Balkans

Constitutional Court decides by six votes to three that the result of an impeachment referendum against President Traian Basescu was invalid.By a majority of six votes to three, the judges of the court decided that the July 29 referendum on the President’s future was not valid because turnout did not …

For the first time, the University of Belgrade has found its place on the list of the 500 best universities in the world.After years of trying to enter the so-called Shanghai list, the University of Belgrade has finally won its place there – one of only two in the region. …

New US ambassador urges Kosovo to show results when it comes to pledges to enforce the rule of law.The United States expects concrete results from Kosovo in fighting organized crime and corruption. This is the message that Washington’s new ambassador, Tracey Jacobson, brought to Pristina on presenting her credentials to …

Bosnia looks likely to miss the EU’s August 31 deadline to resolve the question of the 2009 Sejdic-Finci ruling.The EU “Road Map” for Bosnia – a list of obligations that the country has to meet by given deadlines, given in June in Brussels – is likely to be missed if …

Catholic bishop criticizes atheist Prime Minister for not having gone to church on the day marking Croatian statehood on June 25.Bishop Vlado Kosic of Sisak, said while presiding over a religious service that Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic, a declared atheist, was deliberately promoting atheism.

A worldwide survey by the Pew Research Center finds Muslims in the Balkans are markedly less rigorous in their religious practices than their counterparts elsewhere.According to the survey less than half of the Muslims surveyed in the Balkans see religion as central to their lives – and only 15 per …

Agency blamed deteriorating finances and recent measures strengthening parliament’s control over the central bank.The US agency Fitch Ratings has downgraded Serbia’s outlook from stable to negative, citing the weakening fiscal position and low economic growth. “The negative outlook reflects the deterioration in the country’s fiscal and external financing position and …

On visit to Hvar island, Milanovic says economic recovery will begin in 2013, while pledging more investment in country’s war-torn undeveloped areas.On a visit to the Adriatic island of Hvar on Thursday, Croatia’s Prime Minister expressed his belief that the shaken economy will start to recover next year. “The crisis …

As a part of the plan to fight the economic crisis, the new government plans to change the tax policy, increasing taxes on the rich and raising VAT.Serbia’s Minister for Trade, Rasim Ljajic, said the biggest problem facing the new government is not Kosovo or EU integration but the difficult …

Serbian PM Ivica Dačić has said that it is uncertain when the Belgrade-Priština dialogue will continue. He added that he would discuss the issue with EU officials in Brussels on September 4.