Balkans

Following a RECOM round table in Skopje, the Macedonian President, Gjorge Ivanov, met the team of regional REKOM advocates.REKOM advocates from Macedonia, Biljana Vankovska, from Bosnia, Zdravko Grebo, and from Serbia, Natasa Kandic met with Ivanov on Sunday.

Berlin think tank launches upgraded initiative to solve the dispute between Macedonia and Greece so that the former can advance its EU integration.The lead analyst of the European Stability Initiative, Gerald Knaus, said the solution would foresee a change to Macedonia’s name that would come into force permanently on the …

The international reaction to the Hague Tribunal acquittal of the former Kosovo PM, Ramush Haradinaj, mirrors the mixed reactions in the region.The EU Commissioner for Enlargement, Stefan Fule, has said that the EU would not comment on Haradinaj’s acquittal, as the EU did not want to interfere in the work …

Serbia was the only country in the region to support Palestine’s bid for upgraded observer status in the UN on Thursday’s vote.Serbia was the only Balkan country to support Palestine’s successful bid on Thursday for non-member observer status in the UN. Member states voted 138-9 in favour of the vote, …

Noting the 100th anniversary of Albania’s independence, Kim Yong Nam, reclusive leader of North Korea, sent greetings to President Bujar Nishani on Wednesday.“Kim Yong Nam, president of the Presidium of the DPRK Supreme People’s Assembly, Wednesday sent a message of greeting to Albanian President Bujar Nishani on the occasion of …

Sofia has urged its neighbour to take three clear steps if it wants to secure Bulgarian support for Macedonia’s EU integration process.Bulgaria has set its neighbour three conditions in return for its support in aiding Macedonian integration into the European Union. Bulgarian Foreign Minister Nikolay Mladenov sent a letter to …

Many Macedonians hope that Johan Tarculovski, the only Macedonian national convicted for war crimes by the Hague Tribunal, could soon be released following the recent acquittals of Kosovo’s Ramush Haradinaj and Croatia’s Ante Gotovina and Mladen Markac.“Free Johan immediately!”, “Only our Johan remains to rot in jail”, and “End the …

Most Balkan countries appeared likely to abstain from Thursday’s vote on upgrading Palestine’s status, which looked set to pass the General Assembly easily.Most Balkan countries looked set to abstain from Thursday’s vote on Palestine’s request for upgraded observer status at the United Nations. The General Assembly appeared likely to endorse …

Naspers has expanded its online holdings by purchasing Romania’s main online retailer.The South African-based media conglomerate Naspers has paid 80 million US dollars for a majority stake in the Romanian site emag.ro, media reported. This is one of the largest transactions in the Romanian online sector so far. Emag.ro was …

In the next 2014-2020 programming period, Bulgaria will allocate the main portion of funds under Operational Program Competitiveness to innovations and energy efficiency, according to Delyan Dobrev, Minister of Economy, Energy, and Tourism. Speaking Thursday during an international forum on industry and innovations, he argued that these sustainable solutions would …