Spain to EU: End Gaza blockade June 13, 2010
Posted by Yilan in EU, Gaza, Spain.Tags: EU, Gaza, Spain
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European Union pressures Israel to lift blockade on Gaza.
European leaders urged Israel over the weekend to lift its blockade of Gaza, as they drafted plans to revive and expand the European Union’s role in monitoring goods heading into the area.
On Monday, the EU Foreign Affairs Council plans to debate the matter.
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Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said at a joint press conference with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas Saturday that his country wants to “forge a strong common position” with EU countries in the face of the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
Zapatero said that at Monday’s Council meeting, Spain’s foreign minister, Miguel Angel Moratinos, would propose that the EU deploy “all its political and diplomatic capability” to end the Gaza blockade.
On Friday, the foreign ministers from France, Italy and Spain wrote an op-ed in the International Herald Tribune in which they joined in the call. They were careful to insist that captive IDF soldier Gilad Schalit, held by Hamas in Gaza since June 2006, be released.
The ministers also acknowledged Israel’s security concerns: “Lifting the blockade,” they said, “must not go hand-in-hand with a resurgence in arms trafficking and an influx of terrorist groups in Gaza.”
The quantity and variety of goods entering Gaza must increase, they said, offering as one possibility a proposal by Quartet Middle East envoy Tony Blair. Blair has “suggested a shift from a logic of denial of supplies to Gaza, with some exceptions, to a logic based on general authorization, with the exception of banned products.”
“Why not adopt this idea?” they asked. “To guarantee full security of supplies, we propose that inspections supported and funded by the European Union should be put in place [at land crossings] in conditions acceptable by all in order to ensure that consignments bound for Gaza contain neither weapons nor explosives,” they said.
“A similar regime could in addition be applied to [sea-bound] consignments bound for Gaza, for example by deploying EU monitoring teams in Cyprus. These various arrangements would be implemented only against a backdrop of very substantial relaxation of the restrictions on imports and exports to and from Gaza,” they said.
The ministers added that they wanted to expand the role of the European Border Assistance Mission (EUBAM), which has been stationed in Ashkelon since the 2007 Hamas coup in Gaza that made it impossible for Fatah to monitor the Rafah crossing, which links Egypt with Gaza.
They said they wanted to see EUBAM return to Rafah. Diplomatic sources have told The Jerusalem Post that the EU is also considering placing EUBAM at two of the three land crossings linking Israel and Gaza: Karni and Kerem Shalom.
But they did not address many of the technical problems inherent in opening a sea route to Gaza or in fully opening the land crossings – such as the fact that Gaza’s port is not large enough to accommodate cargo ships. In addition, the agreement under which EUBAM operates is between Fatah and Israel and involves the placement of Fatah on the Palestinian side of the crossings. Hamas is not interested in having Fatah at the crossings.
Since the Gaza coup, in an attempt to economically cripple Hamas, Israel has closed the land crossings to all but humanitarian goods. Recently it has relaxed some of those restrictions and, in particular, allowed in building material for 12 projects.
On Friday, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu met with Blair in Jerusalem to drum up support for Israel’s right to continue its naval blockade of Gaza by which it searches and halts ships heading there so as to prevent weapons from flowing into that area by sea.
According to the Prime Minister’s Office, Netanyahu told Blair that goods could enter Gaza by other means.
Israel has said it could show flexibility with respect to the quantity and variety of goods heading into Gaza by land. It has, however, insisted it does not intend to allow a full revival of the Gaza economy, because such a move would only strengthen Hamas.
Macedonia “Ready For EU Accession Talks” April 21, 2010
Posted by Yilan in EU, European Union, Macedonia, Spain.Tags: Macedonia, Spain
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Macedonia could start its EU accession talks within the period of the Spanish EU presidency, Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos told media in Skopje on Tuesday.
Moratinos, whose country holds the rotating EU Presidency until June, grounded his optimism on his impression that both Macedonia and Greece are making their utmost efforts to resolve their bilateral name spat, which is the only obstacle for the start of accession talks with Skopje.
In addition to talks with Macedonian FM Antonio Milososki, Moratinos was set to meet President Gjorge Ivanov, Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski, Vice Premier for European Affairs Vasko Naumovski and several MPs.
For his part Milososki reiterated that Macedonia is fully committed to resolving the long lasting name spat that has caused Greece to block Macedonia’s NATO accession and later its EU integration progress as well.
Milososki urged Athens to restrain from speculating on possible name solutions.
