Balkans

Half of Serbia Now on Facebook

About 3.5 million people – roughly half the population of Serbia – are now on the social networking site Facebook, a recent survey shows.Half of Serbia’s roughly 7 million people now have an account on the social networking site Facebook, recent data show. Facebook users in the country also represent …

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IMF Approves €405 Million Standby for Bosnia

The IMF has approved a two-year stand-by arrangement of 405.3 million euro for the country – but it won’t get all the money at once.The IMF loan, approved on September 26, is designed to support Bosnia’s economic programme for the next two years, ease the effects of the “external environment …

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Macedonian Media Moguls in Politics Face Deadline

MPs who also own TV and radio stations have until the end of the month to choose between keeping their political careers or their media outlets.Boris Stojmenov, MP and head of the small VMRO-Macedonian party, which is part of Nikola Gruevski’s government, has until September 30 to decide whether to …

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War Veterans Cancel ’Shame Parade’

The Serbian war veteran association has canceled its “Shame Parade“, saying they do not want to be manipluated by the politicans.When Serbia’s LGBT community announced that it would hold its annual ‘Pride Parade’ on October 6, the Serbian war veterans said that they wanted to take advantage of the media …

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EU Boosts Regional Cooperation in the Balkans

More than 700 EU backed cross-regional projects aimed at helping reconciliation and improving the economy have been conducted in Serbia and neighbouring countries.Serbia is currently cooperating with seven neighbouring countries – Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Macedonia and Croatia- on various issues including ecology, education and agriculture.

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NATO Assures Montenegro of Support

Montenegro can continue to count on NATO’s backing, NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen told Foreign Minister Nebojsa Kaludjerovic in New York.Meeting on the sidelines of the 67th United Nations General Assembly in New York, Montenegrin Foreign Minister Kaludjerovic informed Rasmussen of Montenegro’s progress as part of the Membership Action Plan, …

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Serbia Backtracks on Closing State Agencies

The government appears to have backed away from its earlier pledge to scrap a mass of costly government agencies, with only seven out of 130 earmarked for abolition.Serbia’s new government has backtracked on pledges to scrap costly state agencies that are widely seen as bodies for employing the friends and …

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Court Blow to Romanian PM’s Summit Ambitions

In a blow to Prime Minister Victor Ponta, the Constitutional Court has ruled that parliament has no right to decide who should represent Romania at EU meetings.Romania’s Constitutional Court on Wednesday ruled that parliament has no right to decide on whether the President of Prime Minister should represent Romania at …

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Greeks violently protest austerity measures

Police clashed with protesters hurling petrol bombs and bottles in central Athens Wednesday after an anti-government rally called as part of a general strike in Greece turned violent. Riot police used tear gas and pepper spray against several hundred demonstrators after the violence broke out near the country’s parliament. Protesters …

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