Balkan News

The Russian Foreign Minister has dimissed the Albanian Prime Minister’s call for an eventual unification of all Albanians in one state, saying too much blood has been spilled in the region already.Sergei Lavrov said that any redrawing of borders in Europe is unacceptable, and that fully refers to the situation …

“After the arrested were interviewed at the police station, the prosecution sent all the information to the court because there were suspicions about their involvement in the grave demolitions,” Ismet Hasani, spokesperson for Kosovo police in Gjilane, told BIRN. “One of the arrested is an adult, while the other four …

A new report on media freedom by Reporters Without Borders has ranked Serbia best in the Balkans – though the outlook for the region generally remains cloudy.Serbia has been ranked in top place in terms of press freedom in the Balkans, standing at 63rd place out of 179 countries covered …

Macedonians angered by repeated hikes in their utility bills are to present a petition to parliament on Wednesday.Protesters against high utility bills plan to take to the streets of Skopje on Wednesday before submitting a petition to parliament containing 13,000 signatures collected over recent months. The law says civil initiatives …

Women members of the Serbian parliament plan to form a cross-party women’s caucus in the parliament to push for sex equality in general.Women parliamentarians in Serbia are forming a team tasked with setting up a cross-party women’s caucus in parliament to promote the cause of gender equality. Dubravka Filipovski, of …

Bosnia’s Foreign Trade Minister says Croatian companies should open subsidiaries in Bosnia – if they want to retain their markets in the country – once Croatia joins the EU.Mirko Sarovic, Bosnia’s Minister of Foreign Trade, on January 29 expressed concern that Bosnia will lose access to the Croatian market, and …

Dealing with a backlog of hundreds of pending war crimes investigations will be a top priority, said Bosnia’s newly-appointed chief prosecutor Goran Salihovic.Salihovic, who takes office on Friday, said he wanted to speed up approximately 600 war crimes investigations which are currently pending at the Bosnian state prosecutor’s office. He …

As Albania’s government signs a new contract with the Washington-based law and lobbyist firm Patton Boggs, to improve its image in the US ahead of the June elections, questions remain about the sources of funding for parties’ PR agencies.The consulting firm has represented Albania’s government several times and also served …

As the crisis in Bosnia’s Federation entity continues, its president, Zivko Budimir, has suggested new elections and the appointment of an entirely new government.Zivko Budimir said the best solution for the political crisis in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, one of two autonomous entities in the country, would be …

Romania is to get two more months to hit its agreed goals with the IMF, ater falling behind with several targets.The IMF is granting Romania two extra months, until June, to meet its commitments, after falling behind in some of its targets connected to a 5 billion euro aid plan. …