmt 20 May 05)
CROATIA
Minority rights/Serbs
This week has seen a spate of attacks on ethnic Serb targets.
The dead body of an elderly Serb with visible marks of violence was
found in the village of Karin near the coastal town of Zadar. The
Veritas Documentation and Information Centre, a Serb refugee centre
with offices in Belgrade and Banja Luka, announced that the man in
question was Dusan Vidic, a retired officer of the former Yugoslav
People’s Party, whose throat had been slit.
Savo Strbac, the NGO’s head, said that the murder was most probably a
result of ethnic hatred and a warning to all Serbs who wished to
return to Croatia. Strbac further remarked that over the last two
months there had been three cases of death by hanging among the Serb
returnees to the Dalmatian coast and that these deaths were described
as suicide by Croatian official sources.
The government-in-exile of the self-styled Republic of Serb Krajina,
or RSK, described the murder as a repugnant crime and proof that the
persecution of Serbs, both in religious and ethnic terms, has not
abated. The RSK urged Serbia-Montenegro, or SCG, authorities to
undertake “energetic measures” before international organizations in
order to remove the consequences of ethnic cleansing of Serbs. The RSK
further launched an attack on the media in SCG over the coverage of
the incident because it “either ignored it or reported it in columns
which cover ordinary crimes”.
The Serb MP and deputy chairman of the Independent Democratic Serb
Party, or SDSS, Milorad Pupovac, blamed the media in Croatia for
contributing to persecution of co-nationals. “The media first
contributed to this atmosphere when they reported that no less that
10,000 Serbs were coming over from SCG to vote in the recent local
elections in Croatia `so that they can take over power’, even though
`barely 2,000 had arrived,” Pupovac said.
He further noted that the escalation of ethnic violence was a result
of the good election results achieved by his party. He accused the
Knin-branch of the ruling Croatian Democratic Union, or HDZ, of
attempting to gather all Croatian parties under the slogan of “all
Croats against Serbs” in a bid to exclude the SDSS, which won the
municipal election with 35 per cent of the vote, from the future local
government. “If Serbs and the SDSS – 10 years after Operation Storm –
are openly being told that `living together is not possible’, then
this is a worrying message, all the more as the SDSS is one of the
premier’s strongest suits on the path to Europe,” Pupovac said.
(SRNA news agency, Bijeljina, in Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian 1436 gmt 19
May; SRNA news agency, 0818 gmt 20 May; SRNA news agency 0645 gmt 19
May )
An unknown attacker hurled an explosive device into a building with
residential and office premises in Vukovar. The device damaged a flat
which was situated next to the offices of the Party of Danube Serbs,
or PPS, whose head office is also based in the building. No-one was
hurt.
On the morning of 22 May, two explosive devices went off outside the
municipal buildings in Trpinja and Borovo near Vukovar. The blasts did
not claim any casualties, but caused substantial material damage to
the facilities.
The government condemned the attacks in the strongest terms. Prime
Minister Ivo Sanader requested that the Ministry of Internal Affairs
and other relevant bodies scale up their efforts and arrest the
culprits. “These excesses, whose perpetrators will be discovered and
punished, cannot and must not threaten the co-existence and
reconciliation in the area, something which is the country’s lasting
commitment,” Sanader said.
In a most damning criticism of all Croatian ministers, President
Stjepan Mesic branded the murder of the elderly Serb returnee and the
explosions “politically-motivated acts of terrorism”.
Asked whether it was the aim of these terrorists to undermine
Croatia’s entry into the EU, Mesic said that this could only be
ascertained once the cases were resolved, but that it was “a fact that
terrorists want Croatia to be isolated because it can only be
plundered when isolated”.
The OSCE condemned the attacks, saying that it was “worrying” that
these blasts occurred on the heels of the local elections which were
held in a tolerant and democratic atmosphere.
(HINA news agency, Zagreb, in English 1804 gmt 23 May; HINA news
agency, in Croatian 0943 gmt 22 May; HINA news agency, in Croatian
1333 gmt 22 May; HINA news agency, in English 1802 gmt 23 May)
EU entry/bilateral ties
President Mesic and Prime Minister Sanader received cast-iron
assurances from Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos that
his country would support Croatia on its path towards the EU.
(HINA news agency, Zagreb, in Croatian 1517 gmt 19 May 05)
MACEDONIA
Macedonia/EU integration
Macedonia is right to expect a positive response from the European
Commission and the status of an EU membership candidate, President
Branko Crvenkovski told the third national forum on Macedonia’s
integration into the EU. The strategic goal of bringing Macedonia
closer to the EU has been achieved, he added, stressing that future
moves will have to result in the fulfilment of the political criteria
required for EU membership. Economic criteria will soon take
precedence.
