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Ahto Lobjakas

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November 15, 2010
NATO Chief Plays Down Afghan Leader's Criticism

Afghan President Hamid Karzai caused some consternation in Western capitals when he urged the United States "to reduce military operations" in his country. But NATO's secretary-general says there is "no alternative" to Western military operations.
November 13, 2010
The Moscow Paradigm Of Journalism

The recent spate of brutal beatings of journalists in Russia has confirmed the country’s seemingly inexorable slide in media-freedom rankings. But Russia is just the epicenter of a vast post-Soviet afterglow, where journalist ideals -- not to mention immunity -- have been almost washed away.
November 10, 2010
EU Sketches Out Energy Strategy Through 2020

Guenter Oettinger, the EU energy commissioner, has sketched out a joint EU energy strategy for the next decade, saying the bloc needs up to a trillion euros to invest in infrastructure. He also pleaded for a common external energy policy, saying member states pursuing their own interests weaken the EU's collective negotiating position.
November 09, 2010
EU Enlargement Reports Give Everyone Low Marks

The annual European Union progress reports on membership hopefuls, adopted by the European Commission today, paint a largely depressing picture. Out of nine countries, only Croatia emerges with a realistic chance of joining the EU in the foreseeable future. All of its neighbors in the western Balkans fail key EU tests and conditions, as does Turkey.
November 08, 2010
EU Visas History For Albanians, Bosnians

The European Union has announced it will no longer require visas from short-stay Bosnian and Albanian visitors to its Schengen area as of mid-December. The two Balkan countries will thus join Serbia, Montenegro and Macedonia, for which the EU abolished visa requirements a year ago.
October 21, 2010
EU Serves Warning To Ukraine Over Democracy

Top EU officials and politicians have warned Ukraine its democratic record will ultimately determine how closely the country will be integrated with the European Union.
October 19, 2010
EU To Found Diplomatic Branch

The European Parliament is set to remove the last obstacle from the path of the creation of the EU's External Action Service -- a single diplomatic arm for the 27-member bloc.
October 15, 2010
Council Of Europe Takes Up Abortion Debate

A debate at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) last week has fanned the flames in the debate over the respective rights of embryos and expectant mothers in Europe. In a surprise vote, PACE adopted a resolution affirming the right of medical practitioners to refuse to perform abortions -- contrary to what the draft's authors had originally intended.
October 14, 2010
NATO Ministers Finalizing Fresh 'Strategic Concept' Ahead Of Summit

NATO foreign and defense ministers met in Brussels today to finalize the agenda of the alliance's upcoming summit in Lisbon on November 19 and 20. Diplomats said differences are narrowing among allies over the content of the alliance's new "strategic concept," which will be NATO's blueprint for the next decade.
October 08, 2010
Alliance Chief Introduces 'NATO 3.0'

NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen has given the most comprehensive overview to date of the work being done on the alliance's new strategic concept, set to be unveiled at the Lisbon summit this November.
October 06, 2010
Yuan Overshadows EU-China Summit

For two self-confessed strategic partners, there is little in the way of converging interests in the EU-China relationship. The EU-China summit on Wednesday made no headway on fundamental issues such as political and economic reforms in China. Instead, the summit was dominated by currency disputes first thrown into sharp relief during an earlier preliminary Eurozone-China meeting in Brussels.
September 30, 2010
EU Set To Extend Belarus Visa Ban -- With Some Exemptions

Diplomats in Brussels say EU ambassadors have agreed to extend by another 12 months a visa ban on top Belarusian officials.
September 29, 2010
EU Launches Legal Action Against France On Roma Expulsions

The European Commission has stepped up its pressure on France to rethink its policy of deporting illegal Roma.
September 28, 2010
EU Envoy Says Afghan Voting System 'Impedes' Democracy

Vygaudas Usackas said the current Afghan system encourages voting for individuals, not parties.
September 16, 2010
France's Roma Expulsions Overshadow EU Summit

What onlookers described as a "fierce exchange" between the French president Nicolas Sarkozy and the president of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, on France's controversial expulsions of Roma cast a pall over the EU summit in Brussels.
September 14, 2010
EU Threatens France Over Roma

EU Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding has issued a sharp condemnation of France's explusions of Romany migrants after it emerged Paris had specifically targeted the Roma despite contrary assurances.
September 13, 2010
Ukrainian President Quietly Downgrades EU Ambitions

Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych arrived in Brussels for his second visit since his election early this year. Though his personal relationship with EU leaders appears good, there are signs the Ukrainian leader has quietly dropped his predecessor's drive for EU membership.
September 11, 2010
EU Ministers Weigh Strategic Partnerships

EU foreign ministers adjourn after spending much of a two-day, informal meeting in Brussels debating the principles underlying the bloc's choice of strategic partners.
September 09, 2010
EU Raps France On Roma Expulsions

The European Parliament has narrowly approved a resolution sharply criticizing France for its expulsion of more than 1,000 Romanian and Bulgarian Roma since early August.
September 07, 2010
EU Warns France On Expulsion Of Roma

A senior EU official has said France needs "assistance" to make sure its ongoing expulsions of mainly Romanian and Bulgarian Roma are following EU laws.

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