Balkans

The Social Democrat-led opposition has snubbed the government’s latest compromise proposal for overcoming the political crisis, calling it ‘hypocrisy’.Social Democrats on Monday said that the proposal for a one-week postponement of local elections slated for March 24 – giving them more time to submit lists of candidates – was hypocritical. …

As rallies continue in Bulgaria – despite the resignation of the government of Prime Minister Boiko Borisov – the President is mulling appointing a caretaker government of experts.Protests against the political establishment continued on a smaller scale in Bulgaria on Monday, when several hundred people gathered for a rally in …

Metropolitan Neofit of Ruse has been elected the new patriarch of Bulgaria’s Orthodox church amid social unrest which hit the country in recent weeks.In a secret ballot on Sunday, the 14 bishops that make up the holy synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Christian church chose the 67-year-old Metropolitan Neofit from …

The opposition led by the Social Democrats says it wants to cancel the results of the March local elections which it has already vowed to boycott.In a five-point declaration adopted at a convention this weekend in the town of Kumanovo, the opposition gathered around the Social Democrats said it would …

Supporters of Vojislav Seselj, leader of the Serbian Radical Party who’s on trial for war crimes, protested in Belgrade for his release from the Hague’s “tyranny”.Around 3,000 protesters gathered on Sunday in Belgrade to mark the tenth anniversary of Seselj’s voluntary surrender to the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former …

Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik confirmed media rumours that personnel changes within the Serb-led Bosnian entity’s government are imminent.Dodik announced on Sunday that in the next couple of days he will talk to Republika Srpska’s Prime Minister Aleksandar Dzombic about the reshuffle and that it will all be finalised within …

The international community would be satisfied with any kind of movement on constitutional reforms in Bosnia, regardless of its quality, a round table discussion in Sarajevo was told.International organisations in Bosnia are not interested in seeing structural reforms conducted in the country and would settle for any kind of progress …

Opposition and civil society organizations met to discuss media leaks, which have cast a new light on the ruling party’s controversial tactics.The meeting took place on Friday on the initiative of Democratic Front, the largest opposition formation. Miodrag Lekic, leader of the front, said the meeting ended without concrete conclusions, …

Jobless rate reaches new high of 21.9 per cent, the highest in a decade – and that’s not the only bad news about the Croatian economy.The total number of unemployed persons in Croatia has reached 372,000, according to the latest official data, published last week. In January alone, another 13,800 …

The German Foreign Minister, Guido Westerwelle, has called for free and fair elections in Albania, warning against the rise of nationalist rhetoric in Tirana.“It’s very important for the elections to be held successfully and in accordance with European principles,” Westerwelle said in a joint press conference with his Albanian counterpart, …