Between 8h30 and 12h30 this morning, a group of 20 activists will distribute an open letter in the European Parliament in Strasbourg to remind the new MEPs of their duties.

“Looking at what is happening outside the European Union we see that politics can make people's hearts beat faster. The low turnout of the last European elections shows how far away politics is from the citizens. Therefore, getting back to the citizens has to be the highest duty of the MEPs from the very first day on”, says the President of the Young European Federalists, Samuele Pii.

Getting back to the citizens has to be the highest duty of the MEPs from the very first day on.

The European Parliament's powers will continue to increase. Therefore, it has to gain the support of the public opinion in the European Union. “In a democracy the power belongs to the citizens. Thus, a democracy without citizens has no power. In the open letter we raise the issues that can relaunch the trust between the citizens and the European Institutions, in particular the European Parliament”, continues Pii.

“Strasbourg could be considered the capital of democracy because it hosts the first directly elected supranational Parliament in history. This year, we celebrate the 30th anniversary of the first direct European elections”, states the President of Jeunes Européenes Strasbourg, Patricia Ruelleux.

“In 2014 we do not want an electoral campaign like the last one without a real European debate. We support the reform of the electoral system in order to have transnational lists of candidates. We believe that citizens will be more involved with cross-borders debates among different candidates”, concludes Ruelleux.

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A partire dal 1° luglio mandare sms in roaming (cioè quando l'utente di un contratto di telefonia mobile si trova all'estero) in tutta Europa costa solo 11 centesimi di euro IVA esclusa, con un tetto massimo di 13,2 centesimi IVA inclusa. Fare una chiamata costa al massimo 43 centesimi e riceverla non più di 19 centesimi al minuto. I tagli riguardano anche i prezzi per l'invio di e-mail o immagini, navigazione in internet da telefonino o PC portatile, download di film che con tariffe di circa 1 euro per megabyte (IVA esclusa). Nel caso italiano, per i clienti Tim, Vodafone e Wind un sms all'estero dal primo luglio costa solo 13 centesimi di euro.

Con l'imposizione delle nuove tariffe, l'Unione europea torna a far sentire la propria influenza positiva nella vita quotidiana dei cittadini europei. In un'epoca di sempre maggiore mobilità, interventi di questo tipo sono fondamentali per facilitare le comunicazioni tra i cittadini senza il timore di dover incorrere in costi proibitivi non appena passati i confini nazionali. Ed é sempre grazie alla Commissione europea che a breve arriverà sul mercato un unico caricabatterie compatibile con tutti i cellulari. Le aziende Apple, Nec, Motorola, LG, Nokia, Samsung e Sony Ericsson hanno già aderito al protocollo d'intesa.

Quando ci chiediamo a cosa servano l'Unione europea e il mercato unico e perché prendere parte al progetto europeo, questa potrebbe essere una piccola risposta per la vita quotidiana di milioni di cittadini. Peccato solo arrivi dopo le elezioni, sarebbe stato un buon argomento di campagna per il voto!

Per maggiori info: dal sito UE

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History does indeed repeat itself. Having been referred to as today's Pierre Mendès, Sarkozy has not only opened his private life up to inspection and scrutiny but has also outlined some unequivocal upheavals in an otherwise wayward political agenda, consequently bringing what is called ‘anti-sarkozyism' into being.

Sarkozy's chaotic life has been unraveled by the media for the first time after taking presidency on May 16th 2007, but what sparked off the barrage of media criticism was his affair with former model and singer Carla Bruni, whom he married just four months after divorcing Cecilia Ciganer-Albeniz. Following that scoop, the media kept an eagle eye on his incongruous deeds.

His pragmatic savoir-faire has led him to make many arduous decisions, often resulting in contradictory resolutions. While having publicly announced his fight against illegal immigration and expansion of crime, he has recently said that Islamic Burqas aren't welcome in France. His latter judgment clearly is in disaccord with French values that preserve both the freedom of thought and that of religion.

