Balkans

EU Justice and Home Affairs Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom called Balkan states on Monday in Tirana to cut the number of asylum seekers.“There has been a rise of 73 per cent of the number of asylums seekers compared with the previous year,” Malmstrom told a conference of justice and interior ministers …

Bucharest has ordered strict limits on what politicians may hand out to voters during the election campaign – though some wonder if the measures will make much difference.A month before crucial parliamentary elections in Romania, the government on Tuesday adopted an emergency decree aimed at curbing the tradition of vote-buying …

Serbia would like to join the European Union during the Greek EU Presidency in the first half of 2014, stated Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic. In an interview for Greek paper Kathimerini ahead of his visit to Athens Friday, Nikolic has said that Serbia is very grateful to Greece and Cyprus, …

Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev and PM Boyko Borisov have sent letters of condolences to the Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church on the passing of its leader, Patriarch Maxim, Tuesday.

US ambassador to Serbia says presidential election will not make any difference to Washington’s policy towards the Balkans.US Ambassador to Serbia Michael Kirby said that Washingon’s policy towards the Balkans will remain unchanged regardless of the outcome of the November 6 presidential race between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney. The …

A lack of funds, and the failure to resolve both war crimes and missing persons cases, remain obstacles to the return to Kosovo of some 235,000 people displaced by the 1998-1999 war, says OSCE.Despite the fact that the safe return of internally displaced persons, IDPs, to their homes is recognized …

The coalition that came first in the recent general election has signed an agreement with the ethnic minority parties, ensuring it a majority in parliament.Milo Djukanovic, head of the ruling Democratic Party of Socialists, DPS, and the DPS-led “European Montenegro” coalition, which won 39 of 81 seats in the October …

Ahead of a second meeting of Kosovo and Serbian prime ministers in Brussels, Croatian leader Zoran Milanovic has offered to help ease the dialogue.Croatian Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic has expressed support for the continuation of the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue and has offered his help, saying that Croatia has good relations with …

Macedonia and Bulgaria may jointly celebrate Europe Day, Bulgarian recognition of Macedonian independence and the establishment of diplomatic ties, Macedonia’s President has suggested to his Bulgarian counterpart.Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov’s suggestion came in the form of a reply to a letter from Bulgaria’s head of state, Rosen Plevneliev, sent on …

Prosecutors have asked a Tirana court to allow an investigation into possible money laundering by Egypt’s deposed strongman, Hosni Mubarak, his family and associates in Albania.The request follows receipt of a request for legal help from the Egyptian authorities, as they seek to trace and recover billions of dollars that …