Ariel Rusila's Conflicts [Ex-BalkanPerspective]

Serbia’s application to join the EU was finally made before X-mas. Early December EU foreign ministers agreed to unblock Serbia's interim trade agreement, which is part of Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA). Serbia, Macedonia, and Montenegro have been approved by EU for visa-free travel within the EU Schengen area from January 2010. (More in my article “ EU's visa-freedom dividing Balkans ”). While Serbia's pro-western government is committed to achieve EU membership same time in Serbia however anti-European feeling is growing and according some long time polls the number of those against cooperation with ICTY (Hague Tribunal) is on the rise again. EU-Serbia trade has been growing rapidly since 2000 and now the EU is Serbia's main trading partner. In 2007 exports and imports of goods and services to and from the EU increased to 56% of the country's total exports and 54% of its total imports, compared with 53% and 49% in 2006. However during 2009 the...

"After 18 months, our troops will begin to come home." ( Barack Obama ) “ They are coming already in coffins.” ( Ari Rusila ) US President Obama finally announced his new counter-insurgency (aka "Coin") strategy in Afghanistan – which continues mostly the strategy of his predecessor Mr. Bush. Generals and influential - if not decisive – military-industrial complex got what they want and once again USA is seeking military solution to mainly political problem. I am interested to see if the selected strategy can be implemented, against or for whom it is planed, what is the role of Europe in this game and whether there would be maybe better alternatives available. President Obama justified sending 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan at a cost of $30 billion a year. US mission is seize the initiative against a resurgent Taliban while building the capacity of Afghan forces so that American and NATO forces can gradually hand off security responsibilities to the Afgha...

As I can comment only about a tiny fraction of news about the issues of my interest I have launched a news portal for better coverage. My new “ Ari Rusila's Conflicts ” site – created with help and platform of NewsCred Ltd. – is loaded relevant multimedia content from over 2500 news sources and blogs. The topics are chiefly the same as my top interests in BalkanBlog and categories are following: Editorials (including my articles in BalkanBlog ) Balkans Caucasus Serbia Bosnia-Herzegovina Iran Crisis management Military-Industrial Complex Terrorism Afghanistan War Palestine-Israel Conflict Oil & Gas Ari Rusila's Conflicts -news portal can be found from address http://conflicts.newscred.com/

First few quotes related to selection of EU's top officials: Turkey is not a part of Europe and will never be part of Europe. ( Mr Van Rompuy ) If the point of the Lisbon Treaty was to create a more prominent face for Europe, the result on Thursday was the opposite. It appeared to be a political deal that would do little to reduce the power, stature and influence of big nations or their foreign ministers. ( New York Times ) It is jaw-dropping. It is the end of ambition for the E.U. — really disappointing. ( Olivier Ferrand, president of Terra Nova, a center-left research institute in France ) How good selection process itself mirrors democratic values and transparency – everybody can estimate. Before last EU Parliament elections I was debated the following idea in my mind and in my article : Protesting over the inability of their politicians to elect a city mayor more than five months after the last elections, local residents in Mostar – Bosnia-Herzego...

Free movement is one fundamental human rights not only in one's own country but also abroad. While speaking about Balkans I earlier have highlighted (e.g. “ Forgotten Refugees – West Balkans ") the situation of Serb refugees or IDPs (Internally Displaced Persons) who can not return to their original homes in Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina or Kosovo. The fear is restricting also movement of Serbs living behind barbed wire in Kosovo enclaves. Besides refugees and IDPs also ordinary citizens can have restricted movement depending which passport they hold. Visa restrictions play an important role in controlling the movement of foreign nationals across borders. They are also an expression of the relationships between individual nations, and generally reflect the relations and status of a country within the international community of nations. Now a discussion paper made by European Stability Initiative (ESI) poppet to my eyes describing visa regulations in Kosovo with quite surpri...