His remarks referred to a recent statement from the Greek Foreign Ministry Spokesman Grigori Dalavecouras in which he reiterated that the name “Northern Macedonia” is acceptable for Greece as it fits Athens’ demand for a geographic qualifier to distinguish the state from the northern Greek province that is also called Macedonia.
Athens argues that Skopje’s official name, Republic of Macedonia, implies territorial claims against its own territory. As a member of both NATO and the EU, Greece’s consent is necessary before Macedonia can join these organisations.
In December last year, the start of Macedonia’s accession talks with the EU were blocked, although previously the European Commission had said that all conditions had been met.
Since then media have been speculating that the EU has given both sides an informal June deadline to resolve the dispute.
A fresh round of UN brokered name talks between Athens and Skopje is expected to be held soon.
Macedonia might get date for EU accession talk by end of June: Spanish FM April 21, 2010
Posted by Yilan in EU, European Union, Macedonia, Spain.Tags: Macedonia, Miguel Angel Moratinos, Spain
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A senior Spanish official said on Tuesday that Macedonia might get a date for the start of its accession talks to join the European Union by the end of this June.
Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos, whose country holds the current rotating EU presidency, said that his country will invest all its energy to make this happen before its presidency ends by the end of June.
“We are making efforts and I am convinced that it could happen by the end of the Spanish presidency,” Moratinos said at a joint press conference with his Macedonian counterpart Antonio Milososki in Skopje.
He said that his optimistic because he is satisfied with the preparations undertaken by Macedonia for start of accession talks, adding that 2010 will be a good year for Macedonia’s integration into the EU and NATO.
In December last year, the EU postponed the decision to grant Macedonia the much desired date for start of its accession talks due to the unresolved name issue between Macedonia and its southern neighbor Greece.
Greece has been opposed to its northern neighbor using the name of Macedonia, arguing that the name implies territorial claims against its own northern province, also called Macedonia.
Macedonia’s bid to join NATO was also thwarted by Greece over the same dispute in 2008.
“We don’t want to waste time any more. We need your country in the EU,” Moratinos.
However, in a later speech to Macedonia’s parliament, the Spanish foreign minister said the dispute must be settled in due time, pushing for final efforts into solving the issue.
“Unless the name row is settled, we are wasting time and the region of Western Balkans cannot be stabilized,” he warned.
Spain offers six-party talks on Cyprus March 18, 2010
Posted by Yilan in Cyprus, Turkey.Tags: Cyprus, Kibris, Spain
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 Turkish Cypriot President Mehmet Ali Talat (L) and Egemen Bağış.
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In an effort to kick start stalling Cyprus talks, current European Union president Spain has proposed a six-party meeting to help reunify the divided island.
In addition to Turkey, Greece, northern Cyprus and Greek Cyprus, Madrid suggested the United Nations and itself – representing the EU – should participate in the negotiations.
Turkey has accepted the proposal, the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review learned late on Tuesday from diplomatic sources. Greek Cypriot President Dimitris Christofias, meanwhile, has accepted the six-party talks on the condition that he holds a separate meeting with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on the sidelines of the summit.
Turkey accepted Christofias’ proposal on its own condition that Turkish Cypriot President Mehmet Ali Talat hold a separate meeting with Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou.
Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos, an official of a country that supports Turkey’s accession to the 27-nation bloc, is particularly eager to move peace talks on the island forward, according to sources. Moratinos already spent six years in Cyprus as the EU’s Special Representative to the Middle East.
The proposal for six-party talks constitutes an effort to speed up the slow-moving peace negotiations and strike a deal before Talat is possibly ousted in next month’s presidential elections.
Talat’s main opponent is known as a hawk and is expected to take a more intransigent stance on reunification if elected.
Court’s ruling
Meanwhile, a recent decision by the European Court of Human Rights regarding property issues on Cyprus is expected to change the Greek Cypriot stance in the ongoing talks, a Turkish official said Tuesday.
The European court ruled that Greek Cypriots who have properties in northern Cyprus should first apply to the immovable properties commission, or IPC, established in the island’s north.
“The Greek Cypriots have three options. They will either apply to the Turkish Cypriot property commission, solve the property issue through peace talks with Turkish Cypriots or choose to wait longer until a final solution emerges,” said a Turkish official.
The European court’s decision, meanwhile, continues to be a topic of heated public debate in Greek Cyprus. Some have suggested inundating the IPC with thousands of applications to make it incapable of functioning.
