Tougher times for aspiring EU members
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BRUSSELS -- European Union leaders toughened their tone toward aspiring new members yesterday , at the start of a summit designed to reassure wary voters while keeping the door ajar to countries queuing to join.
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Bulgaria and Romania are set to get the green light to join the EU in 2007, but under tough conditions.
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In this poor Balkan country set to join the European Union in January, brazen slayings _ along with gang shootouts and car and apartment bombings _ have almost become part of the fabric of everyday life.Comment
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Papers throughout the continent hail the signing of a new EU treaty as a historic event, though most warn that the hard part - the ratification of the treaty by member states - is yet to come.
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Most new EU member states still lag behind the rest of Europe in terms of competitiveness, a survey says.
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Many don&#39;t realize they are eligible; others feel application forms are too complicated to fill out. By Justin Pope / Associated Press.
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The 25 European Union leaders on Friday signed the EU&#39;s first constitution that aims to boost the union&#39;s presence on the world stage but will face a tough ratification test at the hands of European parliaments and voters before it can take effect.
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The country faces some tough conditions on the economy and human rights before membership is granted. ANKARA -- Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan returned home from a European Union summit yesterday
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The prospect of future EU membership became clearer for four countries last week. At a two-day summit in Brussels, EU leaders gave the green light for the signing of entry treaties with Bulgaria and Romania
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European leaders will seek to reassure  sceptical voters at a summit starting on Thursday by toughening  policy on enlargement of the European Union, without though  slamming the door on a queue of aspiring nations.
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The EU says competition is bad, especially if it might produce a winner.
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With ten new members added into the fold and a new draft constitution working its way through capitals for ratification, the European Union (EU) is in the midst of unprecedented political and geographic ...
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The European Union wrestled with proposals to overhaul its ineffective budget rules but put off concrete action until January at the earliest in the face of big divisions.
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Big battles await the EU constitution in many of the 25 countries where it must be ratified, writes the BBC's William Horsley.
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The 25 European Union leaders yesterday signed the EU&#39;s first constitution that aims to boost the union&#39;s presence on the world stage but will face a tough ratification test at the hands of European parliaments and voters before it can take
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LISBON, Oct 6 (IPS) - The contributions of young immigrants from the  developing South hold out a solution for pension systems in the  European Union, where rapid population ageing is placing heavy  pressure on social security.
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STRASBOURG, France  - Bulgaria and Romania were   set to get the green light on Tuesday to join the European   Union in January, rather than a year later, but the executive   European Commission has set unprecedented entry conditions.