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Greece Says ‘Concerned’ About Balkans

Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis, in a speech to the influential Brookings Institution in Washington, said Athens was concern about developments in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia and Turkey. Speaking on Monday on the theme “Collective Security in the 21st century; Building new bridges”, Bakoyannis said: “Let me be as clear as I …

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Serbia Wants Kovacevic Talks Secret

Serbia will keep secret all negotiations relating to Miladin Kovacevic, a Serb student wanted in the United States for severely beating up his American classmate, until a final agreement has been reached in the case, the government said in a statement on Monday. Kovacevic, a former basketball player at the …

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Macedonia Mulls Pricey Parliament Facelift

Macedonian authorities are considering a 17 millon euro revamp of Macedonia’s listed parliament building, which will see the addition of one floor and three domes. The revamp would upgrade facilities for the 120 deputies, local Dnevnik daily wrote on Tuesday. MPs have been complaining about the cramped conditions in the …

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Croatia, Slovenia PMs Meet, No Deal

Until there is progress in solving the border dispute, Slovenia will not stop blocking Croatia`s European Union accession negotiations, Slovenian Prime Minster Borut Pahor said on Tuesday. After a one hour meeting, which was also the first meeting of Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader and his Slovene counterpart Borut Pahor, …

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Macedonia Poll Key for EU-Skopje Relations

Both Brussels and Strasbourg will watch closely Macedonia’s March 22 presidential and local election for signs of democratic maturity after the country’s last general election in June 2008 was marred by violence and fraud. The European Commission via its office in Skopje will monitor both the pre-election campaign and the …

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Austrian Tapped for Bosnia OHR Post-Source

European foreign ministers failed to formally appoint the new international representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina on Monday but sources said that Austrian Valentin Inszko, Vienna’s former ambassador to Bosnia, was now the strongest contender for the post after the British frontrunner pulled out. According to diplomatic sources, Emyr Parry Jones, …

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EU Likely Not Sending Serbia Mission

The European Union is apparently not keen on taking up Belgrade’s offer and sending a fact-finding mission to assess Serbia’s cooperation with the Hague war crimes tribunal , according to European officials. Serbian foreign minister Vuk Jeremic called EU member states in January to send a fact finding mission to …

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Bosnia Plunges Deeper Into Crisis

Bosnia plunged deeper into political crisis over the weekend after Bosnian Serb leaders abandoned crucial negotiations, accused a US diplomat of conspiracy, threatened to pull out of joint institutions and even call for a referendum on independence. This was only a part of the infuriated response of the leadership of …

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Macedonia Candidate “Too Rude For President”

Warming up for the official start of the Macedonia presidential race, the ruling conservative VMRO DPMNE party came up with an unusual way to attack the candidate of the opposition Social Democrats, calling him ‘too rude’ to lead the nation. The VMRO party youth asked Ljubomir Frckoski to apologize to …

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Kosovo To Expel Unannounced Serb Leaders

Kosovo’s authorities have said they are adamant about “defusing Serbia’s threats towards Kosovo’s territorial sovereignty” and would stop any Serbian officials entering Kosovo unannounced. Serbia’s Minister for Kosovo and Metohija, Goran Bogdanovic was stopped from coming into Kosovo at the weekend, with authorities saying he was planning to come into …

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