Balkans

A proposal by the top Bosnian Serb leader for Bosnia and Herzegovina to be reconfigured as a “union of federal states” with further decentralization of its two entities has triggered a new round of verbal duels among the country’s Serb, Croat and Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) politicians. Over the past three …

Belgrade is due to start negotiations with the United Nations mission in Kosovo on Tuesday on the implementation of the UN’s six-point plan on Kosovo, which has been rejected by Kosovo Albanians, Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic told a Serbian daily in an interview “Albanians are still saying that this …

Serbia has more reasons now to be optimistic regarding the arrest of both remaining war crimes fugitives than a few months ago, said Rasim Ljajic, the country’s point man for cooperation with the Hague war crimes court. “I’m much more optimistic regarding the arrest of Ratko Mladic now than until …

Kosovo could have better used its advantages to promote its image abroad and to ensure the rule of law, former Prime Minister Agim Ceku said ahead of the one-year anniversary of Kosovo’s secession from Serbia. “The first independence anniversary is a crucial moment. During these days we all have to …

On the eve of the first anniversary of the declaration of independence, Kosovo’s government and parliament are racing to finalize work that has been delayed throughout the year. In less than two weeks, the government finally recruited a chief for the Kosovo Intelligence Agency, form a security council and attempted …

After the deadline for registering for Macedonia’s March 22 presidential election expired last night at midnight, the state election commission confirmed seven candidates had fulfilled the requirements and would be allowed to run. Two professors at the Skopje Law Faculty, Georgi Ivanov and Ljubomir Frckoski, the first nominated by the …

The European Union has asked the Albanian government to reconsider the legal and political ramifications of its recently adopted lustration law, a much-criticised and controverisal item of legislation both domestically and abroad. “The new Law on Lustration gives rise to concern with regards to certain aspects on both procedure and …

A new resolution at the United States Congress calls on President Barack Obama to urgently restore American efforts in Bosnia and Herzegovina, help it face challenges and avoid further a worsening of the situation, and “maybe a new conflict.” The new resolution focusing on the troubled country was proposed on …

A Macedonian court has sentenced Besim Nesimi and Ramadan Imeri, former special unit policemen, to jail terms of 18 months and 12 months respectively for the brutal 2007 beating up of a cameraman of the local Alsat M TV. In September 2007, the two beat up the cameraman Igor Ljubovcevski …

Macedonians are three times more concerned about the local economy in 2009 amid global crisis than in the same period last year, shows the latest opinion poll done by the International Republican Institute, IRI. There is a tendency of growing pessimism related to the economic developments, IRI Regional Director for …