Factory closures, mass redundancy and an extensive, unfavourable policy regarding oil companies are only some of the most visible irrevocable impacts of the current global recession. Sarkozy's critical role has repeatedly been put to doubt as despite the fact that time is ticking out, unemployment rates are still alarmingly high, and the French economy is seemingly not being overhauled. For a president who promised reform, meager action is insufficient to shake up the system. At this rate, France won't emerge from this crisis “better equipped to succeed than many others”.

The French President has also publicly claimed that he strives to maintain a more stable Franco-American relationship. By taking this issue in his hands and placing it to the top of his agenda, he reinstated the French status quo. Regardless of America's failure to go ahead of problems such as the declining value of the dollar and global warming, he is attempting to reach a condition of closer co-operation with America because he thinks there's more to gain than to lose from it. France will thus remain engaged in Afghanistan for as long as it takes.

Nicolas Sarkozy may have poor ratings in France, but the ripple effect of his active participation in the European Union is strongly felt.

All this as well as the promotion of free-market liberalism, tax cuts and welfare payments, accumulated extreme hostility and antagonism. Unprecedented numbers of French citizens are incessantly protesting against Sarkozy's appraisals, but the most questionable act yet was the Socialist party's recent campaign on an anti-Sarkozy platform with the controversial slogan “Stop Barroso, Stop Sarkozy!”.

The unrelenting wave of anti-sarkozyism has proven to be unsuccessful in changing political undercurrents, however. The European Parliament elections that have taken place last June were another riveting victory for the UMP, who gained 28.8% of votes (as opposed to Sarkozy's predecessor Jacques Chirac who pushed scores down to 16.6% in the 2004 elections), and indiscreetly won alongside the Europe Ecologie party. The number of seats in Parliament was raised from 17 to 30.

Nicolas Sarkozy may have poor ratings in France, but the ripple effect of his active participation in the European Union is strongly felt. He has recently, in unison with German politician Angela Merkel, put across his recommendation for European citizens to be at the heart of European achievement, instead of merely being passive members. He moreover won the overwhelming support of the majority of the other 26 member states when maintaining that Turkey should only be an associate member of the European Union, but not part of the actual integration.

Although vagueness is what characterizes the future of the European Union, mainly due to the Irish vote against the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty, Sarkozy promises to support Josè Manuel Barroso as the President of the European Commission, and to be alongside him during all decision-making processes.

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This week, Secretary-General of the Young European Federalists (JEF) Peter Matjašič visited Sarajevo to talk to local partners about the problem of visa liberalisation. “It is important that the Commission considers the implications if Bosnia and Herzegovina is left out of this process, consequently leaving Bosniaks as the only inhabitants of BiH without the ability to travel without visa limitations” he sums up his experience.

The situation is especially problematic as the effects of the Commission's new visa regime will contribute to further ethnic separation on a formal level. Bosniaks (mainly Muslim Bosnians) represent the majority of Bosnians and have, in contrast to Bosnian Serbs and Croats, no dual citizenship with Serbia and Croatia. Thanks to laws in neighbouring countries, Croats and Serbs have the chance to get a second passport, while most Bosniaks will be left without that chance. This means that the new EU visa policy will only, and formally, exclude and discriminate one part of Bosnia's population. Additionally, this will happen on ethnic grounds, thus playing into the hands of nationalists.

Morally speaking, the effects of the new visa regime will be even worse as the announcement will come three days after the 11 July, the annual commemoration of the Srebrenica genocide in 1995. As the 24 year old Amar, who grew up in Sarajevo during the siege from 1992-1995, said to Deutsche Welle TV: “Victims are expected to accept that Ratko Mladić will have a better passport than them, thus be allowed to travel visa free…”

The European Commission and European leaders as well as national politicians should stop creating new divisions in the Balkans.

On 14 July 2009, the Commission should recommend visa free travel to all citizens of Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia. President of JEF-Europe, Samuele Pii says “European foreign policy can only be effective if its carrots and sticks are credible. There is no technical, political and moral justification not to recommend the same for all citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina.”

