Balkans

Although thousands of Serbian companies owe billions of dinars in taxes to the state and some of them have had their bank accounts blocked for many months, authorities in Belgrade are reluctant to launch bankrupcy proceedings since that would end up costing more for the budget, a senior tax official …

Seven Bosnian Serb officials pressed charges against themselves on Monday in what they said was a symbolic gesture of support to Republika Srpska Premier Milorad Dodik, who is facing corruption charges in a controversial case that has shaken Bosnia’s political scene The group, which included two advisors and five deputies …

Albanian police shut down the country’s only film school, the Marubi Academy, on Tuesday arresting its dean and several students over a property dispute with the Ministry of Culture. The dispute concerns property that the academy, headed by filmmaker Kujtim Cashku, occupies in the state-owned film Alba Film studios. Cashku …

Dozens of former Kosovo Protection Corps members who did not get accepted into the newly formed Kosovo Security Force, KSF, attempted to break into KSF’s headquarters on Monday, but were stopped by police The NATO-sponsored KSF, an army in all but name, replaced the Kosovo Protection Corps, KPC, the territory’s …

The European Union will most likely decide next month to give a mandate to the European Commission to start preparing the evaluation of Montenegro’s readiness to become EU candidate country. Montenegro’s application for EU candidate status will be back on the table in the next foreign ministers’ meeting on March …

Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis, in a speech to the influential Brookings Institution in Washington, said Athens was concern about developments in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia and Turkey. Speaking on Monday on the theme “Collective Security in the 21st century; Building new bridges”, Bakoyannis said: “Let me be as clear as I …

Serbia will keep secret all negotiations relating to Miladin Kovacevic, a Serb student wanted in the United States for severely beating up his American classmate, until a final agreement has been reached in the case, the government said in a statement on Monday. Kovacevic, a former basketball player at the …

Macedonian authorities are considering a 17 millon euro revamp of Macedonia’s listed parliament building, which will see the addition of one floor and three domes. The revamp would upgrade facilities for the 120 deputies, local Dnevnik daily wrote on Tuesday. MPs have been complaining about the cramped conditions in the …

Until there is progress in solving the border dispute, Slovenia will not stop blocking Croatia`s European Union accession negotiations, Slovenian Prime Minster Borut Pahor said on Tuesday. After a one hour meeting, which was also the first meeting of Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader and his Slovene counterpart Borut Pahor, …

Both Brussels and Strasbourg will watch closely Macedonia’s March 22 presidential and local election for signs of democratic maturity after the country’s last general election in June 2008 was marred by violence and fraud. The European Commission via its office in Skopje will monitor both the pre-election campaign and the …