Balkan News

ALBANIA Albanian parliament voted Wednesday to approve the Prime Minister Sali Berisha’s new government. Berisha’s chosen ministers were confirmed by parliament late Wednesday in a 74-1 vote. The deputies of the opposition Socialist Party boycotted the session, demanding a probe into the results of parliamentary elections, which they say were …

BULGARIA Bulgarian Minister of Agriculture and Food Dr. Miroslav Naydenov met Thursday with John Ordway, interim Chargé d’Affaires at the US Embassy in Sofia, ministry’s press office announced. In the frames of the meeting Minister Naydenov presented his plans to establish new type of dialog and cooperation with all partners …

A total of 76 “political subjects”, non-attached candidates, civil initiatives and coalitions have registered for the upcoming local elections in Kosovo, scheduled for November 15. Elections Commission chairperson Miradie Mavrici informed that the competition at the local elections will go among 37 Albanian, 21 Serbian, 7 Bosnian, 3 Turkish, 2 …

BiH Several hundred members of victims’ associations have protested in front of the Hague Tribunal and Prosecution building in Sarajevo, setting photos of judges, prosecutors and indictees on fire. The protest was organised by the Association of Detainees of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Association of Mothers of Srebrenica and Zepa …

MACEDONIA Macedonian Premier Nikola Gruevski hopes that Jose Manuel Barroso’s reelection on Wednesday as head of the European Commission, EC, will be positive for his country. On October 14, the EC will issue its annual report on Macedonia’s reform progress. In a congratulatory letter to Barroso, Gruevski said he hoped …

ALBANIA The EU has welcomed a monitoring group’s assessment that the June Albanian elections met most OSCE commitments, while noting the conduct of the polls fell short of optimum standards This, according to a written statement from the EU’s Swedish Presidency, confirming receipt of the OSCE/ODHIR Election Observation Mission’s report …

SERBIA Serbian Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic has said that unresolved issues remain five years after an agreement of five former Yugoslav states took effect. A two-day meeting of representatives of the five successor states – Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Slovenia and Serbia – has started in Belgrade.

SERBIA President Boris Tadic is to lead the Serbian delegation attending the 64th UN General Assembly meeting in New York next week, daily Blic reports. Blic reports that the president will meet US counterpart Barack Obama on September 23 at a reception. One of the Serbian delegation’s priorities is to …

KOSOVO Pieter Feith says that three new Kosovo municipalities and one expanded one will be constituted straight after the local elections on November 15. According to the International Civilian Representative’s (ICR) press bureau, Feith said that preparations were complete in the new municipalities of Gračanica, Klokot-Vrbovac, Ranilug, as well as …

KOSOVO Canada will not be taking part in the oral debate on the legality of Kosovo’s unilaterally declared independence at the ICJ. Although, as a NATO member, Canada took part in the air strikes on the then Yugoslavia in 1999 and subsequently participated in peace building and civilian projects in …