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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| EU positive on Balkan entry bids | EU positive on Balkan entry bids |
| (11 minutes later) | |
| The EU expects to have signed by the end of 2008 initial agreements paving the way for eventual membership of the bloc with all western Balkan countries. | The EU expects to have signed by the end of 2008 initial agreements paving the way for eventual membership of the bloc with all western Balkan countries. |
| EU enlargement commissioner Olli Rehn said Stability and Association Agreements (SAAs) would be signed by all countries in the region next year. | EU enlargement commissioner Olli Rehn said Stability and Association Agreements (SAAs) would be signed by all countries in the region next year. |
| A draft SAA with Serbia will be signed this week, Mr Rehn said, citing Serbian co-operation with a war crimes court. | A draft SAA with Serbia will be signed this week, Mr Rehn said, citing Serbian co-operation with a war crimes court. |
| The EU urged Turkey to improve human rights to meet membership criteria. | The EU urged Turkey to improve human rights to meet membership criteria. |
| The European Commission said Turkey must make "significant further efforts" to strengthen freedom of expression and religion and improve the rights of its Kurdish minority. | |
| He said the EU and Turkey should not begin critical accession talks on justice and human rights until Ankara had amended Article 301, a law used to prosecute journalists and intellectuals for "insulting Turkishness". | |
| Tensions have soared between Turks and Kurds after a series of attacks on Turkish troops by Kurdish rebels operating out of Iraq. |