Government and the opposition exchanged accusations on Wednesday after the EU Council of Ministers rejected Tirana’s bid for candidate status for the third year.Prime Minister Sali Berisha told the cabinet he blamed the opposition leader Edi Rama for the failed bid, accusing the Socialists of blocking the reform process. “Rama …

Bulgaria has a strong interest in developing bilateral relations with Azerbaijan in the energy sector, Bulgarian Foreign Minister Nikolay Mladenov has declared. Mladenov has noted that his country supports the Southern Gas Corridor, as it believes it would contribute to energy security and competition in Europe.

Zdravko Tolimir, a close wartime aide to the former Bosnian Serb army chief, Ratko Mladic, has been found guilty of the Srebenica genocide and sentenced to life imprisonment.Tolimir, now 64, was in charge for intelligence and security for the Army of Republika Srpska during the Bosnian war. He was one …

As Serbia and Kosovo get ready to appoint liaison officers, Belgrade dismisses claims that Kosovo’s officials are de facto ‘ambassadors’ to Serbia.Serbian Prime Minister Ivica Dacic has dismissed Kosovo’s claims, that it is appointing an “ambassador” to Serbia. “Belgrade and Pristina will exchange liaison officers who do not enjoy the …

Ahead of a meeting of EU foreign ministers, member countries remain divided over whether to offer Serbia a start date for membership talks this year or next.Senior officials in Brussels officials say that a split has emerged among EU member states on Serbian membership negotiations ahead of Tuesday’s meeting of …

The Prime Minister of Bosnia’s Federation entity has asked the President to dismiss eight ministers whose parties no longer form part of Bosnia’s ruling coalition.Federation premier Nermin Niksic visited the entity’s President, Zivko Budimir, on December 10 to push for the dismissal of eight ministers whose parties no longer form …

Bulgaria’s exports to non-EU countries increased by more than 10 percent in the first half of the year, totaling nearly 7 billion euros.The country’s exports to non-EU countries in the period January-October 2012 were up over last year’s figures by 11.1 percent, according to Bulgaria’s National Statistics Institute. The exports …

Human rights activists in various cities marched peacefully in order to point out crude violations of human rights across Bosnia and Herzegovina.The activists of the Youth Initiative for Human Rights, YIHR, carried an improvised casket and a slogan which read “Human Rights: Rest in Peace” in peaceful marches organised on …

Ahead of the EU Council of Ministers discussion on Macedonia’s blocked EU bid, Athens sends a message dampening Skopje’s hopes of opening EU accession talks prior to the resolution of the ‘name’ dispute.The Greek Foreign Ministry said that the condition for lifting its blockade to Macedonia’s EU membership remains the …

Art and education should be used to bring about reconciliation in the region of the former Yugoslavia, a Sarajevo round table heard.Bosnian and regional academics and artists have met in Sarajevo on Friday to discuss their role in the regional reconciliation following the 1990s wars. Dino Mustafic, a Bosnian director, …