EU tells Balkan states 2025 entry possible for all

[webfact]

EU tells Balkan states 2025 entry possible for all

By Benet Koleka

 

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker addresses a news conference during a European Union leaders informal summit in Brussels, Belgium, February 23, 2018. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir

 

TIRANA (Reuters) - European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker told Western Balkan countries on Sunday to see 2025 as the date when any of them could join the European Union provided they worked to meet the criteria for membership.

 

Stopping in Albania following a visit to Macedonia on a tour of countries aspiring to join the EU, Juncker said 2025 was a possible entry date for all, not just the frontrunners.

 

"Contrary to what we read everywhere, the Commission and myself did not say that Serbia and Montenegro would necessarily be members of the EU in 2025," Juncker told reporters in Tirana.

 

"The 2025 date is open to all candidate countries," he said.

 

"And to the extent that a candidate country by then or later or earlier would have met all the criteria for membership, we will proceed in such a way that its efforts will be recognised by the EU," he told a news conference.

 

Flanking Juncker at the news conference, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama said the vetting of judges and prosecutors, the first step of judiciary reforms the EU says are key to opening negotiations, had already produced its first results.

 

"Seventeen senior judges and prosecutors refused to be vetted, so they are out of the judiciary," Rama said.

 

Serbia and Montenegro are seen as frontrunners to join the EU. They are negotiating several chapters of the many they need to address before joining, although they have completed work on just a few.

 

Albania and Macedonia expect to be given the green light to start accession negotiations in June.

 

By reforming its judiciary Albania has almost negotiated chapters 23 and 24, effectively buying time to catch up with the frontrunners, European officials have explained.

 

"The justice reform is enshrined in the Albanian constitution: honestly, we have crossed the river," a European official who declined to be identified said.

 

The EU's verdict on Albania will have to wait until spring when it will rely on aerial monitoring by Italy to see if cannabis smugglers will be planting the drug again.

 

The government cracked down on cannabis in 2014, but police later failed in 2015 and 2016 to stop Albania from becoming one of the biggest open air cultivators of cannabis in Europe.

 

Investigators from Italy said in November that aerial monitoring had turned up just 90 cannabis plots in 2017 compared with 2,086 in 2016, prompting the government to claim victory.

 

(Reporting By Benet Koleka, Editing by William Maclean)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-02-26

[nauseus]

Maybe Albania can donate to the EU budget before it all goes up in smoke?

[Blackheart1916]

Throw that man a life preserver. The holes are starting to appear in the EU sham. A eurofatcat ride on the gravy train at the expense of national sovereignty. Starting to look like the classic Ponzi scheme. Well done England, the smartest ones in the bunch!

[Blackheart1916]

Just re read the story - EU wants Albania to crack down on cannabis cultivation. Cannabis is rapidly becoming a legitimate, legal, researched, reviewed and widespread treatment for many medical conditions. So already the EU is looking to control Albania's economy, they can see the dollars coming from it!!

[GinBoy2]

So not wanting to sound like a naysayer, and as an American, I'm I've got to be wrong in the eyes of many!

But let me get this right, one of the EU's net contributors is poised to leave, and now unless the tooth fairy is real, the same Union is poised to let a new raft of net beneficiaries join??

I hope some spin doctor is ready to sell that to the taxpayers of Germany and the other Northern Europeans

[Guest]

35 minutes ago, GinBoy2 said:

I hope some spin doctor is ready to sell that to the taxpayers of Germany and the other Northern Europeans

When Finland joined EU, it used to get more from EU than it contributed. Finland's economy has been stronger since then and now we are net contributor to the EU. Nothing weird or wrong with that. Overall the life has been better. 

 

Albania could be a nice location to live once it becomes accessible for European people. That's the greatest benefit of the EU for me. Ability to move and work, everywhere were we wish to call home. 

[worgeordie]

Good idea,get more crap countries to join,the UK is just

getting out in time,

The Common market was formed as a trading entity,

which was a good thing,look what its turned into now,

trying to control every aspect of people's lives,the

corruption and waste of money is horrendous.the

leaders carried away by their own power.good riddance.

regards worgeordie

[GinBoy2]

34 minutes ago, oilinki said:

When Finland joined EU, it used to get more from EU than it contributed. Finland's economy has been stronger since then and now we are net contributor to the EU. Nothing weird or wrong with that. Overall the life has been better. 

 

Albania could be a nice location to live once it becomes accessible for European people. That's the greatest benefit of the EU for me. Ability to move and work, everywhere were we wish to call home. 

Since you mentioned Finland, it tweaked my interest, so I looked it up.