(Macedonian Radio, Skopje, 1000 gmt 25 May 05)
Macedonia/Pope/EU
Pope Benedict XVI will lobby for Macedonia’s Euro-Atlantic
integration, he told Prime Minister Vlado Buckovski on 23 May. He
asked for religion to be included in the Macedonian school curriculum.
(Macedonian Radio, Skopje, in Macedonian 1000 gmt 23 May 05)
Macedonia/Italy/NATO
Vlado Buckovski on 24 May received from his former counterpart,
Italian Defence Minister Antonio Martino, approval for Macedonia’s
path towards NATO and its defence and judicial reforms. They also
discussed the situation in Kosovo. This was also on the agenda of
Buckovski’s meeting with Gianfranco Fini, deputy prime minister and
foreign minister. Fini reportedly assessed positively the
implementation of the Framework Agreement, adding that Macedonia’s
efforts should be appreciated. Italy will support Macedonia in its
NATO integration and its bid to receive the status of EU membership
candidate.
(Macedonian Radio, Skopje, in Macedonian 1000 gmt 24 May 05)
Macedonia/EU/police
Cooperation between the EU police (EUPOL) mission, codenamed Proxima,
and the Macedonian Interior Ministry is good, according to EU special
envoy to Macedonia Michael Sahlin and Proxima head Juergen Scholz. The
progress of the Macedonian police in accordance with EU standards is
also rather encouraging, they said. The EUPOL mission is due to finish
by the end of 2005.
(Macedonian Radio, Skopje, in Macedonian 1330 gmt 19 May 05)
Macedonia/regional cooperation
The third annual meeting of the Southeast Europe Police Chiefs
Association (SEPCA) commenced on 19 May in the Macedonian town of
Ohrid. The event brought together high-ranking police officers of the
participating states – Macedonia, Serbia-Montenegro, Croatia,
Bulgaria, Albania, Bosnia-Hercegovina, the (Bosnian) Serb Republic and
Moldova. One of the main themes of the meeting was to promote
cooperation in the fight against organized crime.
(Makfax news agency, Skopje, 1404 gmt 19 May 05)
Macedonia/law
The Macedonian parliament on 19 May passed a law on witness
protection, aimed at providing efficient protection for individuals in
possession of significant information for a criminal procedure whose
life is endangered. Justice Minister Meri Mladenovska Gjorgievska said
the law would contribute to fighting organized crime more efficiently.
(MIA news agency, Skopje, in English 1506 gmt 19 May 05)
Macedonia/economy
Vlado Buckovski on 20 May announced the government’s economic
programme for the reduction of unemployment by 60,000 by the end of
2006 and economic growth of 4-5 per cent. He explained that the
programme contained a package of measures for the resolution of the
crucial problems in the economy, namely economic growth, unemployment
and the deficit in the trade balance and balance of payments. Among
the measures to improve the business climate, Buckovski announced the
introduction of a one-stop-shop system for rapidly registering firms,
and financial assistance for small companies through the Macedonian
Bank for Development Support.
“The government’s economic policy is a mix of macroeconomic stability
and structural reforms, which should deliver higher growth rates in
the short or mid-term,” Buckovski stressed in a speech. “Reforms are
pending in numerous areas to improve the business environment,
judicial efficiency, increase labour market flexibility, improve the
regulatory and supervisory framework of the banking sector, develop
the securities market and the insurance sector, as well as continue
the reforms in the public sector etc”, Buckovski said.
Experts assessed that the government’s economic programme does not
offer specific solutions for the economic crisis. It is too general
and does not contain deadlines for the realization of set objectives,
they said.
(Makfax news agency, Skopje, 1205 gmt 20 May; MIA news agency, Skopje,
in English 1421 gmt 22 May; Utrinski vesnik newspaper, Skopje, in
Macedonian 24 May 05)
Macedonia/EU/migration
Many Albanians in Macedonia are interested in acquiring Bulgarian
citizenship so they can travel to the EU more easily. Bulgaria is an
EU candidate country and its citizens can travel to EU states without
Schengen visas. One “facilitator” based in Kumanovo said he had dealt
with over 50 Albanians who wished to gain Bulgarian citizenship. This
costs over 500 euros – first an ID card for foreigners is issued by
the Bulgarian Interior Ministry, and after several weeks the desired
passport is issued. One of the required conditions is that Albanians
must adapt their surname to a Bulgarian form – from Ramadani to
Rakhmanov, for example.