Despite such threats, the northern Cypriot administration is preparing to enlarge the IPC in the expectation of increased numbers of applications following the European court decision.
At the same time, Turkish banks are managing the financial dimension of the issue, the Daily News has learned.
Spanish EU presidency addresses Balkan states’ accession to the bloc March 14, 2010
Posted by Yilan in EU, European Union.Tags: EU, Spain, Spanish
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The European Union should review Serbia’s application to join the bloc as soon as possible, says the Spanish EU presidency. The foreign ministers of Greece and Austria have also proposed changes in EU-Balkan ties.
Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Moratinos said his country’s EU presidency would do its utmost to achieve progress in the process of integrating the Western Balkans into the European Union.
“2010 is going to be a key year for all the Western Balkans,” said Moratinos after meeting in Brussels with his Serbian counterpart Vuk Jeremic on Tuesday. “I can guarantee on behalf of the Spanish presidency that we will do everything that is possible to advance in this direction.”
The meeting was the first political dialog at ministerial level since the Serbian government formally applied for EU membership in December 2009.
“We have discussed the constructive role Serbia can play in the Western Balkans and how we can work together in a practical way with regards to Kosovo,” Moratinos told a news conference. The self-declared independence of Kosovo, a former region of Serbia, remains controversial.
The EU’s enlargement commissioner, Olli Rehn, who also took part in the meeting, said that the European Commission was prepared to assess Serbia’s ability to fulfill the conditions for membership. This is a necessary step before accession negotiations can begin.
“We are just holding consultations with all member states and we hope it will happen,” Moratinos said. “The sooner, the better.” An early review would boost Serbia’s hopes of receiving approval to start the negotiations quickly, after long delays due to EU concern over Serbia’s failure to arrest wanted war criminals.
Cooperation with Tribunal
Serbian Foreign Minister Jeremic said that joining the EU remained his government’s strategic priority.
“Membership in the EU is a significant priority for us and we hope that this process will make progress as quickly as possible,” Jeremic said. He reiterated Serbia’s firm commitment to cooperate fully with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague.
The tribunal’s chief prosecutor, Serge Brammertz, told the European Parliament during a hearing on Tuesday that he was satisfied with the cooperation. But Serbia needed to show more progress in catching Bosnian Serb general Ratko Mladic and former Serbian Croat leader Goran Hadzic. He said he believed they were hiding in Serbia.
“The arrest of fugitives is the highest priority,” Brammertz said.
Their capture is seen as a key precondition for Serbia’s progress toward joining the EU. Of the former Yugoslav republics, only Slovenia is an EU member. Croatia hopes to conclude its entry talks this year and join the EU in 2012.
Stabilizing the region
Moratinos said further that the Spanish presidency would seek to conclude accession negotiations with Croatia and resolve the issue of Macedonia, which is in a dispute with Greece over its name. In addition, it would deal with the integration prospects of other countries in the region such as Albania and Montenegro.
He said it aimed to work on stabilizing the region, with particular emphasis on Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“We are moving forward towards a high degree of pacification and stabilization of the whole region, which is very positive for the Western Balkans and for all neighboring countries,” Moratinos said. He said enormous progress had been made in recent years.
Reinforcing the EU’s commitment in the Balkans
Meanwhile, the foreign ministers of Greece and Austria have drawn up a blueprint for EU action in the Balkans for 2010. In a letter obtained by the German press agency dpa, the ministers said the EU in 2010 should complete accession negotiations with Croatia, start talks with Macedonia, reinforce its role in Bosnia, abolish visas for Albanian and Bosnian citizens and advance Serbia’s bid to join the bloc.
The letter was sent to EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton on January 21 and circulated in Brussels on January 25 during a meeting of the bloc’s foreign ministers.
“This is the right moment to renew at high level the EU’s commitment to the region and to set out the course ahead in concrete terms,” Dimistris Droutsas of Greece and Michael Spindelegger of Austria said in the letter.
The two ministers also called for stronger ties with other EU candidates, such as Albania and Montenegro, and for “concrete progress through the EU’s engagement in Kosovo.”
“Progress in the Balkans is not yet self-sustaining,” Droutsas and Spindelegger said. “Moreover, in economically difficult times, many doubts are voiced regarding the European perspective of the Western Balkans.”
The two ministers said their agenda could form the basis of discussions at the high-level meeting planned between EU and Balkan leaders at the end of May in Sarajevo.
Turkey & Macedonia 