So after 18 years it is barely a net contributor. 

 

Any bets on how long it will take the Balkan States? A guide might be; Greece, Poland, Spain, Lithuania, Czech Rep, Hungary, Portugal, Slovakia......shall we continue??

[Guest]

It's best to look at contribution per person. Not all the member countries have 70 million people. 

 

[nauseus]

1 hour ago, oilinki said:

It's best to look at contribution per person. Not all the member countries have 70 million people. 

 

No wonder the Dutch don't want to pay any more!

[Guest]

1 minute ago, nauseus said:

No wonder the Dutch don't want to pay any more!

The thing with the common market is that even if some countries pay a bit more, they still tend to get much more benefits and money in overall return. 

[nauseus]

1 minute ago, oilinki said:

The thing with the common market is that even if some countries pay a bit more, they still tend to get much more benefits and money in overall return. 

Some countries yes! But not the UK, which says cheerio to 10 billion each year as it flies down the Eurohole.

[ilostmypassword]

3 minutes ago, nauseus said:

No wonder the Dutch don't want to pay any more!

I'm sure you have evidence to support this assertion. How did the last election in the Netherlands go for supporters of leaving the UK? Maybe you've got some polling results you'd like to share with us? You got anything?

[Guest]

Just now, nauseus said:

Some countries yes! But not the UK, which says cheerio to 10 billion each year as it flies down the Eurohole.

Actually UK has been granted quit a lot of EU science programs, which employ highly skilled people in UK.

From Brexit on those grants will go to other EU members. 

 

Overall the money to these kind of programs will be less, which is not good. Then again, we can create new science and technology hubs inside EU, which is good for us. 

 

The newer EU countries/economies, like Estonia are growing fast and do contribute to the EU wellbeing more and more. There is a lot to learn from countries which are eager to grow stronger and wealthier over time. That grow and wealth is beneficial to all of us.

 

[nauseus]

2 minutes ago, oilinki said:

Actually UK has been granted quit a lot of EU science programs, which employ highly skilled people in UK.

From Brexit on those grants will go to other EU members. 

 

Overall the money to these kind of programs will be less, which is not good. Then again, we can create new science and technology hubs inside EU, which is good for us. 

 

The newer EU countries/economies, like Estonia are growing fast and do contribute to the EU wellbeing more and more. There is a lot to learn from countries which are eager to grow stronger and wealthier over time. That grow and wealth is beneficial to all of us.

 

The 10 billion is after the rebate and any EU grants etc - it is a net annual loss for the UK.

[nauseus]

6 minutes ago, ilostmypassword said:

I'm sure you have evidence to support this assertion. How did the last election in the Netherlands go for supporters of leaving the UK? Maybe you've got some polling results you'd like to share with us? You got anything?

Yes, here's your snack:

 

https://www.ft.com/content/3a351276-1761-11e8-9e9c-25c814761640

[ilostmypassword]

1 minute ago, nauseus said:

Yes, here's your snack:

 

https://www.ft.com/content/3a351276-1761-11e8-9e9c-25c814761640

paywall.why not just say what poll or other evidence you've got.

[Guest]

2 minutes ago, nauseus said:

The 10 billion is after the rebate and any EU grants etc - it is a net annual loss for the UK.

That's 100 pounds/person/year. Not a lot of investment for developing skills of the people in general. 

 

Anyway. I think, even if we pay more per person to the EU, it's actually a very good investment overall.

 

UK decided to leave the Union and that's fine with me. It would have been nicer if we all could have been together, but when it's not happening, we'll just move on to our separate ways. 

[nauseus]

1 minute ago, ilostmypassword said:

paywall.why not just say what poll or other evidence you've got.

I thought all you luvvies liked the FT!

 

Express has similar:  

https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/906029/Brexit-news-eu-budget-blackhole-the-netherlands-Juncker-contributions-Wopke-Hoekstra

 

If you don't like that here's Reuters:

https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-netherlands/dutch-government-says-eu-countries-hurt-most-by-brexit-shouldnt-pay-more-into-eu-budget-idUSKBN1F51OT

 

[nauseus]

5 minutes ago, oilinki said:

That's 100 pounds/person/year. Not a lot of investment for developing skills of the people in general. 

 

Anyway. I think, even if we pay more per person to the EU, it's actually a very good investment overall.

 

UK decided to leave the Union and that's fine with me. It would have been nicer if we all could have been together, but when it's not happening, we'll just move on to our separate ways. 

It's a good investment for the recipients but not for the donors. 

  

[Guest]

1 minute ago, nauseus said:

It's a good investment for the recipients but not for the donors. 

