Balkan News

Bosnia: Political Rows Hinder Reform

Representatives of Bosnia’s top five political parties have agreed to speed up reforms required to win a green light for EU visa liberalisation and close the doors of the international community’s Office of the High Representative, OHR. The atmosphere of the Thursday evening meeting was tense and characterized by back-and-forth …

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Kosovo Govt Reveals Plans for Power Plant

Kosovo’s government has revealed details of a tender for a 3.5 billion euro energy deal, seen as crucial for the economic and ecological development of the country. A 2,000 megawatt, MW, plant is planned for the outskirts of Pristina in two 1000MW phases, which will allow Kosovo to provide enough …

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Albania: Bombing Linked To Business Row

Albanian police said on Thursday that a car bombing in front the national assembly building in Tirana was most like linked to a possible business dispute involving the owner of the vehicle. The car, a Mercedes Benz SUV owned by a local businessman, exploded on Wednesday evening, damaging shops and …

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Italian Fighter Jets To Patrol Albania Airspace

Italy’s air force squadrons will patrol Albanian airspace, following the country’s accession into the NATO alliance in April. According to the restructuring plans of the Albanian armed forces, Tirana has retired its ailing MIG fighter jet fleet, while in the framework of NATO, the integrity of the country’s airspace, has …

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Bulgaria Poll Victor Given New Govt Deadline

Boyko Borisov, deputy president of the Bulgarian Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria, GERB, which won general elections last month, has been handed a mandate to form a new government within seven days, Bulgaria’s Focus news agency reported. Under Bulgarian law, Borisov, GERB’s informal leader and likely new prime minister, …

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Serbia Supports Non-Aligned Movement

Regardless of its EU aspirations, Serbia will continue to support the Non-Aligned Movement’s main objectives, Serbian President Boris Tadic said Thursday at a closing session of the movement’s summit in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. “We encourage the movement’s commitment to promoting democratization and international relations, and respecting of universal human rights,” …

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Albania: Mixed Reactions To Visa Decision

The European Commission’s decision not to grant visa-free travel to Albanian citizens has been met with little surprise in Tirana, where the issue was the subject of heated debate during the recent election campaign. Opposition leader Edi Rama, who is the mayor of Tirana, told reporters that the EU rejection …

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“Serbia wants Nabucco pipeline too”

BELGRADE Srbijagas CEO Dušan Bajatović says that Serbia would agree to negotiations on the Nabucco pipeline project should such an invitation arrive. “It would not be bad to link up with the Nabucco pipeline as well, even if it isn’t passing through Serbia’s territory, since gas would be arriving from …

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EC proposes visa abolition for Serbia

BELGRADE, BRUSSELS The European Commission has proposed the abolition of visas for Serbian citizens traveling to the EU starting from January 1, the EC announced today. Justice and Enlargement Commissioners Jaques Barrot and Olli Rehn told a press conference in Brussels that the same recommendations had been made for Macedonia …

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Belgrade reacts to some arguments sent to ICJ

BELGRADE Serbia’s legal team has sent its comments on the statements filed by other countries in the Kosovo case considered by the International Court of Justice (ICJ).Last fall, the UN General Assembly ordered the world organization’s top tribunal to provide an advisory opinion on whether the ethnic Albanians’ unilateral proclamation …

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