Balkan News

SERBIA IMF representatives are set to end talks with Serbian officials on Tuesday on the second revision of the standby arrangement of €2.9 billion. The two sides are to hold a press conference today to announce the results of the agreement on Serbia’s economic policy for 2009 and 2010. So …

ALBANIA Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha slammed opposition’s decision to boycott parliament, saying it aims to hurt visa liberalization for Albania. The statement came after the opposition Socialist Party decided to boycott the constitutive session of parliament, blaming the government of election fraud. Berisha said the main objective of Socialists’ …

CROATIA Slovenian-Croatian negotiations aimed at finding solution over the border dispute are under way at rapid pace away from the public eye, said Slovenian Foreign Minister Samuel Zogar. In order to ensure discretion and possible success in the efforts to reach a solution on the open issues with Croatia by …

MACEDONIA Lustration for all public officials in Macedonia begins Tuesday, with incumbent dignitaries to be the first to submit statements over not being involved with former secret police service. Public office holders in Macedonia are to submit within September 1-30 deadline a statement to the Commission for Verification of Facts …

BULGARIA, MACEDONIA The Bulgarian government’s policy towards Macedonia, actions of Bulgarian tourists on cleaning desecrated monument in Struga, as well as the pink BMW cars of the Bulgarian defense ministry are among the subjects related to Bulgaria in Macedonian media. Kanal 5 TV channel comments on whether the new Bulgarian …

BULGARIA Bulgarian Minister of Foreign Affairs Rumyana Zheleva was in Brussels yesterday. There she met EPP’s leaders Wilfried Martens and Joseph Daul, as well as the President of the European Parliamen Jerzy Buzek. Jerzy Buzek made it clear Bulgaria should be ready with its nomination for EU Commissioner in October, …

MACEDONIA Greece has toughened its stance in the dispute over Macedonia’s official name, making it more likely to block its neighbour’s EU membership bid, Macedonia’s Foreign Minister Antonio Milososki said. Milososki’s comments came in an interview with Reuters on Monday, held on the sidelines of a regional security conference in …

MACEDONIA Lustration procedures, focusing on past security service ties, begin for all public officials in Macedonia on Tuesday, with prominent public office holders the first under the spotlight. Public office holders have until the end of September to submit a statement to the parliamentary Commission for the Verification of Facts, …

ALBANIA The CEO of Miami-based company AEY, who is suspected of conducting a shady munitions deal with Albanian authorities to ship Chinese-made ammunition to the Afghan army, pleaded guilty Monday to conspiracy in Florida. The dealer, 24-year-old Efraim E. Diveroli, who is often described as a weapons “genius”, admitted that …

BiH Bosnia’s top western envoy has urged Croatia, Slovenia and Turkey to provide further support to Bosnia’s bid for full NATO and EU membership. On Monday, Bosnia’s High Representative Valentin Inzko met Croatian Foreign Minister Gordan Jandrokovic, Slovenian Foreign Minister Samuel Zbogar and Turkey’s Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, oin the …