2 July, 2013 17:08
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Bad news is clouding the EU’s progress in Eastern Europe
“The Czech Republic is embroiled in a sex-and-bribery scandal after anti-corruption police swooped in on the prime minister's office and arrested his glamorous head of staff. Bulgaria's government has been in power only three weeks, but already faces mass demonstrations demanding its resignation over graft allegations. The European Parliament has accused Hungary of lurching toward authoritarianism. And Slovenia is struggling to avoid becoming the next euro zone bailout case,” writes GlobalPost
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It is almost a decade after most countries of the former Soviet Bloc joined the European Union, however not much has been changed to transform these countries into true democracies.
Despite negative talks about EU enlargement, Peter Stano, the European Commission's spokesman on enlargement issues believes that "It has been proved that enlargement is one of the most successful EU polices," cites GlobalPost.
"We are extending the zone of stability and of prosperity, even if that sounds a little ironic in the current circumstances," Stano added. "If you look at the benefit and results of enlargement you see it’s not a cause of the current problems, it is part of the solution."
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- European Parliament backs decision to cut customs duties on imports from Ukraine
- Civil Society Forum urges European Commission and European Parliament to impose sanctions against Ukrainian legislators who voted for repressive laws
- Expert: EU's failure on Ukraine will have a negative impact on the European integration of Moldova and Georgia
- FT: West had been ready to loan Kiev €20bn
- Amanda Paul: The statement of the government represented the final nail in the coffin in terms of having the Association Agreement signed
- David Cameron believes that Ukraine, once known as the bread basket of the Soviet Union, should be admitted to the EU
- Radoslaw Sikorski: “If Ukraine will not meet the conditions for signing the Agreement, then we will have some plan B”
- Hannes Schreiber: Yulia Timoshenko`s case depreciates the reforms introduced to the Ukrainian judicial system so far
- European Commission completes steps for signature of Association Agreement with Ukraine
- The ECHR decision adds oil to the fire vis-à-vis the signature of Ukraine’s Association Agreement with the EU, experts say