Monthly Archives: March 2009

Western Powers Debate Bosnia’s Future

Representatives from the EU, the US, and Russia among others are meeting in Sarajevo, where they are expected to debate the international community’s future role in Bosnia and Herzegovina and confirm the country’s new top international envoy. The conference of the Peace Implementation Council started in the Bosnian capital on …

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Croatian Unions Threaten Lawsuits

Public service unions are likely to file a lawsuit challenging a decision by the Croatian government to adopt a law that will reduce the base salary for 180,000 public service employees by six percent. Instead of cancelling collective contracts with employees, the cabinet has decided to introduce a law that …

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Bank of Albania Alarmed Over Govt Expenditure

Albania’s central bank warned the government on Wednesday against increasing budget expenditure, as this could put the macroeconomic stability of the country at risk. The central bank called for a tighter fiscal policy saying the government has no room to offer further fiscal stimulus. “This is the maximum that the …

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IMF Conditions New Serbia Loan

The chief of the International Monetary Fund’s mission in Serbia Albert Jagger confirmed today at a press conference that the IMF will approve the loan arrangement with Serbia, but said the Serbian goverment must fulfill some conditions first. “These conditions are: rebalancing the budget, changes in tax regulations, and getting …

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Montenegrins Protest Over Factory Closure

About 2,000 workers in Montenegro protested Wednesday over the possible closure of a factory owned by embattled Russian tycoon Oleg Deripaska, the Associated Press reported. The workers at aluminum maker KAP, the biggest Montenegrin exporter, defied a police ban and gathered in front of government headquarters to put pressure on …

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Romanian Railway Workers Protest

Around 1,000 employees of Romania’s state-run railway company, CFR, have started a protest in Bucharest’s main railway station following government plans to scrap around 12,000 jobs this year. “Until now, our negotiations with the government have failed, but we still hope a solution will be found in order to save …

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Slovenia`s Constitutional Court Drops SSN Request

Slovenia`s Constitutional court has rejected the request of the SSN party for temporary cease raising signatures for a referendum. Slovenia`s Constitutional court has rejected the request of the Slovene People`s Party (SSN) to temporarily cease raising signatures for a referendum on Croatian NATO membership until the court passes a decision …

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Turkey Slowly Erasing `Black Mark` Coup Legacy

Today, Kenan Evren, the leader of a 1980 military coup is falling from grace as are other coup-era generals in Turkey. For decades, he was the embodiment of a Turkish “pasha” general, one of those stern custodians of the republic’s secular principles, always ready to step in to salvage the …

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Slovak PM Says Hungary Rightists Plan Trouble

Prime Minister Robert Fico called an extraordinary meeting of his Security Council to prepare measures to counter `export of extremism.` Slovakia accused a far-right Hungarian movement on Tuesday of recruiting ethnic Hungarians in southern Slovakia to stir up trouble and distract attention from Hungary’s own economic problems. Prime Minister Robert …

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Turkey Says Not Yet Decided on Next NATO Chief

The current NATO secretary general steps down on July 31 and his successor is expected to be named at a NATO summit on April 3 and 4. Turkey has not decided whether to back Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen as the next NATO chief, Turkish President Abdullah Gul said …

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