www.neweurope.eu 22ND YEAR OF PUBLICATION NUMBER 1080 11-17 MAY, 2014 € 3.50 RUSSIA Page 11 BY ARITI-MARINA ALamaNOU Page 28 by Gianni Pittella Page 09 Saying thatDo a merger ofyou two airlines trust this man? does not harm competition, because WHITE BOOK one of them would have gone out of ON VIOLATIONS OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE RULE OF LAW business soon anyway, is like a crimi- IN UKRAINE nal court acquitting a murderer of a (NOVEMBER 2013 — MARCH 2014) cancer patient on the grounds that LIBYA Page 12 since the victim was anyway going to A bold agenda for die, the murderer had caused “no ad- ditional negative effect”. But this is exactly what the Thethe European next elections Parliament “will be decisive for Commission’s Vice-President in the future of the European Parliament,” says charge of competition policy Joaquín Gianni Pittella MEP and Vice-President. Almunia did in the Aegean and With populist parties rising, he says “it is there- Olympic airlines merger that led to fore essential that all pro-European political the creation of a monopoly. forces” should rally and not be defensive. by Andris Vilks, Finance Min Page 07 Latvia’s experience in the euro changeover ŠtefanThe Füle on Russia, Ukraine,negotiator Moldova, Georgia, Azerbaijan and more he EU has failed to grasp BY CHRISTOS KIssas, PHD Page 03 Putin’s intentions, says Štefan Füle, EU Com- Tmissioner in charge of Enlarge- Piketty or ment and Neighbourhood poli- cy, in an exclusive interview with not Piketty? New Europe. The EU misunderstood him "many years ago, when Putin said that the biggest catastrophe of the 20th Century was the dissolution of the Soviet Union, then in 2008, BY NEW EUROPE Page 03 at the NATO-Russia summit in Bucharest, when he said that Uk- raine was an "artificial country”. EU sanctions "I am very concerned”, says Füle, "to see a policy of "mana- and the failure geable chaos" being introduced in Ukraine. Where exactly are the limits of “manageable"? To what of the EEAS extent can one “manage" chaos? I would hate to see anyone pla- ying games with the purpose of Štefan Füle speaks at New Europe Studios www.neweurope.eu A NEW EUROPE SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT NEW EUROPEMay 2014 determining who is going to pay THE ASSEMBLY the biggest price for Ukraine: Mo- partner in energy? Yes, it is!” says the crisis in the Eurozone. The- OF EUROPEAN REGIONS A PARTNER FOR REGIONAL GROWTH scow or Brussels? We are not into Fule, hoping to expand strategic re were a number of ways to do A partner for The AER Business Community he business world has changed. that kind of game." relations, adding that he will visit it. We have probably chosen the Today, there are no borders and no currencies. The definition of “Tcompetitiveness has also evolved; we can’t boost enterprises through the traditional an- nual fairs or other old-fashion tools. We need to encourage regional business and small and medium enterprises towards a constant Giovanni Chiodi, dialogue with their counter partners and in- troduce them to new stakeholders. Therefore, President of the Štefan Füle also details the with Oettinger and may accompa- most difficult one: to strengthen it is with great honour that I accept to be in Abruzzo Region charge of the AER Business Community”. This statement byGiovanni Chiodi, Pres- (IT), took officially ident of the Abruzzo Region (Italy), got the attention of New Europe. Throughout the charge of the this supplement we will focus our atten- “AER Business tion on how to get new business opportu- nities without the European Commission Community” in following steps for consolida- ny President Barroso. the credibility of the process. In support, neither National Governments but through regional authorities. Pescara in regional growth For those who don’t know this associa- April 2014. tion, established in 1985, the Assembly of European Regions is the largest indepen- dent network of regions in wider Europe. In fact, AER brings together nearly 230 touch with new markets and to extend their – whose vision is to be the world leader in region’s growth, by highlighting its eco- regions from 35 countries and 15 inter- network at the regional level. A level consid- sustainable transport solutions – welcomes nomic assets and innovative businesses. regional organisations. All regions within ered by AER as very accessible and flexible, the opportunity to cooperate with the As- One part will also be dedicated to educa- ting Moldova and Georgia, and Füle also dwells at length on the last two and a half years, we Council of Europe states can join this making it a privileged interlocutor for grow- sembly of European Regions. This experi- tion. A student will guide the viewer, invit- network. Regions are defined as authori- ing business. This Community is composed