Balkans

The European Parliament rapporteur on Macedonia, Richard Howitt, says he may have to seek postponement of the Parliament’s resolution on the country in the light of the ongoing crisis.Leaving the country, Howitt said that if the Macedonian political crisis continued, he would have no option but to ask the European …

A leaked US State Department memo condemns Prime Minister Sali Berisha’s nationalist rhetoric, calling it a danger to regional stability.The undated memo seems to have been sent to Prime Minister Sali Berisha after Serbia took down a memorial to ethnic Albanian fighters in the southern Serbian town of Presevo in …

Macedonia’s ruling VMRO DPMNE party has rubbished reports that the EU seeks a postponement of the March local elections.Macedonia’s ruling VMRO DPMNE party on Thursday denied that the Director-General of Enlargement at the European Commission, Stefano Sannino, is pushing for local elections to be postponed. “Sanino never asked for a …

Kosovo parliamentarians earn around eight times the average salary once their generous bonuses are thrown in, data reveal.Kosovo MPs earn an average of 25,000 euro per year, more than eight times the national average, according to Prishtina Insight’s analysis of data released by the Assembly. Members of Parliament also earn …

The Social Democratic Party, SDP, a minor government partner, says the current head of state, Filip Vujanovic, has no right to run as president and appealed to the Constitutional Court.The SDP on Thursday submitted an appeal to the Constitutional Court, claiming that Vujanovic does not have the right to be …

The new parliamentary majority in Bosnia’s Federation entity has passed a vote of no confidence in the entity’s government.The House of Representatives in the larger of Bosnia’s two entities, the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, on February 12 passed a vote of no confidence in the government. The vote was …

Russia has refused to provide evidence for the EU rule-of-law mission in Kosovo’s prosecution of Albanians in Pristina over illegal organ transplants.Moscow is refusing on political grounds to provide evidence about Russian citizens whose kidneys may have been removed and sold illegally at the Medicus clinic in Kosovo, the Serbian …

EU chief in Bosnia says it’s up to local politicians – not the international community – to find a way out of the current impasse over a key human rights ruling.The head of the EU in Bosnia, Peter Sorensen, on Tuesday dismissed reports that the international community will impose constitutional …

The Director-General of Enlargement at the European Commission, Stefano Sannino, on Tuesday arrived on a surprise visit to Macedonia to try to resolve the ongoing political crisis.The EU delegation to Macedonia confirmed that Sannino had arrived in the country but had nothing to add about his agenda. Unofficially, he has …

A Croatian civic initiative called the Referendum Rebellion is collecting signatures demanding a repeat referendum on Croatia’s EU accession, among other points.Besides a referendum on the EU, the group seeks votes on banning genetically modified products, on privatisation and on sales of state land. Group leader Zoran Mihajlovic on Tuesday …