Balkans

Serbia’s ruling Progressive Party says it will intensify the fight against corruption even if it leads to the fall of the coalition government and a new election.Nebojsa Stefanovic, speaker of parliament and deputy president of the ruling Progressives, said his party would risk a new general election if it felt …

Kosovo and Serbia working groups, dealing with implementation of the Integrated Border Management deal, on Thursday agreed in Brussels to put what they had agreed into action.Kosovo and Serbia vowed to honour a deal reached earlier on Integrated Border Management under the auspices of the EU-facilitated dialogue and agreed to …

Bosnia made scant progress on its EU path as its politicians have little interest in furthering the rule of law or transparency, analysts say, after Brussels delivered its critical report.Laws on the Census and on State Aid were the only significant legislative moves that Bosnia made over the last year …

A new bill presented on Wednesday to mark Albania’s 100 years of independence will grant an amnesty to prisoners serving sentences of less than two years.The bill, which is expected to be voted on soon in parliament, will release all prisoners serving less than two years in jail.

After being shunned for two years in a row, Albania expects to obtain EU candidate status on Wednesday, though such a recommendation will likely come with a host of conditions.The European Commission is expected this week to recommend granting EU candidate status to Albania, “considering the improvement in the political …

Bulgaria and Romania are still exchanging accusations ahead of the planned opening of a new Danube bridge.Romanian and Bulgarian officials are still trading complaints ahead of the expected opening of a long-awaited bridge connecting the two countries.

The European sovereign debt crisis came back with full force on Tuesday, riots and Nazi uniforms included. German Chancellor Angela Merkel visited Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras in Athens, sparking substantial protests and violent clashes with the police. Hours before, the International Monetary Fund had released a report in which …

Infrastructure Minister may face a corruption probe concerning a case involving the issue of illegal permits.Milutin Mrkonjic, Slobodan Milosevic’s favourite builder in the 1990s and Serbia’s Infrastructure Minister, will be the next target in the government’s fight against corruption, Balkan Insight has learned from two independent sources.

Gojko Klickovic, a war crimes defendant, has been elected as the new mayor of the town of Krupa na Uni, in Republika Srpska.According to incomplete data from the Bosnian Central Election Commission, Klickovic, a candidate for the Serbian Democratic Party, won over 60 per cent of the votes in the …

As the government launches a corruption probe against former minister Oliver Dulic, parliament has lifted his immunity from prosecution.Oliver Dulic, former Minister for Environment and Spatial Planning, has received a call for a hearing on Wednesday from the Prosecutor’s Office for Organized Crime. This comes after parliament on Monday lifted …