During a week of meetings, EU officials urged Bosnian politicians to move forward towards ending electoral discrimination by allowing minorities to run for top positions.The EU’s delegation to Bosnia stepped up pressure for the implementation of a key human rights ruling that would allow minorities to run for top governing …
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Albania Activists Protest Fatal Riot Verdict
Activists rallied on Saturday in front of Tirana’s main court, protesting against the acquittal of senior officers accused of killing three protestors in the January 21, 2011 riots.“We are sounding the alarm that the justice system is being held hostage by an autocratic system,” a political commentator, Andrea Stefani, told …
Read More »Moody’s Lowers Croatia Rating to Ba1
Moody’s on Friday downgraded Croatia’s credit rating from Baa3 to Ba1, citing poor economic growth prospects and the government’s lack of fiscal flexibility.The agency also changed the outlook on Croatia’s rating from negative to stable, citing only a limited risk of a significant deterioration in the government’s fiscal position and …
Read More »US Pans Albanian Verdicts on Protestors’ Deaths
The US Embassy in Tirana has expressed shock at the acquittal of two Republican Guard officers accused of the murder of three protesters during the January 21, 2011 riots.“We are dismayed by the decision of the Tirana District Court to acquit the two defendants who stood trial on charges related …
Read More »Bulgaria ‘Will Pay Price’ For Accusing Hezbollah
Bulgarian nationalist party takes government to task for blaming pro-Iranian militants for last year’s terror attack in Burgas.Bulgaria will pay a high price for maintaining that Hezbollah was involved in last year’s terror attack in the Black Sea resort of Burgas, the leader of the country’s nationalist Ataka party has …
Read More »NATO Urges Bosnia to Register State Property
Anders Fogh Rasmussen of NATO urged Bosnia to implement last year’s agreement on registering state property as a condition of advancing its membership of the alliance.The chair of Bosnia’s tri-partite Presidency, Nebojsa Radmanovic, said Bosnia must move ahead with registering military property as a condition for joining NATO. After a …
Read More »EU Parliamentarians Urge Serbia Membership Talks
EU accession talks with Serbia should start without delay, the Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Parliament said on Thursday.Voting on the European Commission’s 2012 progress report on Serbia, the committee said starting talks with Serbia as soon as June was achievable. “We acknowledged Serbian progress and send a message …
Read More »Kosovo, Serbia Presidents Hail Outcome of Talks
Presidents Atifete Jahjaga and Tomislav Nikolic pledged their commitment to the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue and their respective European agendas after their historic meeting on Wednesday.Catherine Ashton, the EU Foreign Policy Chief, said after a three-hour meeting on Wednesday with the presidents of Kosovo and Serbia that the two leaders had vowed …
Read More »Bosnia Federation Minister Denies Guilt for Car Accident
Federation entity Interior Minister Predrag Kurtes has denied responsibility for a car accident last week, though two witnesses claim he crashed his vehicle and ran away.Interior Minister Predrag Kurtes on February 6 said he was not to blame for a January 28 car accident in the Marijin Dvor area of …
Read More »Albania Urged to Toughen Anti-Corruption Fight
The OSCE head in Albania on Wednesday urged Albania’s Chief Prosecutor, Adriatik Llala, to redouble the fight against organized crime and corruption.“The fight against organized crime, including trans-border crime and corruption, is the key to ensuring stability in the country, the region and at the global level,” Ambassador Eugen Wollfarth …
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