Residents of Kosovo, however, will remain excluded from the lift of visa restrictions because of diverging positions on Kosovo's legal status. This is a contradiction in itself: if Kosovo is considered part of Serbia, Kosovars should be allowed visa-free travel like the rest of the country. In contrast, if Kosovo is recognized as an independent state, it should be brought on the road to visa liberalisation. Either way, it would be fair and efficient to promote the joint integration of Serbians, Serbian Kosovars and Albanian Kosovars in the European family by simultaneously lifting visa restrictions for all the citizens living in the Western Balkans.

“JEF has been fighting for a visa free and united Europe for a long time and strongly believes that travelling across Europe is the best recipe against nationalism”, stresses Samuele Pii. Thus, the European Commission and European leaders as well as national politicians should stop creating new divisions in the Balkans and focus on bringing much needed trust and confidence in the EU's ability to deliver and contribute to positive change.

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Manmohan Singh is a renowned economist and this will certainly help the world's largest democracy counter such economic slump.

The Congress Party adopted pro-poor policies in the previous government and this eventually paid off in the election. The pre-election manifesto of the Congress promised subsidised cereals for the poor, which eventually encouraged more peasants to vote for such party.

Along with Singh, there are other ex-members of the last government. Karmal Nath, a trade minister in the previous government, has become the minister of road transport and highways. The latter is seen as a prominent businessman and therefore this shows that the government's intention is to speed up the implementation of infrastructure projects which had slowed under the previous government, Reuters reported.

When it comes to the negotiations at the World Trade Organisation (WTO), the U.S. trade representative Ron Kirk when on visit in Geneva revealed that Washington was committed to seeing the trade round launched in Doha in 2001 success and he did not want talks to start from scratch or throw away work already done.

U.S. president, Barack Obama, is very confident in completing a World Trade Organisation. In recent speeches Obama rightly identified trade as a key factor of pulling the world out of recession.

The communist party this time was unshackled from any other opponent as it seized to attract other allies so that to strengthen its position. Members of the DMK party and of the National Conference party were also included in the coalition of the Congress. This eventually made the party undefeated by the communists and other significant opponents. It is now ruling in comfortable majority with a coalition government.

Economic Slump

The Indian economy has slowed down to 6%-7% over the past year or so. Industrial production and exports have also declined and this eventually led to the loss of millions of jobs, especially in export-oriented industries such as textiles, garments and gems.

A substantial proportion of the 1.1billion population is extremely poor, even though it is considered to be the second-fastest growing economy in the world among large countries after China.

Singh claimed that “If we sustain the growth rates of the last five years, we can reduce poverty, create new employment, accelerate rural development and industrialisation and transform the lives of our people… We must grasp the nettle firmly and forge ahead.”

Successful Agricultural developments

From the early 1990s, a phase of ‘liberalisation' and reduction of controls have been imposed by Mr Singh who became finance minister in an earlier Congress government.

The first Singh administration worked hard on improving lives of peasants with programmes such as that of the 100 day employment for families living in rural areas.

Conflicting Neighbours

Mr Shing has to deal cautiously with India's neighbours Pakistan and Afghanistan where Islamic Fundamentalists are threatening to overrun both countries.

In Nepal, there is instability in governance after the Maoists withdrew from government. Burma is least stable of all. Of all the Indian neighbours, Bangladesh is the most politically stable after the pro-India Awami League was elected in December.

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Ad otto anni da quella data l'Europa sta ancora discutendo i risultati della Convenzione europea. Il Trattato di Lisbona, prima Trattato che adotta una Costituzione per l'Europa, già di per sè un compromesso con poche ambizioni, ha trovato difficoltà enormi sulla strada della propria approvazione ed ancora oggi stiamo aspettando il verdetto di alcuni stati per capire se potrà entrare in vigore entro il 2009.

La storia del trattato è la storia degli stati europei, chini su sè stessi, incapaci di guardare ad un mondo che evolve molto in fretta e gelosi della loro, ormai lacera, sovranità nazionale. La storia vista dall'esterno è invece ben diversa: gli Stati Uniti cominciano a

… dopo 8 anni si discute ancora di Laeken …

chiedere all'Europa di assumersi le proprie responsabilità in politica estera, l'America Latina e l'Africa guardano con estremo interesse al processo di unificazione europeo per cercare di ripercorrere la strada di prosperità e di pace che l'Europa ha saputo costruire e la Cina ha capito che il mondo unipolare, sotto l'egida degli Stati Uniti, è finito e che la costruzione di un nuovo ordine multipolare ha bisogno anche della presenza europea.

