Brussels - The European Union is to send over 170 officials to observe elections in Angola and Rwanda in September, the EU's executive announced in Brussels on Friday.

The bloc is to send 92 observers to Angola for parliamentary elections on September 5, and 79 observers to Rwanda for elections on September 15-18, the European Commission said.

"These elections are crucial for the strengthening of Angolan democracy ... We are confident that (the EU's) assessment will boost the confidence of the Angolan people in the process," EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner said.

Brussels - The European Union and Israel have agreed in principle to further open up their food markets to one another's products, officials in Brussels announced Friday.

Around 95 per cent of the trade in processed agricultural products between the EU and Israel is already fully liberalized.

The new agreement raises quotas and lowers tariffs on a range of "sensitive" products such as citrus fruits, goose liver and soya oil, a statement from the European Commission said.

Brussels - The European Union gave a guarded response Thursday to the decision by Turkey's constitutional court not to ban the ruling AKP party, saying that it would keep a close eye on future developments.

The 27-member bloc, which Turkey's current government is keen to join, "takes due note" of the court decision and "invites all those involved in Turkish politics to resolve their differences in a spirit of dialogue and compromise, while respecting the rule of law and fundamental freedoms," a statement on behalf of the bloc said.

Brussels  - Scientists and inventors including the president of the prestigious Munich Technical University and the director of Skype are set to steer the European Union's top innovation network, the European Commission announced Wednesday.

The 18-member governing board of the EU's Institute for Innovation and Technology (EIT) is set to meet for the first time on September 15. It is to discuss how best the EU can encourage scientists and businesses to work together to invent innovative products.

Brussels  - The European Union on Wednesday welcomed the transfer to the international war crimes tribunal in The Hague of former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic.

The European Commission, the EU's executive, is "satisfied" that the transfer has taken place, a spokesman said.

It is "a significant step for international justice, first of all, it is a significant step for Serbia and also for EU-Serbia relations," he said.

Karadzic, who was arrested in Belgrade on July 21 after almost 13 years on the run, was transferred to the Dutch-based International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

Brussels  - European Union officials on Monday condemned as "despicable" the overnight double bombing in a crowded Istanbul street which left at least 17 people dead.

"I condemn in the strongest possible terms the despicable bombing attack that took many innocent lives and injured dozens of people in Istanbul yesterday (Sunday) evening," Javier Solana, the EU's high representative for its common foreign policy, said in a statement.

"I express my deepest condolences and my heartfelt sympathy to the families of the victims and to the Turkish government ... In these difficult moments, Turkey can count on the support of the European Union," he said.