Balkans

Bucharest says that two Romanians have died but another three have been released after being taken hostage by Islamist militants in Algeria.The Romanians were among more than 80 who are reported to have died as a result of the hostage crisis at a British-Norwegian gas plant in Algeria, where Islamists …

Croatian politicians have reacted sharply to the Slovenian foreign minister’s suggestion that Zagreb risks missing out on EU membership.Politicians hit back at foreign minister Karl Erjavec’s warning on Friday that “Croatia might never join the EU” if the Slovenian parliament doesn’t ratify the Croatian accession agreement before July 1 this …

President Traian Basescu has turned down the Justice Minister’s two candidates to head the country’s main anti-corruption institutions.President Traian Basescu has rejected the Justice Minister’s nominations for the posts of Chief Prosecutor and head of the National Anti-Corruption Directorate, the DNA. “The selection procedure wasn’t sufficiently open to encourage more …

The opposition Socialists are expected to hold a memorial rally on Monday for four supporters, killed when police opened fire on protesters on January 21, 2011.The protest held two years ago in Tirana turned into a riot when several hundred opposition marchers attacked a police barricade set up to protect …

Montenegrin reservists are seeking to prove they were mobilised during Yugoslavia’s NATO conflict but hopes of getting unpaid wages from Belgrade may be misplaced.Montenegro’s defence ministry has received around 1,100 requests from reservists for confirmation that they took part in combat activities during NATO’s bombing of the former Yugoslavia which …

In the fourth round of the EU-mediated dialogue, Serbia’s prime minister and his Kosovo counterpart agreed on customs duties and VAT for Serb-run north Kosovo.Following a five-hour meeting, which ended late on Thursday, the two prime ministers reached “a provisional understanding on the collection of customs duties, levies and VAT,” …

The census planned for April looks likely to be postponed to October on the advice of the international advisory body.Bosnia’s state government told the Statistics Agency on January 17 to prepare changes to the census law in line with the recommendations of the International Monitoring Operation, IMO, the body tasked …

Albanian Foreign Minister Edmond Panariti on Thursday urged Greece to scrap a World War Two-era law that has left Greece technically in a state of war with Albania.“The abolition of the war law, an old and absurd law, would push the relationship between the two countries to a new level,” …

Romania’s Foreign Minister says British speculation about large numbers of Romanians heading to work in the UK next year has no basis in fact and is all about politics.Romania’s Foreign Minister, Titus Corlatean, on Thursday said that British talk of a possible mass influx of workers in 2014, after remaining …

Facing a Sunday deadline, Ranko Krivokapic, speaker of Montenegro’s parliament, is expected to call elections for a new head of state on Friday.The mandate of President Filip Vujanovic expires in May and by law elections need to be called at least 120 days before the expiration of Vujanovic’s mandate, which …