Balkans

Albania Activists Protest Fatal Riot Verdict

Activists rallied on Saturday in front of Tirana’s main court, protesting against the acquittal of senior officers accused of killing three protestors in the January 21, 2011 riots.“We are sounding the alarm that the justice system is being held hostage by an autocratic system,” a political commentator, Andrea Stefani, told …

Read More »

Opposition Parties Muster for Belgrade Elections

The Liberal Democratic Party and United Regions of Serbia are readying for snap local elections in Belgrade, as tensions grow between the city’s ruling Socialists and Democrats.The Liberal Democratic Party, LDP, and United Regions of Serbia, URS, have started preparations for local elections in Belgrade. No official statements have been …

Read More »

Balkan Countries Withdraw Suspect Croatian Milk

Bosnia, Croatia, Macedonia and Montenegro have taken milk produced by two Croatian dairies off the market amid fears of contamination by potentially dangerous aflatoxin M1.The four countries moved to withdraw the suspect products after a scientific analysis in Vienna at the weekend showed that the amount of aflatoxin M1 in …

Read More »

Moody’s Lowers Croatia Rating to Ba1

Moody’s on Friday downgraded Croatia’s credit rating from Baa3 to Ba1, citing poor economic growth prospects and the government’s lack of fiscal flexibility.The agency also changed the outlook on Croatia’s rating from negative to stable, citing only a limited risk of a significant deterioration in the government’s fiscal position and …

Read More »

When the Appointed Overrules the Elected: an Overview of the Decline of Democracy within the European Union.

Towards the end of 2012, the Constitutional Court of Slovenia issued a decision in regard to a referendum meant to consult the population on the establishment of a so-called “bad bank”. The bad bank was to be a state-owned institution meant to take over bad loans made by private banks …

Read More »

US Pans Albanian Verdicts on Protestors’ Deaths

The US Embassy in Tirana has expressed shock at the acquittal of two Republican Guard officers accused of the murder of three protesters during the January 21, 2011 riots.“We are dismayed by the decision of the Tirana District Court to acquit the two defendants who stood trial on charges related …

Read More »

‘New Witness’ in Kosovo Organ Trafficking Case

Serbia’s war crimes prosecutor said there were new leads in the investigation into alleged organ trading by Kosovo fighters during the late 1990s conflict.War crimes prosecutor Vladimir Vukcevic told the Novi Magazin weekly that Serbian prosecutors had informed the EU’s rule of law mission in Kosovo that a new witness …

Read More »

Bulgaria ‘Will Pay Price’ For Accusing Hezbollah

Bulgarian nationalist party takes government to task for blaming pro-Iranian militants for last year’s terror attack in Burgas.Bulgaria will pay a high price for maintaining that Hezbollah was involved in last year’s terror attack in the Black Sea resort of Burgas, the leader of the country’s nationalist Ataka party has …

Read More »

Ratko Mladic ‘Terrorised Sarajevo with Snipers’

A former UN peacekeeping forces official told the Hague Tribunal that Bosnian Serb forces under Mladic’s command targeted civilians with artillery and sniper fire.The Bosnian Serb Army “constantly shelled and conducted sniper attacks against civilians in Sarajevo” said Anthony Banbury, who served with the UN protection force UNPROFOR in the …

Read More »