EU to approve Balkan candidates
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Bulgaria and Romania are set to get the green light to join the EU on Tuesday, but under tough conditions.
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PRAGUE- The government approved the draft European constitution and decided that Prime Minister Stanislav Gross and Foreign Minister Cyril Svoboda will sign the document at this Friday's ceremony in Rome.
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Croatia's parliament approved on Saturday a new cabinet tasked with leading the country into the European Union, including an ethnic Serb for the first time since the 1991-1995 Serbo-Croatian war.
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The EU signs visa deals with five Balkan states, making it cheaper and easier for their nationals to travel in Europe.
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Britain considers restrictions for Bulgarian and Romanian workers as the nations prepare to join the EU.
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European Union leaders are set to  offer Serbia a fast track to candidacy for membership in the  bloc and pledge to step up preparations for a police mission to  stabilize Kosovo, a draft statement for Friday's EU summit  said.
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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.
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Romania and Bulgaria will be ready to join the EU on schedule in 2007, according to a European Commission report on their progress.
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BERLIN - The United States and the European Union will recognize Kosovo if the Balkan province declares independence from Serbia in early December when last-ditch negotiations end, senior US and European officials said yesterday.
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BRUSSELS (BBC News) - The EU expects Serbia, Bosnia-Hercegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Macedonia and Albania to have signed initial deals paving the way for eventual entry into the bloc by the end of 2008, EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn said in Brussels on Tuesday. "I expect that in 2008 conditions will be fulfilled and thus we will be able to complete Stabilisation and Association Agreements (SAA) with all countries in the region," EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn said in Brussels on Tuesday. He praised Serbia in particular for turning its back on its nationalist past by supporting the work of the UN's war crimes tribunal in The Hague.
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The prime minister of EU applicant Bulgaria signed Friday the European Constitution and said that meant his country was sure to join the 25-member bloc in a couple of years.
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The EU will sharply warn Bulgaria to work harder in three areas in a final evaluation of the entry candidate next month, but the report should hold no surprises, the Balkan state's integration minister said ...
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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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The European Commission was set to confirm that Romania and Bulgaria are on track to join the European Union in 2007, although Croatia will have to wait, according to leaked documents.
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European Union leaders are set to  offer Serbia a fast track to candidacy for membership of the  bloc and pledge to step up preparations for a police mission to  stabilize Kosovo, a draft statement for Friday's EU summit  said.
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EU foreign ministers will debate on  Monday whether to sign an interim trade agreement with Serbia  -- a move seen as boosting pro-European President Boris Tadic  ahead of a February 3 presidential run-off.
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BRUSSELS, Jan 23 (IPS) - Questions relating to Kosovo's future status  will almost certainly be the key area of focus for diplomats  dealing with the Balkans this year.