BUCHAREST, Romania — President Traian Basescu opened talks Monday (May 28th) with all the parties in Parliament, except for the nationalist Greater Romania Party. The main focus is on changing electoral legislation, introducing a majority voting system and forming a stable majority in government. Basescu returned to the presidency last …

SKOPJE, Macedonia — Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski met with Menduh Thaci, deputy leader of the Democratic Party of Albanians (DPA), on Monday (May 28th) in an attempt to resolve differences and keep the cabinet intact.

MITROVICA, Kosovo, Serbia — France’s new defence minister, Herve Morin, was in Kosovo on Monday (May 28th), visiting the 2,800 French troops deployed in Mitrovica as part of KFOR. Saying the status quo is not sustainable, Morin called for a solution that offers a peaceful future to its public. Later …

SARAJEVO, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) — Several BiH politicians rejected the possibility Monday (May 28th) of removing Republika Srpska (RS) Prime Minister Milorad Dodik from office for blocking key constitutional and police reforms. The Stratfor intelligence agency says Dodik alienated US officials, including Ambassador to BiH Douglas McElhaney, during talks …

ANKARA, Turkey — Following a veto by President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, the constitutional amendment to hold direct presidential elections was approved by Parliament again Monday (May 28th), after hours of debate. As required, a second round of voting will be held on Thursday. If adopted, Sezer must either approve the …

BELGRADE, Serbia — The trial of a group dubbed “the road mafia gang” opened at the Belgrade special court for organised crime on Monday (May 28th). The case involves 53 former officials, including top management of the state company Serbia Roads, who allegedly electronically diverted road tolls. Damages are estimated …

BUCHAREST, Romania — Justice Minister Tudor Chiuariu said on Monday (May 28th) that he would submit to the government draft changes to the recently adopted law establishing the National Integrity Agency (ANI), aimed at bringing more cases under ANI’s supervision. The law, passed by Parliament earlier this month, envisions ANI …

Russia, the EU and the United States have reached a compromise that could help remove a key obstacle to determining Kosovo’s final status, according to a report in a major Croatian daily on Monday (May 28th).

French President Nicolas Sarkozy sent an envoy to Ankara at the weekend to try to calm tensions over his opposition to Turkish membership in the EU, the newspaper Le Figaro reported on Tuesday (May 29th). The paper also said Sarkozy would not prevent the EU from opening three new policy …

In an unprecedented milestone for Romanian cinema, Cristian Mungiu has won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival. His movie “Four Months, Three Weeks and Two Days” beat out 21 other feature films, directed by such luminaries as the Coen brothers, Quentin Tarantino and Emir Kusturica.