Balkans

Croatia will buy five firefighting planes to improve its ability to cope with wildfires, Prime Minister Ivo Sanader said Sunday (July 29th). The country will get a Canadair water-carrying aircraft and three air tractor planes, Sanader said, adding that the government has earmarked 75m euros for fire-fighting activities this year.

The nine victims killed in the eastern Serbian village of Jabukovac on Friday night were buried by their families on Sunday (July 29th). Five men and four women were shot dead by 38-year-old Nikola Radosavljevic, who began opening fire after a quarrel with his wife.

Balkan states should continue judicial and security reforms if they want the current EU visa restrictions for their citizens

German career diplomat Wolfgang Ischinger was named Sunday (July 29th) as the EU’s representative in the upcoming talks between Belgrade and Pristina on Kosovo’s future status.

Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic arrived in Washington on Thursday (July 26th), pledging that he would strive to reduce tensions over the Kosovo issue. His visit came just days after Kosovo Albanian representatives met with US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, who reiterated US support for granting sovereignty to the …

Outgoing US Ambassador to Belgrade Michael Polt said that a Kosovo status resolution by the UN Security Council is desirable, but not the only option available. Polt, whose term ends this summer, said that a decision from the Security Council will be welcomed, but if this doesn’t happen, the US …

Ljiljana Karadzic, wife of UN war crimes tribunal indictee Radovan Karadzic, has been interrogated by Republika Srpska (RS) authorities, an official of the entity interior ministry said Thursday (July 26th).

High Representative in BiH Miroslav Lajcak said in an interview on Thursday (July 26th) that the signing of a Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) with the EU is his main short-term priority.

Kosovo’s leaders and UNMIK head Joachim Ruecker agreed Thursday (July 26th) that local and parliamentary elections will take place in the province in November. Although there are some concerns that elections could be an obstacle to resolving Kosovo’s status, the two processes can move together, Ruecker said after meeting with …

Bulgaria rejected a formal Libyan protest Thursday (July 26th) against President Georgi Parvanov’s decision to pardon five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor released from life imprisonment in the North African country earlier this week.