Balkans

The European Commission (EC) warned Bulgaria and Romania on Wednesday (June 27th) that they must step up efforts in fighting corruption and crime to avoid future sanctions.

In one of his final actions as the international community’s top envoy in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), outgoing High Representative Christian Schwarz-Schilling put the state in charge of the Srebrenica-Potocari memorial centre, which commemorates Europe’s worst atrocity since World War II.

Croatia’s Social Democrats called this month on the country’s interior minister to resign, charging that he broke laws in an effort to find out who has been posting video clips of his interviews and speeches on YouTube.

Comisia Europeană prezintă astăzi, la Bruxelles, Raportul privind respectarea angajamentelor României şi Bulgariei luate odată cu aderarea lor la Uniunea Europeană.

NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer is urging Russia not to veto a new resolution on Kosovo at the UN Security Council.

High Representative Christian Schwarz-Schilling wants to remain in BiH after his mandate expires at the end of this week, to oversee a special commission established to help BiH politicians reach consensus on key constitutional reform.

Citing health reasons, Arben Xhaferi announced on Monday (June 25th) that he is stepping down as leader of the small ruling coalition party, the Democratic Party of Albanians (DPA).

A trilateral drill among the militaries of Bulgaria, Romania and Serbia began in the joint border area of the Danube River on Monday (June 25th).

Leaders from the 12 nations in the Black Sea Economic Co-operation (BSEC) organisation gathered in Istanbul on Monday (June 25th) to mark the group’s 15th anniversary at a one-day summit, hosted by Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer.

The Serbian Parliament adopted a national budget for 2007 late on Friday (June 22nd). Lawmakers from the ruling coalition voted to collect 7.1 billion euros in taxes and spend 7.3 billion euros.