Balkan News

Romania supports the Greek position in the bilateral dispute between Athens and Skopje about the use of the name Macedonia, media reports said. Speaking after meeting his Greek counterpart Karolos Papoulias in Athens on May 27 2009, Basescu said: “The principle of good neighborly relations represents an obligation for all …

A fierce row over the route that the South Stream gas pipeline will take through Serbia has erupted in the city of Nis, after Belgrade backtracked on earlier promises. Local authorities in Nis are demanding written guarantees from the government that the country’s largest southern city will not be left …

The ruling ethnic Albanian party in Macedonia has given a deadline to its bigger coalition partner to solve the burning name row with Greece and move the country’s stalled Euro Atlantic integration forward by the end of the year. “The grace period that (the Democratic Union for Integration), DUI gave …

Kosovo’s foreign minister Skender Hyseni landed in New York Tuesday, beginning a round of over 30 meetings to lobby for more countries to recognise Kosovo’s independence. Since its declaration of independence in February 2008, Kosovo has been recognised by 60 countries around the world, helped by lobbying efforts from both …

PRISTINA, Kosovo Foreign ministers of the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) stopped short of calling for recognition of Kosovo’s independence, but voiced their support for its development. In a resolution approved on Monday (May 25th), the ministers praised “the progress made towards strengthening democracy, by serving peace and stability in …

SARAJEVO, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) High Representative Valentin Inzko visited the Constitutional Court on Monday (May25th) and met with Court President Seada Palavric. “The Constitutional Court of BiH is the institution of the outmost importance which enables BiH authorities to function and act in accordance with the BiH Constitution,” Inzko …

EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn will meet the foreign ministers of Croatia and Slovenia in Brussels on Wednesday, spokesman for Rehn Krisztina Nagy said on Tuesday. “I can confirm that the meeting will take place on Wednesday afternoon,” Nagy said. 

Kosovo will not participate in a meeting of Central European Free Trade Agreement, CEFTA, countries being held Wednesday in Budva, Montenegro, because of Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina’s ongoing boycott of the country’s products. Since Kosovo’s declaration of independence, customs stamps have been modified to read the Republic of Kosovo …

Participants in the ongoing dialogue between Albanian political leaders and Serb representatives in South Serbia assess their talks as ”constructive”, expressing hope that disputed issues will be resolved soon. Talking to Balkan Insight, Nedad Djurdjevic, director of the Coordination Body that was established in 2000 to resolve grievances between the …

The Albanian government has come under harsh criticism from the opposition after an EU progress report said Tirana is not as close to fulfilling requirements needed to liberalise the visa regime as some of its neighbours are. According to the report Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina have so far failed …