ence will provide us with a better insight of ing him or her to visit the university world ties immediately below the level of central on the one hand of a privileged pool of co- regional mobility challenges and transport and meet foreign students. government, with a political power of rep- founders and other members from the pri- needs so that, together, we will be able to de- The end of each episode will highlight resentation, as embodied by an elected re- vate sector. On the other hand, it gathers dy- velop sustainable European Regions” stated the different modes of transportation and gional Assembly. In the past few weeks, we namic, open-minded and innovative SMEs Frédérique Biston, Vice-President of infrastructure available in the area, such got to know its current views through its that are looking for internationalisation and Volvo Group. as regional airports, high speed trains, etc. Secretary General, Pascal Goergen and new markets. Some concrete projects have already The aim of “European Regions” is to en- announces that Albania might we’ll soon have a chat with its President, the way he managed to maintain All of these companies are included in come out from these partnerships, such as courage familiarity and dialogue between went from a box-ticking exercise Hande Özsan Bozatli, who is also the AER’s activities where they can find op- the “European Regions” campaign, brand- cultures as well to promote tourism and Vice-President of the Metropolitan area of portunities for interregional economic ed by AER and led together with UNICAP discovery of the highlighted region. “Eu- Istanbul. exchanges, share best practices and inno- Television. ropean Regions” will also lead the view- This Assembly launched its Business vative ideas, as well as improve their cor- “European Regions” will be a series of ers to a wealth of undiscovered culture. Community last 8 April 2014. The main porate image and reputation. documentaries inviting television viewers With its unusual places and memorable purpose is to establish concrete and sustain- Today, it can already rely some co- to discover a region through its heritage, interviews. able links between the private sector and founding members such as Brussels Air- whether it is tangible or intangible, cul- This project is truly the essence of this regional authorities from its member re- lines, Volvo, Accor Hotels, UNICAP Tele- tural, architectural, historic, touristic, in- Community to put companies and region- finally receive the candidate sta- the momentum of enlargement: to a project of political transfor- gions. In other words, it seeks for a win-win vision and BNP Paribas Fortis. One of dustrial or gastronomic. Each episode will al authorities together in order to create partnership by helping companies to get in them shared testimony: “The Volvo Group show the industrial heritage, namely the innovative ideas, growth and jobs. tus at the EU Council in June, "The most challenging job I had mation. Track record matters, and when Moldova and Georgia will in the last two and a half years was I am very happy to see the first sign their own Association agree- how to keep the enlargement alive small results.” ments. “But it is up to the member at a time when the basic instinct of One main result of this has states” to take the final decision, the whole European Union and of been the start of the negotiations concedes Štefan Füle. the members states was to focus between Serbia and Kosovo. “Is Azerbaijan our strategic on the economy, the finances and (Pages 04-05) NEWEUROPE 02 www.neweurope.eu ANALYSIS 11-17 May, 2014 The Shooting Gallery MM What will these European elections bring for the EU? It is a commonly understood fact that the upcoming European Par- liament elections are of crucial importance. Not only is it important for the future of the European Parliament, but for the future of the entire European Union as well. Of course, there are some positive elements like the fact that this is the first time that political parties and political groups in the European Parliament have nominated candidates for the position of European Commission President. The fact that each party has openly declared who they will appoint as the next President if they win enough votes to influence his designation is of course a step toward transparency in EU decision-making. But this does not seem so important if one looks at what these elec- tions could bring to the European Parliament. It looks as though an army of different kinds of Eurosceptics and, worse still, enemies of Strictly speaking, the German Chancellor didn’t say anything when asked about Martin Schulz’s chances of becomming anything to do with the European Union are preparing to invade Commission President, but some claimed to have detected a clue AFP PHOTO / DPA / CARMEN JASPERSEN Brussels.