Word: eu
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...Kosovo also aims to join the EU, and it already uses the euro as its currency. It is, however, far from ready to join. It is still dependent on NATO security forces, and its economy is extremely weak—at least 40 percent of the population is unemployed...
...While neither state will be able to join the EU in the near future, Brussels should make it clear to both Belgrade and Pristina that membership is a very real possibility for both—assuming, of course, that they fulfill all the requirements of membership in the near future. This would have major implications for regional stability: Serbia would be discouraged from trying to reclaim Kosovo by force because of the consequences such an action would have for its EU membership...
...Integrating Serbia and Kosovo into the EU can only remain a far-off prospect until Brussels finishes the accession processes of the more stable Balkan nations that are ready, or close to being ready, for membership. However, the bids of several countries in the region are becoming unnecessarily protracted, leading one to wonder whether the EU’s drive to incorporate the former Yugoslav states will ever be completed...
...Croatia, which should be a shoo-in for membership, is stalled in the accession process because of a border dispute with its neighbor, Slovenia. Montenegro, another flourishing Balkan state, is currently trying to apply for EU membership, but the current global economic state has made the EU leadership cautious about further expansion. Macedonia’s bid, although weaker than Croatia’s or Montenegro’s, cannot move forward because Greece argues that Macedonia’s name suggests an aspiration to the Greek province of the same name...
...With some Eastern European member states, most dramatically Latvia, falling into crisis, it is easy to criticize EU expansion and argue that it should be stopped before any more damage is done. However, strong economies like Slovenia, a former Yugoslav state that is now a regional powerhouse, demonstrate the benefits that EU membership can bring, even to countries that were struggling 20 years ago. In addition to cementing the central role of democratic institutions and the market economy, EU enlargement helps other countries in the union, which reap the benefits of free trade and an expanded market...