Balkan News

Serbian Officials ‘In No Rush’ to Join EU

As Serbia awaits an EU progress report which is likely to be negative, the country’s nationalist government has started signalling a change in their attitudes towards EU integration.Suzana Grubjesic, the Serbian Deputy Prime Minister in charge of EU integration, has said that Serbia is in no rush to meet the …

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Sarajevo Gunman Had Bomb Making Manual on Laptop

At the trial of Mevlid Jasarevic, who is charged with shooting at the US embassy in Sarajevo last year, a state investigator testified that the defendant’s computer contained photos of weapons and bomb making manuals.Irhad Kos, a witness from the State Investigative and Protection Agency, said that Jasarevic’s computer contained …

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Thaci Rules Out Partition of Kosovo

Kosovo’s Prime Minister Hashim Thaci said that Kosovo and Serbia must normalise relations soon to begin integrating with Europe, but he insisted that partition of Kosovo “will never happen.”Thaci met with EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton, European Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso and US officials in a fringe meeting …

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Montenegro Urged To Punish Dubrovnik Attackers

On the 21st anniversary of the attack on the Croatian town of Dubrovnik, a Montenegrin NGO has urged the authorities to prosecute Montenegrins who took part in the attack.The Montenegrin NGO, Human Rights Actions, HRA, stated on Sunday that the prosecution of those responsible for the crimes committed during the …

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Pusic Puts Conditions on Withdrawal of Genocide Suit

Croatia will not withdraw its genocide lawsuit against Serbia at the International Court of Justice, ICJ, until the issue of missing persons is solved, the Croatian Foreign Minister, Vesna Pusic, said.In an interview for Croatian radio, HR, on Sunday, Pusic specified that missing persons are “the prime issue” for her.

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IMF Unlocks New Funds for Romania

The International Monetary Fund, IMF, has approved the release of 513 million euros following the sixth review of Romanian’s standby arrangement.The International Monetary Fund, IMF, on Saturday approved the release of the latest chunk of funds under Romania’s precautionary loan after reviewing the country’s progress in meeting the terms attached …

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US Firm Offers €850m For Albania Oil Reserves

Vetro Energy, a US-based consortium, is the frontrunner in a tender to buy Albania’s state-owned oil company, Albpetrol, with an offer of €850 million.Albania’s Deputy Economy Minister, Sokol Dervishaj, said that Vetro Energy, which is bidding through the Vetro Silk Road Equity Ltd consortium out of Singapore, ranked first out …

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Serbia Awaits Toughly Worded EU Report

Brussels expected to say that Serbia’s progress toward EU membership has been limited – and that it is postponing opening of accession talks at least until the end of next year.The October progress report is likely to say that with this year’s general elections and delays to the formation of …

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