  

And that's the reason I'm hoping the whole Brexit will happen as soon as possible. Nobody likes constant whiners, who can only see bad in everything. It's better for both of us to be on our separate ways. 

[nauseus]

16 minutes ago, oilinki said:

And that's the reason I'm hoping the whole Brexit will happen as soon as possible. Nobody likes constant whiners, who can only see bad in everything. It's better for both of us to be on our separate ways. 

It's the remainers who are doing the whining. The reasons for leaving go far beyond just money. Enjoy your club. Ta ta.

[Truth2W]

2 hours ago, GinBoy2 said:

Since you mentioned Finland, it tweaked my interest, so I looked it up.

So after 18 years it is barely a net contributor. 

 

Any bets on how long it will take the Balkan States? A guide might be; Greece, Poland, Spain, Lithuania, Czech Rep, Hungary, Portugal, Slovakia......shall we continue??

Well, Hungary is not a BalKan state

[Truth2W]

Juncker is an uneducated puppet. The only difference between a puppet and Juncker, puppets don't like alcohol.

[Srikcir]

6 hours ago, GinBoy2 said:

one of the EU's net contributors is poised to leave

UK May wants exit but it appears she also wants a limited quasi re-entry.

That can work to the benefit of the UK and EU, as well as entry of Albania that could enhance its own economic growth and security.

[thaibeachlovers]

6 hours ago, oilinki said:

When Finland joined EU, it used to get more from EU than it contributed. Finland's economy has been stronger since then and now we are net contributor to the EU. Nothing weird or wrong with that. Overall the life has been better. 

 

Albania could be a nice location to live once it becomes accessible for European people. That's the greatest benefit of the EU for me. Ability to move and work, everywhere were we wish to call home. 

Ireland got a huge amount of "assistance" from the EU after it joined. Motorways going a few miles from the city and reverting to 2 lane were proudly signposted as built with EU funds. I think they got a good rail system out of it and maybe a tram in Dublin, but most of the money was wasted.

 

Now, as if we needed any more proof that the EU is doomed, they come up with this garbage.

[ilostmypassword]

6 hours ago, nauseus said:

No wonder the Dutch don't want to pay any more!

5 hours ago, ilostmypassword said:

I'm sure you have evidence to support this assertion. How did the last election in the Netherlands go for supporters of leaving the UK? Maybe you've got some polling results you'd like to share with us? You got anything?

5 hours ago, nauseus said:

Yes, here's your snack:

 

https://www.ft.com/content/3a351276-1761-11e8-9e9c-25c814761640

I thought you meant any more  

in the sense of any longer i.e. stop paying altogether.

an·y·more

ˌenēˈmôr/

adverb

adverb: any more

1. to any further extent; any longer.

   "she refused to listen anymore"

    

   Anyway, these sums, while they may play well politically to some, are trivial in the context of these various economies.

    

    

[nauseus]

2 hours ago, ilostmypassword said:

I thought you meant any more  

in the sense of any longer i.e. stop paying altogether.

an·y·more

ˌenēˈmôr/

adverb

adverb: any more

1. to any further extent; any longer.

   "she refused to listen anymore"

    

   Anyway, these sums, while they may play well politically to some, are trivial in the context of these various economies.

    

    

Whatever. I don't need the dictionary, I already have a copy.

[khunken]

5 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Ireland got a huge amount of "assistance" from the EU after it joined. Motorways going a few miles from the city and reverting to 2 lane were proudly signposted as built with EU funds. I think they got a good rail system out of it and maybe a tram in Dublin, but most of the money was wasted.

 

Now, as if we needed any more proof that the EU is doomed, they come up with this garbage.

Yes Ireland got lots of assistance to morph from one of the poorest EU states to one of the richest & is now very close to becoming a net contributor to the budget. The rest of your post is pure rubbish.

The country got a helluva lot more than a 'tram in Dublin'. It certainly did get some motorways to link cities plus loads of industry from large & medium-sized global companies - too many to list here.

Oilinki is so right about lifting poorer regions up pays off in the long term. But that seems too difficult for some to understand.

Edited February 26, 2018 by khunken
grammar

[Blackheart1916]

15 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Ireland got a huge amount of "assistance" from the EU after it joined. Motorways going a few miles from the city and reverting to 2 lane were proudly signposted as built with EU funds. I think they got a good rail system out of it and maybe a tram in Dublin, but most of the money was wasted.

 

Now, as if we needed any more proof that the EU is doomed, they come up with this garbage.

Not forgetting they also got travellers camping on motorway roundabouts and a pretty severe property crash!