Nearly a year after Serbia`s application for EU candidacy status, EU Council of Ministers has requested the European Commission (EC) for its opinion on the candidacy. This time, the strong opposition from the Netherlands did not pass, even though the country`s parliament has unanimously passed a resolution stating that forwarding of Serbian candidacy is not technical but rather a political issue, and that is because for such a decision requires a consensus.
When a month ago the Romanian Senate refused to support a law that the prophets and the witches had to issue invoices to the customers, and also they would be accountable for unfulfilled prophecies, cynics in Western Europe commented that the senators gave a way to the threat - Abracadabra, we could turn you into the frogs!
Danube, which is a crossroad of the civilizations and cultures, can become a symbol of the new "expanded EU", such as the Rhine was a symbol of "old Europe". When Romania and Bulgaria joined the European family, the Danube has become an "inner" water way of the EU, because over the river Rhine, Danube was a direct link between the Northern and Black Sea. Thus, the Danube region is increasingly becoming a development issue inside the EU, but also an essential way for further integration. Recognising the fact that economic, cultural, environmental and other facilities of the Danube region would only grow in importance, the work on the creation of the Danube Strategy of the European Union was imposed as a logical need.
Democracy, respect for human rights and rule of law are among the common values which the EU wants to be implemented in its neighbouring countries and future member states. But, whether those values include the equality of men and women? New results of research published in the Gender Gap Report of the World Economic Forum (WEF) show that any countries have not achieved completely, although the equality of men and women is the common value of EU countries.
The European Commission insists on freedom on movement as one of the major values of the European Union, but what about France? Thanks to the President Nicolas Sarkozy`s decision to deport those members of Roma community that haven`t fulfilled residence requirements, France seems to make an impression of a country that has not deserved to be called a member of large European family.
