European Institute

Croatia passed a crucial hurdle in its pursuit of EU membership when the European Commission gave formal approval June 10 to its accession application. Endorsement by EU heads of state is now considered only a formality, and Croatia’s tentative entry date is July 1, 2013.

On April 13, 2011, a delegation from the European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) including The Honorable Stavros Lambrinidis, Vice President of The European Parliament, Vice-Chairwoman Sophie in ’t Veld and The Honorable Jan Philipp Albrecht, MEP, Germany, Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance discussed the challenges and opportunities for greater cooperation among the U.S. and EU on data protection issues, passenger name records and the SWIFT agreement. Additional panelists included moderator The Honorable David D. Aufhauser, Partner, Williams & Connolly LLP; Mary Ellen Callahan, Chief Privacy Officer, U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS); Nancy Libin, Chief Privacy and Civil Liberties Officer, U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ); Abraham Newman, Assistant Professor, Edmund Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University; and Blas Nuñez-Neto, Professional Staff Member, United States Senate’s Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

Amid the strident furor about media freedom in Europe, Budapest has also started actively defending itself in the U.S. against charges that new Hungarian press laws will restrict reporting and could portend anti-democratic moves on a broader scale.

The Sudan’s likely break-up and the emergence of a new nation in the southern part of the country is the latest example of partition enjoying the backing of both the EU and the U.S., a theme discussed in European Affairs last month.