(Koha Ditore newspaper, Skopje, in Albanian 19 May 05)
ROMANIA
EU entry/early elections
Prime Minister Calin Popescu-Tariceanu said the European Commission
warned the government that holding early elections might affect
Romania’s schedule in the process of joining the European Union. “The
European Commission has clearly changed its perception, which is quite
favourable now, it trusts the current government, but, at he same
time, we have received clear warnings against early elections,” the
prime minister said.
(Rompres news agency, Bucharest, in English 1030 gmt 24 May 05)
EU accession/cost of delays
Leonard Orban, Romania’s chief EU negotiator said that the direct cost
Romania would had to pay if accession was postponed by one year would
be as high as 1.16bn euros. Orban said that there would also be
political costs as well as other indirect costs that could be much
greater because postponing accession would mean losing opportunities
and support for modernization.
The chief negotiator said the authorities’ current main objective was
making sure the safeguard clause was not used. According to Orban, the
EU is now very weary and West European leaders are keen to criticize
any mistakes made by candidates. Stressing the importance of
preparations for EU accession, he said that so far members of the
business community had shown very little interest in the deep changes
the Romanian economy is supposed to undergo.
(Rompres news agency, Bucharest, in English 1408 gmt 20 May 05)
EU entry/judicial reforms
Chairman of the Chamber of Deputies Adrian Nastase wrote a letter to
European Commission Vice-President Franco Frattini, in which he
complained about what he called the government’s “brutal pressures” on
the Romanian legal system. According to Nastase, Justice Minister
Monica Macovei wants to exercise control over the prosecutors. “The
fundamental goal of amending the legislation is to purge the judicial
system and to replace people based on political criteria,” the PSD’s
executive chairman wrote. Nastase reminded Frattini that negotiations
on the justice chapter were concluded when he was Romania’s prime
minister, and he asks the latter to help him “in order to avoid these
sideslips.” Nastase also asked Frattini to say whether amending the
law on the judicial system was a “specific” requirement of the
European Commission.
(Adevarul, Bucharest, in Romanian 19 May 05)
TURKEY
EU talks/chief negotiator
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said that he believed that Minister of
State for Economy Ali Babacan would serve successfully as Turkey’s
chief negotiator for entry talks with the EU .
Gul said it was a good choice because membership negotiations would
mostly cover economic matters and because Babacan had already dealt
with issues concerning the EU.
Gul also said that Babacan would continue to hold his ministerial
post.
(Anatolia news agency, Ankara, in English 1222 gmt 24 May 05)
Armenian genocide issue
Istanbul’s Bogazici University cancelled a conference entitled
“Ottoman Armenians During Collapse of Empire” over what it called
serious imputations about the conference. The university said: “We are
concerned that prejudices about the content of a conference which has
not been held yet may deteriorate the academic freedom of a state
university,” the university said .
(Anatolia news agency, Ankara, in English 2017 gmt 24 May 05)
Justice Minister Cemil Cicek described the conference as “nothing but
a stab in the back for Turks” and said he wished his ministerial post
did not prevent him from taking the matter to court.
(Anatolia in English 1313 gmt 24 May 05)
EU talks/women’s rights
Addressing a conference on the role of women in society, Foreign
Minister Abdullah Gul said that despite the legal regulations
undertaken in the field of women’s rights in Turkey, Turkish women
still faced unfair treatment for cultural, political, legal and
economic reasons. “I should confess that the participation of the
Turkish women in political life is not at the desired level,” said Gul
noting that the ruling party and government were determined to
increase women’s role in the political process.
Gul said the Turkish parliament planned to set up a commission or
sub-commission on equality between the sexes and women’s rights and
Turkey was considering attending the second part of EU’s Daphne
programme aimed at countering violence against women, juveniles and
children.
(Anatolia news agency, Ankara, in English 1110 gmt 24 May 05)
EU talks/full membership
Commenting on reports in the Turkish media that Turkey had been
offered “privileged partnership”, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Namik Tan
said that the government rejected any such idea. “Turkey, which will
start entry talks with EU on 3 October 2005 due to the decision taken
at 17 December EU summit, has concentrated all of its energy on full
membership target. On the basis of these realities, Turkey can’t
accept another formula or alternative than full membership,” Tan said.
(Anatolia news agency, Ankara, in English 1408 gmt 21 May 05)
EU membership/relations with Finland
Visiting Turkish State Minister Kursad Tuzmen said that Finland’s
taking the EU’s rotating presidency would be good for Turkey. “I told
Mr Prime Minister that Turkey expected to see a more sincere approach
from the EU towards Turkey,” Tuzmen said.
“Our support to Turkey’s EU bid will continue and improvement of
Turkey-EU relations will also contribute to Turkey-Finland relations,”
Finnish Minister of Foreign Trade and Development Paula Lehtomaki
said.
(Anatolia news agency, Ankara, in English 1228 gmt 20 May 05)