Balkans

Right-wing opposition party says Croatia’s EU accession will affect Polish interests – and so needs to be ratified in parliament by a two-thirds majority.Opposition nationalists in Poland are attempting to set conditions on Croatia’s EU accession, on the grounds that Croatian membership will affect Poland’s influence and its share of …

“In Bosnia the government and its politicians are not only unable to resolve the problems; they have become a key problem themselves,” report by prominent think tank warns.In a report published on Friday, the International Crisis Group, ICG, a leading think tank, warns that Bosnia and Herzegovina faces the risk …

The Constitutional Court of Serbia has decided to overturn a decision by the High Judicial Council and reappoint 126 judges sacked as part of controversial judicial reforms.The Constitutional Court of Serbia accepted the complaints of 126 judges who were dismissed from the courts after the judicial reforms of 2009. The …

Ban Ki-moon will visit the former Yugoslavia for a week, starting July 19, a Belgrade newspaper reported – noting the Serbian President’s concern of the nature of his visit to Kosovo.This will be the first visit to the region by a UN Secretary General since the dissolution of Yugoslavia. According …

The deputy prime minister and the deputy finance minister resigned on Monday, facing corruption charges, while the recently resigned ministry of justice returned to his post.Deputy Prime Minister Bujar Bukoshi and Deputy Finance Minister Astrit Haraqija resigned on Monday while they are investigated for corruption. In a further shake-up of …

Constitutional Court ruling, that some provisions of the law on Serbia’s northern province are not in line with the constitution, reveals liberal-nationalist split.The court ruling has revealed sharp divides in Serbia between liberals who champion provincial autonomy and nationalists who see it as a threat to Serbian unity. Bojan Pajtic, …

Montenegro and its Bosniak community marked the 17th anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide by saying that the country has still not fully faced up to its past, and naming one of the streets in the capital after a Bosnian war hero.An NGO forum of Bosniaks and Muslims, the Parliament of …

Reporters Without Borders has condemned the assault on Halil Matoshi, a reporter and political analyst, who was attacked this week in Pristina.Matoshi was attacked on July 10 by three unidentified men, one of them armed with a knife, on a street of the capital, but escaped with relatively minor injuries.

Albanian parties reached an agreement on Wednesday as the mandate of the parliamentary commission tasked with improving the electoral code was due to expire.The agreement covers a series of divisive issues, including the re-election of the members of the Central Electoral Commission, CEC, the use of technology in the electoral …

The percentage of unemployment among men of working age in the EU is highest in Bulgaria, Eurostat, the statistical office of the EU, says.The share of unemployed men in Bulgaria is 25 per cent, followed by Romania at 13.5 per cent and Hungary at 11.7 per cent. Data of Bulgaria’s …