«La Cina sostiene il processo di integrazione dell'UE e accoglie con soddisfazione il suo ruolo sempre più utile e rilevante negli affari internazionali» (http://www.corriere.it/esteri/09_lu…) questo è il richiamo del Presidente Cinese Hu Jintao nell'intervista al Corriere della Sera alla vigilia del suo arrivo in Europa per il G8.

La crisi economica ha mostrato alla Cina che il suo immenso credito nei confronti degli Stati Uniti è seriamente messo in pericolo dall'instabilità del dollaro ed è chiaro che essa non ha intenzione di legare indefinitamente il proprio destino alle politiche imprevedibili degli Stati Uniti. La crisi del sistema

… l'immenso credito cinese verso gli Us messo in crisi dal dollaro

finanziario americano ha inoltre mostrato in modo drammatico l'esigenza di sottoporre a controllo multilaterale la creazione di liquidità internazionale ed infatti già alla vigilia del G20 di Londra la Cina aveva avanzato la proposta di una moneta mondiale di riserva, scollegata dalle singole nazioni, ed in grado di garantire la necessaria stabilità monetaria.

Un governo europeo, non sottoposto ai veti incrociati dei singoli governi nazionali, non avrebbe potuto che guardare con estremo interesse alla proposta cinese. I

… i cinesi usano una bugia per dirci che il mondo ha bisogno dell'UE …

detentori di attività finanziarie in dollari si sono infatti sempre di più rivolti all'euro, provocandone un apprezzamento altrimenti non giustificato. L'euro è già una componente importante delle riserve, dei portafogli e dei panieri valutari, ma non può sostituire il dollaro come moneta mondiale in un mondo in cui il potere economico è sempre più distribuito a livello mondiale.

Come acutamente sottolinea Sergio Romano sul Corriere di sabato 4 luglio, la Cina sta mentendo, “non è vero purtroppo che il ruolo dell'UE sia sempre più utile e rilevante. I cinesi lo sanno, ma si servono di una bugia per dirci che il mondo ha bisogno dell'UE e che gli europei farebbero bene a rendersene conto”.

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Le Taurillon est en vacances jusqu'au lundi 3 août. Le temps de laisser les nouveaux eurodéputés s'installer à Strasbourg ; le temps pour les jeunes européens de parcourir l'Europe des séminaires et de penser l'Europe de demain ; le temps pour la présidence suédoise de l'Union Européenne de prendre ses marques ; le temps pour Pierre Lellouche d'apprendre l'allemand ; le temps pour les Irlandais de lancer une nouvelle campagne référendaire sur le traité de Lisbonne… et le temps pour la rédaction du Taurillon de vous préparer, pour tous ces sujets, et bien d'autres encore, une vision toujours militante et ambitieuse pour l'avenir de la construction européenne, le projet politique de notre génération.

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Voter apathy was reflected in the historically low turnout of around thirty three percent. In Scotland voter turnout was only twenty eight per cent. In the local elections, Labour finished third place behind Conservatives and Liberal Democrats, with Labour losing control of the four councils it had held prior to the election. In a vote widely considered to be a reaction to the expenses scandal, the share of the votes was down for all the major parties; Labour was down one percent, the Conservative share was down five percent. The beneficiary of the public backlash was generally seen to be the minor parties, including the Green Party and UKIP (UK Independence Party). Gordon Brown, the British Prime Minister, was quoted in the press as having said that the results were “a painful defeat for Labour”, and that “too many good people doing so much good for their communities and their constituencies have lost through no fault of their own.” Critics go as far as saying that what is happening now makes John Major's government look like a triumph.

