Author: Mirza Čubro
SARAJEVO – Visoki predstavnik međunarodne zajednice za BiH Valentin Incko izjavio je jučer u Vijeću sigurnosti UN-a da neće dopustiti da suverenitet države i nadležnosti njenih institucija budu osporene.
“Neki od visokih političkih funkcionera iz Republike Srpske napadaju legitimitet institucija – sudskih, tužilačkih, policijskih, ekonomskih, obavještajnih i odbrambenih.

About 31 percent of Muslims in the European Union feel they were discriminated against in 2008, according to an EU survey of 23,500 members of ethnic minorities and migrant communities published on Thursday.
Ten percent of Muslims who experienced prejudice believed this was solely due to their religious beliefs, while over half felt that their ethnic [...]

Georgia’s influential Orthodox church called on Thursday for snap elections or immediate dialogue to end an “explosive” stalemate between the opposition and President Mikheil Saakashvili.
The statement’s recognition of elections as a potential way out will give the opposition new heart after seven weeks of street protests demanding Saakashvili resign over his record on democracy and [...]

he prosecution of The Hague’s international war crimes tribunal will not file an appeal to the not guilty verdict in the case of former Serbian president Milan Milutinovic, who was tried for war crimes in Kosovo in the first half of 1999, Belgrade’s daily ‘Vecernje novosti’ cited a statement by the prosecution’s spokeswoman, Olga Kavran.
According [...]

Moldova’s parliament postponed from Thursday a final ballot to elect a president, a vote outgoing Communist President Vladimir Voronin hopes will enable him to hold on to the reins of power.
Voronin, who intends to wield authority in his new job as speaker of parliament, proposed the postponement to June 3 and deputies approved it. Within [...]

BRUSSELS, Belgium
The foreign ministers of Croatia and Slovenia briefed EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn on Wednesday (May 27th) on their responses to his latest proposal for resolving their longstanding border dispute. Rehn welcomed the commitment of both countries to assist with the process, said his spokeswoman, Krisztina Nagy.

NICOSIA, Cyprus
Foreign Minister Markos Kyprianou said on Wednesday (May 27th) that UN forces in the country, known as UNFICYP, are still necessary despite the ongoing reunification talks between leaders of the two communities on the divided island.
The forces, deployed in 1964, consist of over 900 UN staff based in the buffer zone between the Turkish [...]

UNITED NATIONS
Russian Ambassador to the United Nations Vitaly Churkin rejected on Thursday Georgian allegations that Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had “blackmailed” UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon over his report on the situation in the Caucasus and threatened to veto the document. 

Romania supports the Greek position in the bilateral dispute between Athens and Skopje about the use of the name Macedonia, media reports said.
Speaking after meeting his Greek counterpart Karolos Papoulias in Athens on May 27 2009, Basescu said: “The principle of good neighborly relations represents an obligation for all countries regardless of whether they are [...]

BUCHAREST
Romania is committed to the European Union-backed Nabucco gas pipeline, but it will consider other projects if talks do not push forward, leaving a door open to a rival Russian project, a senior official said on Thursday.

A fierce row over the route that the South Stream gas pipeline will take through Serbia has erupted in the city of Nis, after Belgrade backtracked on earlier promises.
Local authorities in Nis are demanding written guarantees from the government that the country’s largest southern city will not be left out of any future gas supply, [...]

The ruling ethnic Albanian party in Macedonia has given a deadline to its bigger coalition partner to solve the burning name row with Greece and move the country’s stalled Euro Atlantic integration forward by the end of the year.
“The grace period that (the Democratic Union for Integration), DUI gave to VMRO DPMNE ended after the [...]

Romania’s president has canceled a planned trip to Moldova’s capital Chisinau where he was due to take part in the South East European Cooperation Process, SEECP, on 5 June.
In a statement late Wednesday, the president’s office said his participation is “no longer current,” due to the events following the violent riots that erupted after the [...]

Kosovo’s foreign minister Skender Hyseni landed in New York Tuesday, beginning a round of over 30 meetings to lobby for more countries to recognise Kosovo’s independence.
Since its declaration of independence in February 2008, Kosovo has been recognised by 60 countries around the world, helped by lobbying efforts from both government, opposition and countries that support [...]

Author: Mirza Čubro
SARAJEVO – Srbijanske obavještajne i sigurnosne agencije nemaju informacija da se u Srbiji krije Radovan Stanković, koji je prije dvije godine pobjegao iz zatvora u Foči nakon što je pravosnažno osuđen za ratni zločin.
“Nemamo nikakvih saznanja da se Stanković nalazi u Srbiji. Naše agencije nisu prikupile informacije koje bi potvrdile ranije objavljivane navode [...]

Author: Mirza Čubro
SARAJEVO – Predstavnici državne i entitetskih vlada jučer u Sarajevu nisu uspjeli usaglasiti Prijedlog zakona o prevozu opasnih materija, jednog od šest zakona čije je usvajanje uslov za ukidanje viza građanima BiH.
Ministarstvo prometa i komunikacija BiH oragniziralo je ovu ministarsku konferenciju o izradi Prijedloga zakona o prevozu opasnih materija, o kojem već duže [...]

PRISTINA, Kosovo
Foreign ministers of the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) stopped short of calling for recognition of Kosovo’s independence, but voiced their support for its development. In a resolution approved on Monday (May 25th), the ministers praised “the progress made towards strengthening democracy, by serving peace and stability in the country and the region”. The [...]

