Balkan News

There could be an early parliamentary election in Macedonia in the spring, or opposition attempts to take down the ruling coalition even sooner, if in December Greece blocks the EU from giving Macedonia a start date for its accession negotiations, local media speculate. The prime minister and head of the …

On Tuesday evening, residents and staff of the Vukovar hospital lit candles in front of the monument outside the hospital which stands to honor the memory of the civilians and soldiers killed by Yugoslav Peoples’ Army, JNA and Serb paramilitary forces on 18 November, 1991. According to hospital data, 1,624 …

Bulgaria’s Parliament gave preliminary approval to 2010’s budget that assumes a two per cent economic contraction, without much debate. In a late session Tuesday, the 240-seat assembly in Sofia voted 135 in favour of passing the budget after its first reading. Delegates from the ruling coalition supported the bill, while …

Minister of Kosovo Goran Bogdanović says that the time when Belgrade was sending “directives” had passed. He was answering criticism of the official Belgrade’s position toward the local elections held in the province last weekend, organized by the Kosovo Albanian government in Priština.

The European Commission has unfrozen part of the suspended funds under the PHARE program for Bulgaria-EUR 3.5 mln. This is what was notes in a letter of the EU Enlargement Directorate to the Deputy Prime Minister and financial minister Simeon Dyankov received on Tuesday night.

Bulgaria, the EU country worst hit by gas delivery disruptions last January following a dispute between Russia and Ukraine over transit, warned about delays to infrastructure work designed to boost energy security. The interconnectors are part of a “recovery plan” launched by Commission President José Manuel Barroso before his re-election. …

The Vice President of the European Commission Jacques Barrot announced the Council of the European Union will give November 30 its consent on liberalization of visa regime for Serbia.

Macedonian President George Ivanov appealed to the European Union to set a date for the start of negotiations with Skopje on joining the EU, almost four years after it was made a candidate, his office said Tuesday. “The start of the negotiations will be a clear positive signal for Macedonia, …

Media report that the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, ICTY, Serge Brammertz, is satisfied with the level of Serbia’s cooperation with the Tribunal even though he has not stated that the country is fully cooperating. Brammertz wrote in his regular report to the UN …

The 2009 corruption perception index released by the Berlin-based watchdog Transparency International shows that most countries in the Balkans have not improved their position in the global anti-corruption index. With the exception of Montengro, there appears to have been little impact on the fight against corruption despite actions taken to …