Balkans

Marking their seventh anniversary, Bosnia’s Armed Forces complain of having the same number of staff and same obligations as before, but on a lower budget.Marking the seventh anniversary of the armed forces, Bosnia’s Defence Ministry said it is proud of the help that Bosnian soldiers have provided during natural disasters …

Macedonia initialled a Chinese loan that will be used to build more motorway stretches, the Transport Minister said at Tuesday’s signing ceremony.“The agreement gives priority to infrastructure projects like road and railway networks, bridges, energy and telecommunications facilities… [and] encourages cooperation among banks and companies from both countries”, Macedonian Transport …

Albanians are marking the 100th anniversary of their country’s independence with concerts, exhibitions, fairs and new monuments in the capital, Tirana, and in Vlora.The festivities in Tirana began on Monday with the inauguration of a mosaic of the Albanian flag, with stones collected from battlefields linked to the struggle for …

EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fule says Bosnia did not take the key steps that were needed for it to submit a credible EU membership application.Following the second High-Level Dialogue on Bosnia’s EU integration process, the Enlargement Commissioner, Stefan Fule, said Bosnia had not met its main commitments undertaken at the …

First Deputy PM and Defence Minister Aleksandar Vucic says ‘everything that happens regarding Kosovo will be painful for Serbia’.Vucic delivered his stark warning ahead of a series of diplomatic meetings over the next two weeks “that will largely determine the course of events” on Kosovo. After a meeting with the …

Valentin Inzko denies Croatian journalist’s claim that an investigation into Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik and his son Igor has been launched in Austria or Germany.The international community’s High Representative has denied a journalist’s claims that anti-corruption investigations have been initiated against the President of the Republika Srpska, the Serb-dominated …

Refugees from Kosovo residing in Montenegro’s capital, whose barracks were burnt down in July’s fire, have been re-housed in more than 200 containers, until permanent homes for them are built.The installation of containers in the Konik camp, the largest refugee camp in the Balkans, which hosts around 1,500 mainly Roma …

EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fuele has said that he expects Croatia to successfully complete the bloc’s accession requirements ahead of its July 2013 admission date.Speaking in Zagreb on Monday, Fuele said he was also confident that Croatia would create a positive atmosphere for the EU aspirations of its neighbours. Zagreb …

The trial of the former Croatian Serb leader, Goran Hadzic, has continued on Monday with a testimony of a survivor of war crimes committed in the Croatian village of Lovas in 1991.Ivan Mujovic, a villager from Lovas, recalled the occupation of his village by the Serb forces in October and …

Report names politicians running in next month’s parliamentary elections who once worked for the secret police, held senior positions in the former ruling Communist Party or have convictions for corruption.The Alliance for a Clean Romania, ARC, on Monday released a list of politicians that it says are either corrupt, or …