The appointment of a former ethnic Albanian fighter as Macedonia’s defence chief has angered the party representing war veterans.The opposition Dignity party, which represents police and army veterans who fought Albanian guerrillas in the 2001 conflict, has protested over the appointment of Talat Xhaferi as new defence minister. Xhaferi, a …

Macedonian journalists say conditions are not ripe for resuming talks with the government following the forced removal of reporters from parliament in December, which left relations in tatters.Macedonia’s Journalists Association, ZNM, said police still had not located and punished those who ordered and carried out the forced removal of reporters …

As Brussels readies to decide on whether to grant Serbia a start date for EU accession talks, Serbian officials are heading to EU capitals to muster support.Serbian officials are travelling to Brussels and Berlin this week, to persuade their would-be EU partners of their willingness to “normalise” relations with Kosovo …

The head of the opposition Social Democrats says there is still time to defuse Macedonia’s political crisis and avert an opposition boycott of the March local elections.If the Macedonian government shows some goodwill, there is still time to solve the crisis in the country, the head of the opposition Social …

The fifth EU-mediated meeting between Kosovo and Serbia’s prime ministers takes place on Tuesday but little is known about what’s been discussed at the talks so far.EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton will host the latest round of discussions between Kosovo’s premier Hashim Thaci and his Serbian counterpart Ivica Dacic …

The struggle over who should lead the former ruling Democratic Liberal Party is unlikely to restore its standing with the electorate.With around one month to go before crucial internal elections on March 23, the Democratic Liberal Party, PDL, Romania’s biggest opposition party, remains divided by disputes and between its main …

Authorities in Austria and Tirana are investigating allegations that an Albanian student was sexually abused after waking up from a coma following a tragic bus accident.Two parallel investigations are now underway after the family of 23-year-old Florije Peci alleged that she became pregnant as a result of a sex attack …

Kosovo police detained a man suspected of smashing religious icons at a Serbian Orthodox church amid a recent upsurge of desecrations.Police said the man, identified only as D.A., an ethnic Serb, was detained after he broke into the church in the village of Kufca in the Gilane region late on …

The Social Democrats refused to take part in next month’s vote after the government declined to postpone the polls for a month or to hold parallel early general elections.The country’s main opposition force acted on its boycott threat after the government turned down its demands, refusing to submit a list …

Bosniaks MPs in Bosnia’s Federation entity blocked confirmation of a no-confidence vote in the government, invoking the legal mechanism of claiming vital ethnic interests were at stake.The Bosniak [Muslim] caucus of MPs in the House of Peoples in the Bosniak-Croat Federation entity blocked a vote of no confidence in the …