Balkans

Court Halts Govt Funds for Montenegrin NGOs

Following a lawsuit by two NGOs, the Administrative Court has annulled a decision allocating over 2 million euro to civil society ogranizations in 2011, as a result of which the process will have to start again.Two organizations, a hiking club and an environmental NGO, sued the Commission For Allocation of …

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Bosnian Serb Town Flags ‘Discriminatory’

The constitutional court in Bosnia’s Serb-dominated entity Republika Srpska ruled that Serb symbols used by the towns of Banja Luka and Nevesinje discriminated against Bosniaks and Croats.Republika Srpska’s constitutional court ruled on Wednesday that the coats of arms and flags of Banja Luka and Nevesinje contain “symbols of the religious …

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Macedonian Hague Convict ‘Could be Freed Soon’

The defence lawyer for Johan Tarculovski, the only Macedonian convicted of war crimes by the Hague Tribunal, said he could be given an early release as soon as next month.Tarculovski’s lawyer, Antonio Apostolski, said he had been informed by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, ICTY, that the …

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Bulgaria Turmoil ‘May Hit Romania’s Schengen Bid’

As the EU ponders Romania’s desire to join the passport-free Schengen area, Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta voices concern that instability in Bulgaria may affect its chances.“The European Commission’s decision next month on Romania and Bulgaria joining the Schengen area will surely be negatively influenced by the current instability in …

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Bulgaria Protests Continue After PM’s Resignation

A new wave of protest rallies is looming in Bulgaria following the collective resignation of the prime minister and the centre-right GERB government.Hundreds of pro- and anti-government protesters gathered in front of the parliament building in downtown Sofia on Wednesday evening. The anti-government protestors said that the collective resignation of …

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Macedonia Boosts Checks As Milk Fears Spread

Macedonia’s food safety agency is boosting checks on dairy products in the light of fears of contamination by the cancer-causing toxin M1.Macedonia said it was conducting more tests as the scandal about milk contaminated with M1 in Croatia and Serbia was causing widespread concern. “Macedonian milk is healthy and does …

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Bulgarian Govt Resigns Amid Bloody Protests

After mass protests against high utility bills turned violent, the Bulgarian government has called it a day – PM saying he feels ‘shamed’ by the bloodshed.Prime Minister Boyko Borisov told parliament on Wednesday that he would hand in his resignation after the regular cabinet meeting later in the day. “Our …

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Serbia Pulls Potentially Contaminated Milk

After a dispute between regional and state inspections over whether milk is contaminated by the potentially dangerous aflatoxin, M1, Serbia is withdrawing all suspect milk from shelves.Serbia’s veterinary inspectorate has ordered all milk that some analysis shows is contaminated with the aflatoxin M1 to be pulled off the shelves. Dairy …

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Croatia War Veterans Protest Against Cyrillic Roadsigns

Around 100 ex-servicemen demonstrated in the Croatian city of Vukovar on Wednesday, attempting to stop the authorities putting up street signs in Cyrillic for the Serb minority.The war veterans took to the streets of Vukovar after Croatian media reported that the authorities planned to introduce the combined Latin and Cyrillic …

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