TIRANA, Albania The Central Election Commission (CEC) decided on Thursday (July 2nd) to bring the last voting boxes from the Lezha and Fier regions and count the ballots live on national TV in Tirana. The final results are expected late Friday. Voting has been contested in Shkodra, Berat and Fier.

BELGRADE, Serbia The government backed President Boris Tadic on Thursday (July 2nd), agreeing that minority Serbs in Kosovo should not participate in November local elections there. Tadic, leader of the ruling Democratic Party (DS), says conditions for Kosovo Serbs are inadequate and that their security cannot be guaranteed. 

ZAGREB, Croatia The defence ministry announced on Thursday (July 2nd) that Croatia is joining NATO’s forces in Kosovo, deploying a unit of 20 military officers and two helicopters. This marks the first NATO operation in the Balkans for Croatia, which joined the Alliance in April. Last month, NATO authorised the …

SKOPJE, Macedonia EU Special Representative to Macedonia Erwan Fouere reiterated on Thursday (July 2nd) that the government should appoint a successor to resigning Deputy Prime Minister for EU integration Ivica Bocevski as soon as possible. Fouere said he had stressed that during a meeting with Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski. “We …

NICOSIA, Cyprus President Demetris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat held another round of talks aimed at reunifying the divided island Thursday (July 2nd). This one wrapped up the first stage of talks on the Territories chapter of the negotiations. The next session, in a week, will focus …

PRISTINA, Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci said on Thursday (July 2nd) that the fragile justice system in Kosovo is an obstacle to fighting corruption. He held a news conference to respond to democracy watchdog Freedom House’s latest report, published on Tuesday. It described the judiciary as one of the weakest …

Russia hopes next week’s visit by US President Barack Obama will help restore confidence between the two biggest nuclear powers, a Kremlin aide said today, after strains over Georgia and a US missile shield plan. Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev have agreed to “reset” ties damaged under previous administrations. …

BRUSSELS, Belgium The European Commission is to fund projects worth a total of 40 million euros (56 million dollars) in countries along its Eastern border, among them Russia and Georgia, officials in Brussels said Friday. The money will be used for initiatives such as improving air quality, preventing drug abuse …

A key intergovernmental agreement on the European Union’s Nabucco gas pipeline will be signed on July 13 in Ankara, Bulgarian Minister of Economy and Energy Petar Dimitrov told journalists in the city of Varna. The information was confirmed by the European Commission. An invitation for the ceremony in Ankara has …

Polls suggest Bulgaria’s right-wing Gerb party is poised to win this weekend’s parliamentary election as voter frustration over the economic crisis and corruption helped widen its lead over the governing Socialists. Latest research suggests support for Gerb has risen by four percentage points to between 32 and 36 percent of …