Monthly Archives: August 2009

BiH’s NATO entry easier than EU entry

BiH It’s hard to expect quick progress of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) towards EU, while the country’s progress towards NATO is more certain, senior official said. The Chairman of BiH collective presidency, Zeljko Komsuc, made the remarks, adding that Sarajevo must improve the cooperation with neighboring countries. BiH’s main problem …

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Albania’s Socialists leader hints at parliament boycott

ALBANIA Socialist Party MPs will boycott the Albanian parliament, party leader Edi Rama said one day after the extraordinary congress, Makfax correspondent reported. The decision to boycott parliament is in line with the Resolution adopted at the party congress, according to which, the Socialist Party does not recognize the results …

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Georgian FM to visit Armenia

GEORGIA Georgian Foreign Minister, Grigol Vashadze will visit Armenia on Sep.4-5. The visit will take place as a part of the bilateral agreement, Deputy Head of the Foreign Policy Department, David Jalaganiya, said at the traditional Monday briefing on Aug.31. Vashadze will meet with his Armenian counterpart, Edvard Nalbandyan during …

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Georgia-EU talks on simplifying visa regime and readmission are successful: FM

GEORGIA The negotiations between the European Union (EU) and Georgia on visa facilitation and readmission are successful, Georgian Deputy Foreign Minister, David Jalaganiya said at a traditional meeting on Aug. 31. He said during the third round of the talks, held last week in Brussels, the parties agreed texts for …

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Politicians “Lead Bosnia to the Verge of War”

BiH A leading Bosnian opposition movement, the Social Democratic Party, SDP, warns that, by further escalating the current political crisis, Bosnia’s ruling parties are leading the country to the brink of a new war. The warning comes after fresh political quarrels and tensions paralysed the work of the government of …

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Progress in Croatia-Slovenia Border Talks

CROATIA The foreign ministers of Croatia and Slovenia say further progress has been made in solving their countries’ grinding border dispute, DPA reports. Speaking after talks on Sunday in the Slovenian resort of Bled, Croatian Foreign Minister Davor Jandrokovic and his Slovenian counterpart Samuel Zbogar said they had discussed “major …

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Boycott Threat Mars Parliament Opening

ALBANIA Albania’s President Bamir Topi decreed on Monday that the new parliament will convene on September 7, despite ongoing ructions concerning the contested June 28 parliamentary elections. After the new parliament takes its seats, the president is expected to mandate the Democratic Party, PD, of Prime Minister Sali Berisha to …

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UNHCR chief in Belgrad

SERBIA UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres will meet with Serbian senior officials to discuss the refugee problem in Serbia and the region. Before arriving to Belgrade, Guterres was in Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina, where he said that it would be ideal if all of the open questions regarding refugees …

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“U.S. supports transfer of Hague convicts”

AUSTRIA Serbia has received clear approval from the U.S. to have Serbia citizens convicted by the Hague Tribunal transferred to serve their time in Serbia. According to Justice Minister Snežana Malović, this approval has nothing to do with the so-called “secret deal” to have convicts from Guantanamo Bay transferred to …

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Slovenia to sign South Stream agreement soon

SLOVENIA Slovenia is expected to sign the agreement for constructing a part of the South Stream gas pipeline on its territory soon, Prime Minister Borut Pahor said. Pahor added that the details regarding the agreement will be confirmed soon at a meeting with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, according to …

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