The dismal results for Labour, coupled with the shockwaves of the expenses scandal that rocked the nation, will intensify Mr. Brown's leadership crisis and could trigger more ministerial resignations and demands for him to step down. We do not need to rehearse here the litany of disasters affecting Mr. Brown and his administration, but let us anyway: the continuous resignation and botched reshuffling of cabinet ministers, the demands from backbenchers that he step down with immediate effect, the withering contempt of former colleagues, the abuse from the feminist “sisterhood”, the all too obvious inability to handle the expenses scandal, what has become of the shattered wreck that is the British economy, a backbencher walking out and forcing a by-election, a slaughter in the local and European elections.

After all that has happened during his brief but all too painful term in office, how much more encouragement does his party need to boot him out, and to live up to their ideal of doing what is right for the country?

After all that has happened during his brief but all too painful term in office, how much more encouragement does his party need to boot him out, and to live up to their ideal of doing what is right for the country?The reshuffle was one of the most disastrous in modern political history, since the days of Margaret Thatcher and her removal from Downing Street. It was claimed that the reshuffle would re launch the Government. Needless to say, it failed in every respect.

The worst part of it all is that unfortunately, the Labour Party remains as delusional as ever. For example, during the expenses involving scandal there were no subsequent expulsions, no removal of whip, just the banning of four heavily involved MPs from running for the next general election under the Labour ticket. Here is the irony however; three of them had no intention of standing at the next election anyway. As the recent local and European election results showed, this simply will not suffice. Yet, Mr. Brown sees no need whatsoever for a general election, for he has already elected himself. During a Downing Street press conference on the 5th of June, Brown stated, “If I didn't think I was the right person leading the right team… then I would not be standing here… I believe in never walking away from people in difficult times.” Surely, a noble statement from the under-fire Prime Minister. Yet, was this Brown's rebuke to the growing number of ministers who have resigned? Are cowards who have run away from their responsibilities? Or just ministers who were fed up of being pawns of a government that was always doomed to fail what with its lack of popularity from the start?

The question floating around the UK at the moment is wonder and how Brown can continue to put his head down and go on. Astonishment at how Brown could continue to sit in his office while his Cabinet ministers head out the door? “This Government is collapsing before our eyes,” David Cameron taunted in the Commons on June the 3rd, and that is certainly how it looks. However, even though storm is clearly and continuously building up, prime ministers still hold the keys to the founding laws of democracy, one of the strongest being the ability to reshuffle. Maybe, hopefully, another reshuffle can lead to a breath of fresh air in the House of Commons and in the Country, a Country which throughout history has proved an important and ever present friend watching over not only Europe, but also the World.

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Langfristige Konsequenzen für das deutsch-polnische Verhältnis

In der Nachkriegszeit organisierten sich die Vertriebenen in Landsmannschaften. Diese in Deutschland sowie in Österreich geschaffenen Verbände gruppierten diejenigen, die aus derselben Gegend vertrieben wurden. Im Jahre 1957 wurde der Bund der Vertriebenen als Dachorganisation der meisten deutschen Landsmannschaften geschaffen.

Diese Organisation übte in der Nachkriegszeit einen deutlichen Einfluss auf die deutsche Politik, z.B. mit einer eigenen Partei, der GB/BHE (Gesamtdeutscher Block/Bund der Heimatvertriebenen und Entrechteten), die sogar zwei Minister im zweiten Kabinett Adenauers stellte. Nach dieser Periode verlor die Vertriebenenbewegung an Gewicht, unter anderen, weil ihre Forderungen in dem Kontext der Vergangenheitsbewältigung keine wahre Resonanz in der Bevölkerung fanden.

Entzündete Debatte nach dem Fall des eisernen Vorhangs

Nach dem Fall des eisernen Vorhangs stellte sich allerdings erneut die Frage: Wo soll die östliche Grenze des neuen Deutschland festgelegt werden? Der Bundestag hat im Jahre 1990 die Oder-Neiße Grenze bestätigt. Die damals frisch gewählte CDU-Abgeordnete Erika Steinbach hatte für Aufmerksamkeit gesorgt, als sie dagegen stimmte. Seit 1998 ist sie Präsidentin des Bundes der Vertriebenen, was in der polnischen Öffentlichkeit tiefe Ängste schürt. In diesem Land hat die CDU-Abgeordnete einen sehr schlechten Ruf. Eine kürzlich durchgeführte Umfrage in Polen ist zu dem überraschenden Ergebnis gekommen, dass Erika Steinbach nach Wladimir Putin als zweitgefährlichste Person für Polen genannt wurde. Damit ist sie in der Vorstellung der meisten polnischen Bürger sogar gefährlicher als der iranische Präsident Mahmud Ahmadinejad.

