Balkans

Despite the global financial turmoil, Romania expects to have around 1.5-1.8 billion euros worth of investment this year in the energy sector alone, Economy Minister Adriean Videanu said on Wednesday. “The money will come from government and private investments, and we will encourage new private initiatives,” Videanu told participants of …

Unlicensed Serbian and Albanian mobile phone companies that operate in Kosovo illegally are denting the profits of legal operators and hurting the Kosovo budget, industry officials said on Wednesday. Authorities have found that Serbia’s MTS operator, and Albanian mobile operators AMC and Kosmofon often used the frequencies of state mobile …

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 …