Ahto Lobjakas

Also by Ahto Lobjakas

• January 24, 2006

  Opposition Wants More Focused Support From EU

  Although resigned to losing the presidential elections on 19 March, the Belarusian opposition is seeking more focused EU help, two opposition representatives told a meeting at the European Parliament in Brussels.

• January 20, 2006

  War-Crimes Issue Pushing Serbia To Crossroads

  The EU emerges from talks with the UN war-crimes tribunal to tell Serbia its prospects of EU membership are at stake unless it cooperates in finding the war-crimes suspects Ratko Mladic and Radovan Karadzic.

• January 19, 2006

  Parliament Cools On Membership Hopes Of Neighbors

  Traditionally a strong supporter of further enlargement, the parliament now seems to be aiming lower.

• January 18, 2006

  EP Deputies Slam Bloc's Timid Approach

  European Parliament deputies have attacked what many consider the EU's overly-diplomatic approach to Russia, and specifically, Chechnya.

• January 18, 2006

  EU Worries About Dependence On Russian Energy

  The European Parliament takes stock of the Russian-Ukrainian gas spat as decision makers addressing the parliament say safeguarding Europe's energy supplies against such shocks will take a long time.

• January 17, 2006

  Brussels Lauds Temporary Resolution Of Gas Dispute

  The European Commission has welcomed news that Moldova and Russia have reached a temporary settlement in their dispute over gas prices.

• January 13, 2006

  EU: $100 Million Pledged To Fight Bird Flu

  EU Health Commissioner Markos Kyprianou at a news conference about bird flu, 13 January (epa) As health officials from over 90 countries prepare to meet in Beijing next week, the EU earmarks money to limit the impact of bird flu in Europe, Asia, and the developing world.

• January 12, 2006

  EU Representative Urges Action Against Drugs

  The EU’s special representative in Afghanistan says illegal drugs are by far the country's biggest problem.

• January 12, 2006

  Questions Linger About Russian-Ukrainian Gas Deal

  During a meeting of the European Parliament's Ukrainian delegation, officials questioned whether the agreement on gas prices has resolved for good differences between Moscow and Kyiv.

• January 11, 2006

  New OSCE Presidency Attempts To Resolve Frozen Conflicts

  Belgium's Foreign Minister Karel de Gucht said in Brussels today that his country's 2006 presidency of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) sees "openings" in Europe's so-called frozen conflicts. He was most optimistic about Nagorno-Karabakh and South Ossetia. De Gucht indicated that Russia's cooperation is crucial to resolve the conflicts and said Belgium's strategy will be based on avoiding confrontation with Moscow.

• January 11, 2006

  EU-Funded Media Broadcasts To Start Before March Elections

  The European Commission has said that EU-funded television and radio broadcasts to Belarus will "definitely" start before the presidential elections in mid-March.

• January 03, 2006

  EU: Brussels Urges Russian-Ukrainian Gas Talks

  (CTK) The European Union is pursuing a carefully neutral line in the spat over gas prices between Russia and Ukraine, refusing to blame either party. The European Commission called an emergency meeting of energy officials for 4 January, but insists there is no supply crisis. However, a number of EU countries said their gas supplies dropped by a third as a result of Russia’s now abandoned attempt to cut gas deliveries to Ukraine while maintaining transit through the country to the rest of the continent.

• December 23, 2005

  EU To Continue Work In Russia Despite NGO Law

  Brussels, 23 December (RFE/RL) -- The European Commission says a controversial Russian law passed today by the Duma regulating the work of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) should "not have been brought forward at all." <p></p>

• December 21, 2005

  EU: Europe Prepares Moves To Welcome Guest Workers

  (CTK) The European Commission said today that it wants the EU to welcome a limited number of legal immigrants by the end of the decade. Most EU member states are resisting the plan. The commission argues, however, that the EU needs workers, and that legal migration would help curb the scourge of people trafficking.

• December 17, 2005

  EU: Budget Deal Allows Consolidation Of Enlargement

  European commission President Jose Manuel Barroso praised the deal (file photo) (epa) The leaders of the European Union’s 25 member states struck a long-awaited deal early today on the bloc’s next budget for 2007-13. The agreement releases large new funds for the 10 poorer, mostly Eastern European states that joined the EU last year. It is also expected to give the EU an impetus to overcome the political crisis that followed the collapse of the constitution last summer in referendums in France and the Netherlands.

• December 13, 2005

  EU: South Caucasus Countries Discuss 'Frozen Conflicts,' Closer Ties

  Javier Solana (file photo) (AFP) The foreign ministers of the three South Caucasus countries -- Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia -- were in Brussels today to hold talks with EU High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana and other officials. After the meetings, Solana said the EU is willing to get more involved in the region’s so-called frozen conflicts, without offering any details. The discussions also touched on progress in ongoing talks on EU neighborhood Action Plans that outline the bloc's support for the three countries over the coming years. The talks were delayed as a result of a spat between Cyprus and Azerbaijan, and final agreement could yet be held up.

• December 08, 2005

  Ministers Discuss U.S. Terror 'Dilemma'

  The latest gathering of NATO foreign ministers was overshadowed by the controversy over allegations that the United States has transported terror suspects to other countries to be tortured.

• December 07, 2005

  NATO: Foreign Ministers Meet To Discuss New Missions, Possible Expansion

  NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer (file photo) (AFP) Foreign ministers from all 27 NATO countries -- including U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice -- will meet in Brussels tomorrow. They will discuss the alliance's ongoing operations, including expanding NATO activities in Afghanistan and setting up a counternarcotics training program for Central Asia with Russian cooperation. NATO officials say they expect U.S. allies to seize the opportunity and to question Rice about allegations of unlawful CIA activities that may have taken place in Europe over the past few years.

• December 06, 2005

  EU: U.K. Attempts To Trim Funds To New Members

  Foreign Secretary Jack Straw (file photo) (AFP) The British presidency of the European Union has unveiled a trimmed-down proposal for the bloc’s budget for 2007 to 2013. Calculated to please the EU’s main contributors, the cuts primarily affect funds earmarked for the EU’s new member states. Britain argues that those countries will be unable to use all of the money in any case and instead is proposing measures to make spending faster and easier. The cuts have been rejected by the new member states, and most other member states are also critical, suggesting that the EU’s 15-16 December summit may once again fail to pass the budget.

• December 05, 2005

  U.S.: Rice Trying To Mend Fences In Europe

  Condoleeza Rice (file photo) (AFP) U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is using a tour of European capitals this week to ask allies to ease the pressure on the United States over allegations that the CIA has run secret prisons for terrorist suspects in some European countries. She is expected to emphasize that the United States and Europe are partners in a war against terrorism that sometimes requires tough action.

Load more