Balkans

The violence in Kosovo’s Serb-populated north earlier this month was not explicitly political but linked to crime, said the chief of the European Union’s police and justice mission in Kosovo. Most of the120,000 Serbs who live in Kosovo among two million Albanians reject the territory’s declaration of independence from Serbia. …

The 2008 Freedom House report classifies newly-independent Kosovo as a “not free” country, while Albania, Bosnia, Montenegro as well as European Union-candidate Macedonia are only “partly free”. Freedom House is a United States-based international NGO that conducts research and advocacy on democracy, political freedom and human rights. Its annual survey …

Serbia said it will import gas from Hungary and Germany until Jan 20, and hopes to raise the amount by 2 million cubic metres to cover its needs until the row between Russia and Ukraine is resolved. The country’s energy ministry said Serbia had sufficient crude oil to keep the …

Bosnia has offered to accept and treat Palestinians wounded in Israel’s incursion into Gaza, officials said, with the first medical air lifts be expected “very soon.” The health minister of the Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim)-Croat Federation, Safet Omerovic and the Palestinian ambassador to Bosnia, Rostom Amir Saker Hussein, met on Tuesday …

Albanians rushed to apply for new identity cards and biometric passports, a key requirement for future visa-free travel to the EU. The new documents are seen as crucial to avert election fraud in the upcoming parliamentary election in June. They have also been one of the conditions of the European …

Albanian President Bamir Topi has set June 28 as the date of Albania’s parliamentary election, a crucial test of democratisation that will be watched closely by the European Union. Albania has yet to hold elections that meet international standards, with all six general elections since the collapse of communism in …

Kosovo police have arrested six people suspected of involvement in “high-profile” organised crime, a spokesman said on Tuesday. All suspects were Kosovo Albanians from the wider Mitrovica region, and were arrested for alleged involvement in racketeering, money laundering, and smuggling of fuel and other goods into Kosovo. Police spokesman Veton …

After several days of outages due to the Russia-Ukraine gas dispute, heating in Serbian households was back to normal on Friday thanks to gas imports from Hungary and Germany. Dusan Bajatovic, general manager of Srbijagas, told Balkan Insight that between four and five tons of natural gas should arrive daily …

Kosovo and Albania said they will soon sign an agreement creating a ‘mini-Schengen’ zone allowing free movement across their borders, a deal that could lead to a wider no-border zone in the region. Travel between Albania and Kosovo is currently possible by showing one’s passport or driver’s license. “The agreement …

The leaders of Macedonia’s four main political parties agreed on March 22 as the date for holding presidential and local elections, seen as a test for the country’s democratic credentials. Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski, leader of the ruling centre right VMRO DPMNE party, told local media that parliament speaker Trajko …