Balkans

Minister says that medical tourism in Romania needs promoting as part of a drive to attract more visitors in general.As Romania seek to boost numbers of foreign visitors, the country’s medical services are being increasingly touted as an area deserving expansion on the grounds of quality and low prices. “Health …

Kosovo and Serbia honoured an EU-brokered deal on Tuesday by taking part in a meeting together in Brussels on the environment.Serbia and Kosovo officials finally sat down at the same table on Tuesday in Brussels, as both sides honoured an agreement on Kosovo’s representation at regional summits. The two parties …

Serbian President tells General Assembly he seeks top-level talks ‘in good faith’ with Kosovo, while reiterating Belgrade’s staunch opposition to Kosovo’s independence.President Tomislav Nikolic told the UN General Assembly on Tuesday that while Serbia would never recognize the independence of Kosovo, Belgrade was “committed to achieving a lasting peace between …

Without debate, Bulgaria’s parliament has chosen the 11 members of the new Supreme Judicial Council.Five of the 11 members of the council come from the ruling Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria party, GERB, two are from the main opposition Bulgarian Socialist Party, BSP, two are from an opposition ethnic …

An association of former Croatian prisoners of war has asked the Serbian president Tomislav Nikolic to allow them to visit the site of their former prison in Stajicevo, a village in the Vojvodina region.The Croatian ambassador to Belgrade passed on a letter from the NGO “Association of Jurists Vukovar 1991” …

In an attempt to rectify the EU’s expected negative assessment of its progress, Serbia is hurrying to address outstanding issues concerning the judiciary, education and Kosovo.Serbia’s new government is busy adopting last-minute reforms, in an attempt to impress EU officials compiling a progress report before its final version is released. …

The EU’s assessment of Serbia’s judicial reforms will not be positive, said the Serbian Minister of Justice after his meeting with the EU Commissioner for Enlargement.After his meeting in Brussels on Monday, the Serbian Justice Minister, Nikola Selakovic, said that the EU supports Serbia’s judicial reform programme, but is unlikely …

The Greek and Macedonian Foreign Ministers, Dimitris Avramopoulos and Nikola Poposki, met in New York on Monday – but no substantive talks on the “name” dispute took place at the introductory meeting.The two ministers met for an unofficial conversation at Macedonia’s request at the sidelines of the UN General Assembly …

Kosovo’s leader says he wants the European Union to formalize its relationship with the country by opening negotiations on a Stabilization and Association Agreement – the first step towards eventual membership. Prime Minister Hashim Thaci made the call at a meeting with the EU’s High Representative, Catherine Ashton, in New …

Ruling party leader’s announcement that a mainly Albanian area of the capital may become a municipality meets sceptical response, coming in the run-up to the October general election.Ethnic Albanian leaders in Montenegro responded cautiously to a pledge by the ruling party’s leader to re-establish a mainly Albanian municipality in the …