Greece's Simitis wants the EU to focus on the Balkans
Published:
21 June 2003 y., Saturday
The Balkans are set to move to centre stage on Saturday as leaders of the European Union continue their summit in the Greek resort of Porto Carras.
Five Balkan countries hope to join the union within the next several years: Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, and Serbia and Montenegro.
The EU will press them hard to make reforms on issues ranging from co-operating with war crimes tribunals, fighting organised crime and reforming finances and civil administration.
The shift to focusing outward on the EU's near neighbours comes after intense inward-looking debate about a new draft constitution for the expanding union. The 15 member states and 10 countries which will join next year said the draft document was a "good basis" for discussion.
A massive security operation has been mounted in Porto Carras to try to avoid the violent protests seen at other recent meetings.
Šaltinis:
BBC News
Copying, publishing, announcing any information from the News.lt portal without written permission of News.lt editorial office is prohibited.
The most popular articles
On 9 August, Daiva Valerija Čekanauskas-Navarrette started her duties as the new Lithuania’s Honorary Consul in the United States.
more »
On 10 August in Washington, Lithuania’s Ambassador Žygimantas Pavilionis presented his credentials to President of the United States of America Barack Obama.
more »
Lithuania’s Minister of Foreign Affairs sent letters of condolences to his Russian counterpart S. Lavrov and Minister of Transport, co-chairman of the Intergovernmental Lithuanian-Russian Commission for Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technical, Humanitarian and Cultural Cooperation I. Levitin, expressing his condolences regarding the victims of violent forest fires in Russia.
more »
President of the Republic of Lithuania Dalia Grybauskaitė sent congratulations on behalf of herself and the people of Lithuania to the President of Macedonia, Gjorge Ivanov, on Macedonia's national holiday, the Day of the Republic.
more »
President of the Republic of Lithuania Dalia Grybauskaitė sent congratulations on behalf of herself and the people of Lithuania to the President of the Swiss Confederation, Doris Leuthard, on the Swiss National Day.
more »
On 29 July in Vilnius, at a convention of country chairmen of the Lithuanian World Community and the Lithuanian Youth Union, Lithuania’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Audronius Ažubalis invited world Lithuanians to engage actively in the discussion on the strategy of “Global Lithuania”.
more »
On 27 July, Lithuania’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Audronius Ažubalis sent a letter to Iceland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs and External Trade Össur Skarphéðinsson congratulating Iceland on the start of EU membership negotiations.
more »
On 26 July, Lithuania’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Audronius Ažubalis sent a letter to Germany’s Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle expressing his condolences to the families and relatives of the victims , who died during a techno music festival in Duisburg.
more »
President of the Republic of Lithuania Dalia Grybauskaitė received letters of credence from Mr. Nguyen Hoang as the Ambassador of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and Mr. Deepak Vohra as the Ambassador of the Republic of India.
more »
President Dalia Grybauskaitė received Eastern European political business and public women leaders.
more »