Manche Beobachter betonen, dass Steinbach innerhalb des Bundes der Vertriebenen eher zu dem gemäßigten Flügel gehört. Nichtsdestotrotz lässt sich die polnische Angst vor Erika Steinbach u.a. darauf zurückführen, dass die von dem Bund der Vertriebenen geschaffene „Preußische Treuhand“ allein im Jahre 2006 22 Einzelbeschwerde an den europäischen Gerichtshof für Menschenrechte eingereicht hat, um deutsche Eigentumsansprüche durchzusetzen.

Solche juristische Fälle sind in den Medien intensiv kommentiert und manchmal vereinfacht dargestellt worden, was in Polen die Angst vor dem „Rückkehr der Deutschen“ verstärkt hat. Schließlich zieht dies auch politischen Konsequenzen nach sich: Während der Beitrittsverhandlungen hat Polen eine Übergangsperiode von 12 Jahren, während der Ausländer kein Land in Polen kaufen dürfen, mit Erfolg gefordert.

Zentrum gegen Vertreibung : die Kontroverse

Im Jahre 1990 hat der Bund der Vertriebenen die Stiftung „Zentrum gegen Vertreibung“ gegründet. Zweck dieses Verbands ist, Druck für eine Erinnerungsstätte in Berlin zu machen. Vor allem die Tatsache, dass das Zentrum seinen Sitz in Berlin haben sollte, ist äußerst problematisch. In Polen wird dieses Symbol als einen Versuch betrachtet, die deutsche Geschichte neu zu interpretieren. Es wird befürchtet, dass eine Erleichterung des deutschen Schuldgefühls für neue Eigentumsansprüche den Weg ebnet.

Aus diesem Grund haben die Gegner des Projekts alternative Städte für ein solches Zentrum vorgeschlagen, darunter Breslau oder Sarajewo. Ziel dieser Vorschläge ist, die Problematik der Vertreibung in einer europäischen eher als aus einer deutschen Perspektive darzustellen. Dadurch könnten die Konsequenzen für das deutsch-polnische Verhältnis auch gemildert werden.

Diese ganze Affäre setzt die Bundesregierung unter Druck. Nach wie vor scheint die Bundeskanzlerin an ihrer Unterstützerin Erika Steinbach festzuhalten, obwohl die Opposition sowie der sozial-demokratischen Koalitionspartner ihre Kritik gegen das Projekt eines „Zentrums gegen Vertreibung“ deutlich ausgedrückt haben. Diese Frage ist während der letzten Koalitionsverhandlungen, die sich im Jahre 2005 um mehrere Monate verzögert haben, fast zu einem Stolperstein geworden. Nach gespannten Verhandlungen haben sich die CDU/CSU und die SPD auf einem „sichtbares Zeichen“ in Berlin geeinigt.

Stiftung Flucht, Vertreibung, Versöhnung : welche Rolle für Steinbach?

Die Gründung einer Stiftung zur Verwaltung dieses etwas schwammigen „Zeichens“ ist auch vorgesehen. Jedoch zieht diese Stiftung „Flucht, Vertreibung, Versöhnung“ neue Kontroverse nach sich, nicht zuletzt weil das Schreckensbild Steinbach hier wieder auftaucht. Für die Vorsitzende des Bundes der Vertriebenen war nämlich einen Sitz in dem Stiftungsrat geplant.

Darauf hat der polnischen Außenminister Wladyslaw Bartoszewski, der auch einen Auschwitz-Überleber ist, empört reagiert: Er hat angekündigt, dass Steinbach dafür so gut geeignet wäre wie einen Antisemit für die deutsch-israelischen Diplomatie. Dieser Streit hat das deutsch-polnische Verhältnis erneut geschädigt, und schließlich sollte Steinbach infolgedessen auf ihren Sitz in dem Stiftungsrat verzichten. Der Bund der Vertriebenen hat angekündigt, dass dieser Sitz als Protestsymbol unbesetzt bleiben würde.

