European Commission plans to open talks with Albania and Macedonia about joining the EU

"The European Commission has said it wants to open talks with Albania and Macedonia to allow the two countries to join the European Union.

EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini said the two countries had made significant progress in implementing the reforms demanded by Brussels and that they could join their neighbours Montenegro and Serbia, which are already in negotiations.

The move comes ahead of a major EU summit in Sofia next month to discuss the Western Balkan countries’ relationship with the union, and the week a pro-EU president was elected in Montenegro.

Ms Mogherini suggested that Bosnia and Kosovo, two other countries in the region that want to join, had more work to do before talks could start with them – but did not rule out their future accession, stating that “the Western Balkans are Europe, and will be part of the European Union’s future”.

“Over the past year and beyond partners from the region have delivered very important reforms across the board and have modernised their economies. Out of six Western Balkan partners, two, Montenegro and Serbia, have progressed well in the negotiations,” she said.

“Today the Commission recommends that the Council decides to open accession negotiations with Albania and with the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia."

“We are also working towards an opinion on Bosnia and Herzegovina’s application, and with the Kosovo authorities, we are working towards further progress on the basis of the stabilisation and association agreement we have.”

She added: “I have to say that over the last three years we have seen results that were clearly considered impossible to be achieved when we started our mandate.”

Ms Mogherini said she would be travelling to the region on Tuesday evening to meet with national leaders there. The European Commission has produced seven individual reports on the Western Balkan countries and Turkey, and their prospects for accession to the EU. All have said they want to join. The High Representative for Foreign Affairs said membership would be conditional on the continuation of reforms.

The European Council, which is made up to the 28 EU leaders and next meets in June, would have to sign off the European Commission’s recommendation for it to become official. Other than the Balkan states, Turkey has also been a candidate country since 1999 – but talks have stalled and effectively stopped, with several EU leaders saying they would not permit Turkey to join."

Independent

Közel egymillióan szereztek uniós állampolgárságot 2016-ban.

"Amíg 2014-ben 889 ezer, 2015-ben 841 ezer, addig 2016-ban 995 ezer fő kapott uniós állampolgárságot. Itt nem feltétlenül mindig távoli országok lakóira kell gondolni, a két évvel ezelőtti adatoknak a 12 százaléka ugyanis olyan főt takar, aki korábban is uniós állampolgár volt - csak épp egy másik tagállamban.

Ennek megfelelően a legnagyobb arányban a kontinensen belülről (32,5 százalék) jöttek az új állampolgárok, ezt Afrika (29,6 százalék), Ázsia (20,9 százalék), Amerika (15,2 százalék) és végül jelentősen lemaradva Óceánia követi, amely mindössze az összes letelepedő 0,5 százalékának adott otthont korábban. Ennél valamivel többen, egészen pontosan 1,3 százaléknyian voltak azok, akik korábban semmilyen vagy ismeretlen állampolgársággal rendelkeztek."

Tovább...

Hungary's strongman Viktor Orban wins third term in power

Prime Minister Viktor Orban won a third straight term in power in Sunday elections after his anti-immigration campaign message secured a strong majority for his party in parliament, granting him two-thirds of seats based on preliminary results.

The rightwing nationalist prime minister projected himself as a savior of Hungary’s Christian culture against Muslim migration into Europe, an image which resonated with millions of voters, especially in rural areas.“We have won, Hungary has won a great victory,” a jubilant Orban told a large crowd of cheering supporters near the Danube river in Budapest. “There is a big battle behind us, we have won a crucial victory, giving ourself a chance to defend Hungary.”

According to preliminary results with 93 percent of votes counted, National Election Office data projected Fidesz to win 133 seats, a tight two-thirds majority in the 199-seat parliament. Nationalist Jobbik was projected to win 26 seats, while the Socialists were projected as third with 20 lawmakers.

Two smaller leftist parties, DK and LMP, won nine and eight seats respectively.

That means Orban could have a two-thirds majority for a third time, and powers to change constitutional laws. The EU has struggled to respond as Orban’s government has, in the view of its critics, used its two landslide victories in 2010 and 2014 to erode democratic checks and balances. 

Reuters

EU carbon market emissions rise for first time in 7 years in 2017

"Emissions regulated under Europe’s carbon market rose for the first time in seven years in 2017 due to stronger industrial output, data published on Tuesday by the European Commission and examined by carbon analysts at Thomson Reuters showed.

Around 45 percent of the European Union’s output of greenhouse gases is regulated by the Emissions Trading System (ETS), the bloc’s flagship policy to tackle global warming by charging for the right to emit carbon dioxide (CO2).The ETS is expected to contribute around two thirds of the reductions needed to meet the EU’s target of slashing emissions by 20 percent from 1990 levels.

According to the analysts’ interpretation of the data, emissions totalled 1.756 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent (CO2e) last year for companies under the ETS excluding airlines, up 0.3 percent on the previous year.

Capped emissions from power and heating generation fell by 1 percent, but the overall figure was lifted by a 1.8 percent rise in emissions from industry.“The European economy grew 2.5 percent last year. Solid growth in the European economy resulted in increased activity leading to higher emissions,” Ingvild Sorhus, lead carbon analyst at Thomson Reuters, said. 

(...) "

Reuters