Balkans

Bosnians tuned in en masse to the inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th president of the United States, with politicians and analysts saying they hoped for renewed US engagement in the Balkans after eight years of Washington paying very little attention. Like in many other countries which are dependent …

At the end of 2008 Macedonians owed around 1.0 billion euros to banks in mortgage, business and other household loans, an equivalent of 500 euros for each of the country’s two million people, local media say. This marks a significant increase from last year’s average indebtedness of an estimated 337 …

The import of Russian natural gas resumed Wednesday morning, after it was halted for two weeks, Romania’s state-owned pipeline operator Transgaz said. Russia’s Gazprom cut off natural gas supplies on January 7 due to economic disagreements with Ukraine. Ukraine is the main transit route for Russian gas pipelines to the …

Bulgaria’s Minister of Energy and Economy Petar Dimitrov said on Wednesday that the austerity measures in natural gas consumption would be lifted after Russia and the Ukraine resolved their gas pricing dispute. . “We have gas, the crisis is over”, the Minister declared explaining all technical conditions to do away …

Ahead of his inauguration as the 44th United States president, Barack Obama’s winning smile is plastered on billboards and posters all around Kosovo, the most pro-American nation in Europe due to US support for its secession from Serbia. Washington was among the first capitals to recognise Kosovo’s declaration of independence …

A group of Albanian NGOs sent an open letter to Prime Minister Sali Berisha on Monday to protest against the application of value-added tax, VAT, on non-profit organisations, calling it a serious threat to the existence of civil society in Albania. Though the Albanian non-profit sector is thriving with hundreds …

Montenegro and Italy have formed a joint economic association in a bid to boost trade and expand economic cooperation, AKI reported. Montenegrin Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic said that the volume of Italian investments in Montenegro was “far below expectations”, given the vicinity of the two countries, and the “quality of …

A Croatian court in Rijeka on Monday ordered a month-long detention for the head of Bosnia’s special unit for the fight against organized crime, terrorism and corruption, who was arrested by Croatian police under suspicion of conspiracy to commit murder. Vjekoslav Vukovic, who was also an assistant minister in Bosnia’s …

Macedonia looks to the inauguration of Barack Obama with some trepidation about a possible shift in the United States’ position on the name dispute with Greece, while Athens appears quietly confident that the new US president will be more sympathetic to its stance. Athens and Skopje have been locked in …

“Barack Obama’s presidency will create a new chapter of values, not only for the United States, but for the rest of the world,” Albanian Foreign Minister Lulzim Basha said. Albanians are very pro-American and the US elections are often presented as a standard of democracy in the country, where after …