Balkan News

MACEDONIA Offering solutions to the country’s painful economic problems and promoting social justice and equality are the key foci of the new platform of Macedonia’s largest opposition party, the Social Democrats. The platform, dubbed “Solutions for Macedonia”, is aimed at providing a counter to the ruling VMRO-DPMNE party’s own “Revival …

ALBANIA On Monday, Albania’s Supreme Court will reopen the case against environment minister designate Fatmir Mediu, indicted in connection with a deadly blast at a munitions depot in March 2008. The Supreme Court panel is reviewing charges against Mediu of abuse of power, relating to his tenure as defence minister …

SERBIA The head of the Democratic Party, Serbian President Boris Tadic, announced at a party board meeting on Saturday that the country is facing a difficult economic recovery and will be implementing serious reforms, broadcaster Mondo reported. Announcing a decrease in public spending, Tadic underlined that public sector layoffs are …

ALBANIA Over the weekend, ethnic Albanian political leaders from Presevo and Bujanovac spoke with Kosovo’s President Fatmir Sejdiu in Pristina about the problems they are facing in southern Serbia. They told Sejdiu that Serbia’s failure to recognise Kosovo university diplomas was one of the gravest challenges. The speaker of the …

SERBIA DS leader Boris Tadić told his party’s main board meeting in Belgrade on Saturday that the end of the economic crisis is at hand, but that it is “not over yet”. However, he warned against complacency. Serbia is looking at a long and hard economic recovery and serious reforms, …

KOSOVO The United States and the EU have welcomed the signing of a police cooperation protocol between MUP and EULEX. EU representative in Kosovo Pieter Feith was quoted as saying this morning that he is convinced the agreement does not violate “Kosovo’s sovereignty” and that the Ahtisaari package allows the …

SERBIA Interior Minister Ivica Dačić announced on Friday a declaration on joint fight against terrorism and organized crime in Southeast Europe. According to him, the declaration “will be signed in the coming months”.

KOSOVO EU representative in Kosovo Pieter Feith says he supports the establishment of full EULEX customs control across Kosovo. A statement from his cabinet on Friday in Priština said that this included the EU mission’s activities to establish control over customs points of Jarinje and Brnjak, in the north of …

KOSOVO Some 200 Serbs attended a dedication ceremony in Velika Hoča of a memorial honoring the kidnapped and murdered Serbs. The gathering on Friday, commemorating the Serb victims from the Kosovo municipality of Orahovac who perished or disappeared from 1998 until 2000, was attended by representatives of the International Committee …

SERBIA It is time to apply the Interim Trade Agreement of the EU with Serbia, Austrian Minister of Foreign Affairs Michael Spindelegger said. After Slovenia and Croatia reached a deal about a border dispute, Spindelegger said that this positive period should be used to finally make some progress regarding Serbia. …