Balkans

Dacic Says Region Lacks Cooperation

Post-Yugoslav countries have made significant progress compared to the 1990s, but a number of reforms still need to be implemented, international and regional leaders concluded on Belgrade’s panel discussion.Addressing the Belgrade Security Forum, Serbia’s Prime Minister Ivica Dacic, said that the ex-Yugoslav countries have learnt the lessons from their troubled …

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Bosnia Marks Peace Day With Doves and Vows

Bosnia’s NGOs have marked September 21, International Peace Day, with an event in Sarajevo called “Peace Starts with a Smile“.More than a 100 children, teenagers, activists and, representatives from a wide range of civil society organizations gathered in front of Sarajevo’s cathedral to symbolically mark International Peace Day by reading …

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EULEX Seeks Regional Help in Organ Trafficking Probe

During his visit to Montenegro, Clint Williamson, head of the EULEX task force in charge of the Kosovo organ trafficking case, has called for regional cooperation in the investigation.Williamson met the Montenegrin interior minister, Ivan Brajovic, on Thursday. He presented the efforts of his team, which was formed in October …

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Kosovo Court Jails Jevro Pantelic For Nine Years

A Kosovo court sentenced Kosovo Serb businessman Jevro Pantelic to nine years’ jail for money laundering and other offences.A Kosovo court on Thursday sentenced Jevro Pantelic to nine years in jail for money laundering and organized crime, the EU rule of law mission, EULEX, said. Pantelic a businessman from the …

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Greece-Macedonia ‘Name’ Meeting Announced

The Greek and Macedonian foreign ministers, Dimitris Avramopoulos and Nikola Poposki, are to meet next Thursday in New York in an attempt to invigorate stalled ‘name’ talks.The two ministers will meet at the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, where Greece is expected to urge more active UN involvement in …

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OSCE Fears Elections May Slow Albania Reforms

The OSCE head in Albania, Eugen Wollfarth, has praised recent reforms in Albania, while expressing concerns that they might grind to a halt in 2013 during a ‘competitive’ election campaign.“In the last 12 months the political climate has improved as institutions made progress to regain their functionality,” Walfarth said in …

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Greek parties still unable to clinch deal on austerity

A deal on making further cuts to Greece’s budget will take a few more days at least, after the leaders behind the coalition government failed to agree details of an austerity package that is crucial to the financial survival of the country. Prime Minister Antonis Samaras met again Thursday with …

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Bosniak and Croat Former Fighters Protest Together

Over 200 veterans of the Bosnian war protested in front of the government building of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, demanding better pensions.The protesters – all former members of the Bosnian Army and the Croatian Defence Council – carried signs reading “How long will army pensioners be humiliated?“, “Politicians …

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Gnjilane Verdict is Political, Says Kosovo Party

Kosovo’s opposition party Alliance for the Future of Kosovo, AAK, criticised the sentencing of 11 Albanians by a court in Serbia as an attempt to put pressure on the ethnic Albanians in south Serbia.In a press release issued on Thursday, AAK, the party led by the ICTY defendant Ramush Haradinaj, …

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