SARAJEVO, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH)
High Representative Valentin Inzko visited the Constitutional Court on Monday (May25th) and met with Court President Seada Palavric. “The Constitutional Court of BiH is the institution of the outmost importance which enables BiH authorities to function and act in accordance with the BiH Constitution,” Inzko said.
He praised the achievements of the [...]

BUCHAREST
Despite existing disputes, the European Union (EU) should continue to seek cooperation with Russia in an atmosphere “not of influence, but of trust,” Romanian President Traian Basescu said here on Tuesday. 

EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn will meet the foreign ministers of Croatia and Slovenia in Brussels on Wednesday, spokesman for Rehn Krisztina Nagy said on Tuesday.
“I can confirm that the meeting will take place on Wednesday afternoon,” Nagy said. 

Kosovo will not participate in a meeting of Central European Free Trade Agreement, CEFTA, countries being held Wednesday in Budva, Montenegro, because of Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina’s ongoing boycott of the country’s products.
Since Kosovo’s declaration of independence, customs stamps have been modified to read the Republic of Kosovo instead of UNMIK, which triggered Serbia [...]

Participants in the ongoing dialogue between Albanian political leaders and Serb representatives in South Serbia assess their talks as ”constructive”, expressing hope that disputed issues will be resolved soon.
Talking to Balkan Insight, Nedad Djurdjevic, director of the Coordination Body that was established in 2000 to resolve grievances between the two communities, highlighted the previously tricky [...]

The Albanian government has come under harsh criticism from the opposition after an EU progress report said Tirana is not as close to fulfilling requirements needed to liberalise the visa regime as some of its neighbours are.
According to the report Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina have so far failed to fulfill the requirements. 

After meeting the Serb representative of Bosnia’s tripartite presidency Nebojsa Radmanovic, Serbian President Boris Tadic said Belgrade supports a united Bosnia.
At a news conference Monday, the Serbian president told press that Serbia fully supports the agreement made by Bosnia’s three constituencies, and respects is responsibilities and duties as guarantor of the Dayton Peace Accords. 

Slovenian Prime Minister Borut Pahor said on Monday that the statement by his Croatian counterpart Ivo Sanader that Croatia would not accept Slovenia’s amendments to the proposal by the EU’s enlargement commissioner, Olli Rehn, on solving the border dispute between the two countries, was not stimulating.
During a pause of an extraordinary government session at which [...]

Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic filed a 140-page motion on Monday arguing charges against him tied to the 1992-1995 Bosnia war should be dropped because he was promised immunity by a top U.S. official.
Karadzic, arrested and brought to the tribunal for former Yugoslavia last year after 11 years on the run, has said since [...]

ANKARA, Turkey
The newly elected Turkish Cypriot government said Friday (May 22nd) that it sees little hope that ongoing talks will lead to the reunification of the divided island. “The Greek Cypriot side is creating problems even on smaller issues. I am not optimistic for a solution, though I want to be,” Turkish Cypriot Foreign Minister

ZAGREB, Croatia
Students at the University of Zagreb’s philosophy faculty decided Sunday (May 24th) to end their five-week protest against plans to charge tuition fees. According to new rules set forth by the government, free tuition will be available only to students who pass their exams on time. Announcing their decision Sunday, student representatives said they [...]

PRISTINA, Kosovo
The European Commission (EC) Liaison Office launched a project Friday (May 22nd) to rebuild five bridges along the road connecting Kosovo and Macedonia. The head of the EC Liaison Office, Renzo Daviddi, said the initiative will contribute to Kosovo’s economic development and regional integration. “The M2 road is heavily congested, and it is essential [...]

PRISTINA, Kosovo
OSCE spokeswoman Elli Flen told the BBC on Sunday (May 24th) that the organisation’s role in the upcoming municipal elections will only be supervisory and observatory. President Fatmir Sejdiu is expected to decide the date of this year’s vote by the middle of this week, following consultations with local political organisations, including those representing [...]

SKOPJE, Macedonia
Dozens of earthquakes shook the southeast on Sunday (May 24th). The strongest measured 5.4 on the Richter scale at around 6 pm local time in the Valandovo region near the border with Greece. Seismologists counted more than 70 quakes throughout the day, which caused public panic and damaged several houses in the region. No [...]

A resolution adopted the Organisation of Islamic Conference, OIC, which welcomes cooperation with Kosovo and calls on the international community to continue to foster the country’s economy, has been greeted as a success by both Pristina and Belgrade.
But while both countries claim victory, they give very different interpretations to the resolution. 

Autor: Dan Dungaciu
“Cu un cântec de sirenă / Lumea-ntinde lucii mreje / Ca să schimbe-actorii-n scenă / Te momeşte în vârteje” (Glossă, Mihai Eminescu)”
Refuzul Opoziţie de a vota candidaţii propuşi de PCRM pentru funcţia de preşedinte al republicii a ridicat atât prestigiul Opoziţiei, cât şi nivelul aspiraţiilor celor care susţin alegerilor anticipate. Şi nu [...]

SKOPJE, Macedonia
EU members states begin debate Monday (May 25th) on the European Commission’s (EC) latest progress report on efforts by Western Balkan countries to meet criteria for joining the EU’s visa-free travel area, Macedonian Deputy Prime Minister Ivica Bocevski announced on Friday.

ATHENS, Greece
More than 1,000 Muslim protesters clashed with police in central Athens on Friday (May 22nd), causing havoc in the streets. Police fired tear gas and stun grenades to disperse the protesters. At least 14 people, seven Muslim immigrants and seven policemen, were injured, and 46 people were arrested.