Albania

The European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee has urged the European Commission, EC, to change its plan for visa-liberalisation in the Balkans. The committee asked the EC to tentatively add Albania and Bosnia to the White Schengen list, pending the fulfillment of benchmarks, and to urgently open talks on the visa …

Albania’s Foreign Minister Ilir Meta and his Serbian counterpart Vuk Jeremic, have agreed to strengthen cooperation between their two countries. The pair’s meeting came on the sidelines of a regional conference of the so-called Visegrad states in Budapest on Tuesday, and was followed by a joint press conference. While the …

The Presevo Valley should be a separate region inside Serbia, since existing administrative divisions do not protect minority rights, the president of Bujanovac municipality, Shaip Kamberi, tells daily Politika. “Even though the Serbian government disagrees, we consider that a region, which would recognise language, religious and other diversity, would be …

Albania’s Prime Minister Sali Berisha arrived in Pristina today for a two-day visit, his first since Kosovo’s declaration of independence. Berisha will meet Prime Minister Hashim Thaci, President Fatmir Sejdiu, Assembly Speaker Jakup Krasniqi and other political party heads, as well as leading business figures.

Albanian Socialists Opposition decided to go on protest, unsatisfied with the government’s refusal to investigate alleged manipulations in the number of vote counting at the elections held on 28 June. Socialists Leader Edi Rama urged the people to massive protesting on 10 October.

The Tirana-based Macedonian Association ILINDEN strongly denounced the statement by Pandeli Majko, who called on Albanians to burn Macedonian flag. In a statement to media, the ILINDEN Association also condemned the recent incident in Tirana, where Macedonian national flag was set ablaze. “We are appalled at this vandalistic and uncivilized …

Albanian Foreign Affairs Minister Ilir Meta, has said that the EU rule of law mission, EULEX, is vital in strengthening Kosovo’s institutions. “EULEX will help bring European standards to Kosovo’s institutions, especially [in moving] towards a government based on the rule of law” Meta said during a meeting with ethnic …

The ethnic Albanian Democratic Union for Integration, DUI, might leave the government if the prime minister fails to clearly condemn a controversial Macedonian encyclopaedia. Referring to his party’s leader, DUI Vice President Rafiz Aliti told reporters Monday: “If [Ali] Ahmeti decides, we are ready to leave our posts at once.”

Albania’s Education Ministry said Tuesday that a history textbook for twelfth graders, which was excoriated by the press and opposition, will be rewritten. “Every mistake in the textbooks will be corrected within the year,” Education Minister Myqerem Tafaj said in a statement.

Several ethnic Albanian parties from Macedonia, Thursday will stage a protest in front of the government building to express their objections to the new publication of the Macedonian encyclopaedia. Calling it a “political pamphlet” that “inflicted great evil upon the Albanian population” the parties say they cannot guarantee that all …