The 2013 US State Department Narcotics Control Report highlights startling growth in marijuana seizures in Albania over the past year, which hints at increased production.“The drastic increase in marijuana seizures, a 175 per cent increase over 2011, signifies an increase in local production after trending downward over the prior two …

Swedish Ambassador in Ankara Hakan Akesson has said, “Turkey is very close to become a member of EU as it is both financially and economically important for EU.” Akesson told AA that Turkey had made significant reforms in last decade and was still making new reforms. They

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili had a meeting with the Prime Minister of Greece Antonis Samaras during his visit to Greece, the administration of the president announced. According to the statement, the meeting took place within the scope of an official dinner of the European People’s Party.

Bulgaria’s outgoing parliament confirmed on Thursday a government decision to pull out of the long-stalled Burgas Alexandroupolis oil pipeline project. A total 115 lawmakers in the 240-seat legislature voted to throw out a 2007 agreement with Russia and Greece for the 280-kilometre (175-mile)

The debate on the accession of Bulgaria and Romania to Schengen was postponed for end-2013 during Thursday’s sitting of the EU Justice and Home Affairs Council (JHA). During the JHA sitting, most of the member states admitted that Bulgaria and Romania had fulfilled

Bulgaria can expect Azeri gas via the Nabucco West pipeline in end- 2018 or early 2019, according to Christian Dolezal, spokesperson of the Nabucco consortium. “We are very optimistic because we provided everything the Shah Deniz consortium wanted. We have reached a very advanced stage

The deal that ended Macedonia’s political crisis foresees possible early elections – but only if the parties agree on it by autumn, the European Parliament Rapporteur on Macedonia.Richard Howitt told Balkan Insight that early general elections are up to parliament – after government and opposition came out with contradictory readings …

A court in the Croatian town of Knin gave a six-month suspended sentence to the Serbian Orthodox cleric for threatening to kill a journalist.Aleksandar Bogojevic, the former prior of Krka, a famous medieval Serbian Orthodox monastery in the Sibenik region, was convicted on Tuesday of threatening to kill Croatian journalist …

Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev said that early elections will be held on May 12, while demonstrators who caused the fall of the government said they would keep protesting.Plevneliev on Tuesday announced when the polls would be held and said that the earliest possible date for dissolving parliament and appointing a …

Albanian minsters say Kosovo is making use of consumer worries about levels of aflatoxin in milk to damage the commercial interest of Albanian dairies.Albania has accused Kosovo of unfair trade practices after authorities in Kosovo ordered the removal from the market of milk produced by two Albanian dairies, Primalat and …