Es ist auffällig, dass diese Vertreibung nach 60 Jahren die deutsch-polnische Beziehungen immer noch stark belasten. Dies liegt zum Teil daran, dass die Vergangenheitsbewältigung im Polen anders als in Deutschland stattfand. Fragen wie die Vertreibung der Deutschen rückten nämlich in dem Hintergrund, während der Völkermord das Hauptthema war. Das lässt sich auch gut erklären und rechtfertigen, nur trägt es auch zu der Verschleierung mancher Taten bei. In dieser Hinsicht könnte eine Initiative für eine gemeinsame Vergangenheitsbewältigung interessante Ergebnisse leisten.

Von deutschen Politikern wird immer wieder betont, dass die deutsch-polnische Beziehung ähnlich wie die deutsch-französische gestalten werden sollte. Es ist aber merkwürdig, dass die Vorbereitung von deutsch-polnischen Geschichtsbüchern viel problematischer als die der deutsch-französischen Bücher ist.

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United States Vice-President Joe Biden visited Western Balkans from 19 till 21 May. The intention of the visit was to underline growing understanding and readiness of the new US administration to reengage in the region. Mr Biden visited Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia and Kosovo and met with top local and international officials. He also addressed each country's parliament.

Biden calls Bosnia-Herzegovina to enact Constitutional Reforms

Mr Biden kicked off his tour with a visit to Bosnia-Herzegovina. During his one day visit he was joined by the EU High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana, and they met the members of the State Presidency, the Council of Ministers and leaders of political parties. During these meetings and in his address to the state parliament Mr Biden voiced US support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Bosnia-Herzegovina and the constitutional reforms necessary for country's Euro-Atlantic integration.

New Leaf Turned over in Relations between Serbia and US

The following day, US Vice-President Biden visited Serbia. Mr Biden is the most senior US politician to officially visit Serbia in nearly thirty years, after the visit of then President Jimmy Carter in June 1980.

The intention of the visit was to underline growing understanding and readiness of the new US administration to reengage in the region.

Analysts and Serbian officials describe the visit as a new start in relations between the two countries which started to deteriorate after the US led a NATO bombing campaign to drive Serb forces out of Kosovo in 1999 and got even worse after Washington recognized Kosovo's independence in 2008. In his talks with Serbian President Tadic, Mr Biden backed Serbian plans to join the EU and emphasized that the US does not expect Serbia to recognize the independence of Kosovo nor is the recognition of the country a precondition for US support to Serbia. However, the US expects Serbia not to obstruct the development of Kosovo, but to cooperate with the international community and help rebuild it and improve the standard of life of Kosovo citizens, including the minority Serbs.

Biden Underlines US Support to Independent Kosovo

Mr Biden wrapped up his three-day tour to the Western Balkans with a visit to Kosovo. Mr Biden is the first senior US official to visit the country since it declared its independence from Serbia last year. He was warmly welcomed by thousands of citizens who greeted him waving US and Kosovo flags in his honour and cheering slogans in which they expressed their gratitude for the US help and support for Kosovo over the years. Separately, minority Serbs staged a protest at the memorial of NATO in northern town of Kosovska Mitrovica. They proclaimed Biden and USA their greatest enemies.

Mr Biden held a speech before the Kosovo Assembly, met with the president and prime minister, and visited U.S. troops assigned to the NATO peacekeeping mission in Kosovo. He reiterated that the recognition of Kosovo was an irreversible process and that Kosovo was whole and indivisible.

Mr. Biden praised Kosovo government for the extraordinary efforts they have made to build a functional and effective state and to protect the rights of minorities. Also, he stressed US commitment to a unified, independent and multi-ethnic Kosovo. However, Mr Biden urged Kosovo government to strengthen the rule of law and continue developing free and open society as well as to endorse measures that will give municipal authorities and ethnic communities greater degrees of control of local affairs.

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