The Netherlands against the enlargement of the European Union

A diplomatic source from Brussels stated that the recommendation of the European Commission is clear, so there is no need to prolong the reaching of the decision on the candidacy of Montenegro.

Until recently, it was considered that Montenegro will not be able to obtain the candidate status before the first summit in 2011 because German Chancellor Angela Merkel cannot give an approval on any issue regarding the enlargement without the approval of the German Federal Parliament. However, Germany no longer represents a blockade. The only obstacle to Montenegro for obtaining the candidate status is the Netherlands, which does not support the enlargement process.

News source: Limun.hr link: article

Romania 'Ready' for Schengen, Aware of Obstacles

Officials say Romania will be ready to join the EU's borderless Schengen area in March, but political issues might delay accession. "From a technical point of view, we will be ready to join the Schengen area in March 2011," the country's Justice Minister Catalin Predoiu said earlier this week. “On the other hand, we are aware that some European countries still say Romania has problems with corruption and delays in reforming the justice system,” he added.

Predoiu’s statement followed a visit this week of an EU expert team which inspected two airports and two border crossing points as part of an assessment of Bucharest’s bid to join the zone of 25 countries within which people can travel without passport border checks. Romanian officials are optimistic that EU will not block Romania’s accession to the Schengen area once technical criteria are met. “We are confident, given the steps we have taken to attain this goal," representatives of the national airport company said in a press release. “Accession to Schengen is a technical issue and we meet all the requirements." Both Romanian President Traian Basescu and Foreign Minister Teodor Baconschi also said recently that accession depends mainly on technical criteria, which can be fully met in due time.

Voices inside the EU, however, are much more critical, as mainly France and the Netherlands insist on linking the entry date to progress in judicial reform. Last Wednesday, French Secretary of State for European Affairs, Pierre Lellouche, urged EU members to hold off on their decision to let Romania and Bulgaria join the Schengen area. Bucharest's Schengen accession should not be decided until new reports are published, and not in March 2011 as initially planned, Lellouche urged.

Another EU mission - the last one before the EU is expected to decide on Bucharest's candidacy - is to come to Romania next month. The visit will focus on the implementation of the Schengen Information System (SIS), the security database for Europe's border-free zone that allows police in member states to exchange information in their fight against organised crime and illegal immigration.

News source: BalkanInsight link: article

Albania and Bosnia to get visa-free travel before Christmas

EU interior ministers are on Monday (8 November) expected to lift visa requirements for Albanian and Bosnian citizens despite limited progress in terms of democracy, the fight against organised crime and corruption in the two countries. The decision will come into force "shortly before Christmas," EU officials say. It will allow biometric passport-holders from the two Balkan countries to stay up to three months in any European state which is part of the passport-free Schengen zone. Britain and Ireland are not included, but non EU-states Switzerland, Iceland and Norway are.

Currently, for an Albanian to visit Brussels for a conference or a student exchange program, he or she needs first to get a Bulgarian visa and travel to Sofia, where the nearest Belgian consulate is located.
Belgium had been using the Dutch consulate in Tirana to gather the applications, but due to arguments over money, the Netherlands is now re-directing Albanian travellers to Belgian missions in the region.
"It can take months to get all the necessary paperwork, stand in all the lines and suffer all the humiliation which comes with the process," one Albanian contact, happy about the prospect of a visa-free future, told this website.To Bosnians and Albanians, the news is sweet after they were left behind last year when Serbia, Macedonia and Montenegro got on the visa-free list. Kosovo, on the other hand, has little prospect of catching up as it is not even recognised by all EU member states.
On the EU side, some capitals are unhappy about the developments. The Netherlands is opposing the move, saying there has been too little progress in terms of democratisation, organised crime and corruption in Albania and Bosnia and pointing to the political chaos in both countries. France is also reluctant, fearing a massive influx of migrants.

The EU commission has given reassurances that Tirana and Sarajevo will make it clear that visa-free travel is not a ticket to asylum or residence in the EU after problems with Macedonian asylum seekers last year. But even if France or the Netherlands votes No or abstain on Monday, the decision will be adopted by qualified majority.

News source: euobserver.com link: article

Transavia rains on B&H’s parade

The Dutch low cost airline, Transavia, will commence flights from Amsterdam to Sarajevo, but for one month only. The Air France – KLM subsidiary will operate 1 weekly flight from December 16, with services increasing to two per week from January 3 until January 20, 2011, when flights are scheduled to end. The roundtrip ticket will set passengers back 195 Euros (all taxes included).

The new service could hit B&H’s Amsterdam service. The Bosnian carrier will inaugurate the long awaited flights on December 2. It will operate the service 3 times per week and will be in direct competition with Transavia for the first month. B&H’s ticket prices on the route hover between 215 and 260 Euros (roundtrip, all taxes included) in economy class throughout December and January.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

News source: EX-YU Aviation link: article

EBRD Netherlands Carbon Fund reaching out to small-scale carbon transactions

A Joint Implementation (JI) project consisting of six small-scale energy efficiency and renewable energy projects in Bulgaria, contracted by the EBRD for the account of the Netherlands, is now registered in line with Bulgaria’s national approval procedures. The Bank will purchase Emission Reduction Units (ERUs) from six small-scale projects aggregated into a single project by United Bulgarian Bank (UBB).
This is one of few examples presently available in the carbon market showcasing the possibility to bundle small-scale projects in order to reduce transaction costs and thus enable smaller companies to benefit from carbon finance.

The project will also deliver Assigned Amount Units (AAUs) in respect to emission reductions that have been realised since the project started in 2005.
UBB acts as an agent on behalf of the six sub-projects, which were financed by UBB with the support of the EBRD’s Bulgarian Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Credit Line Facility*.
In total, the six projects are expected to cut some 500,000 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent by the end of 2012, at which time the Kyoto Protocol commitment period is due to expire. This is roughly equivalent to the amount of emissions produced by 150,000 cars annually.

News source: EBRD link: article