Balkans

Bulgaria and Romania will spend further months in the waiting room to join the European Union’s Schengen visa zone after the Netherlands continued to insist that the two countries have not made sufficient progress against organised crime and corruption.

The governments of Bulgaria and Israel are going to hold a second joint sitting, the two countries’ Foreign Ministers Nikolay Mladenov and Avigdor Lieberman have made it clear. Mladenov explained in Sofia Friday that his meeting

New Bosnian Foreign Minister Zlatko Lagumdzija says European integration is more of a priority now that neighbouring Serbia has obtained candidate status. Serbia’s success this week in obtaining EU candidate status should encourage Bosnia to

EU leaders and Serbian ministers hailed the decision to grant Serbia candidate status, though Serbia’s main opposition leader said the achievement would mean little if the country remained under the same government. President Boris Tadic congratulated Serbia on obtaining EU candidate status late on Thursday night.

Bulgaria is withdrawing its ambassador from Belarus a day after Minsk ordered the ambassadors of Poland and the EU to leave the country, Bulgarian Foreign Minister Nikolay Mladenov has announced. “After yesterday President Alexander Lukashenko kicked out

A two-day summit of EU leaders will begin in Brussels on Thursday and the final decision on Serbia’s EU candidate status is expected to be made tonight. According to a schedule, the EU leaders should discuss whether to grant Serbia the

Nikola Gruevski is set to meet Greek counterpart Lucas Papademos at the sidelines of the EU Summit in Brussels on Thursday. Over a month ago, PM Gruevski invited the Greek PM to dialogue. Papademos accepted the initiative

Estonia’s government will start discussions on whether the country should close its embassy in Bulgaria. The Estonian embassy in Sofia could be closed at the end of 2012. Estonia has reportedly analyzed the work of its diplomatic missions abroad, deciding to move its Ambassadors to several Balkan states to Tallinn.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte has said that the Netherlands will oppose Romania and Bulgaria’s entry into the Schengen zone until they implement reforms. A decision requires unanimity among member nations of the Schengen visa-free travel zone.

Bulgaria’s Cabinet has given a green light to the country’s accession to the draft EU Treaty on Stability, Coordination, and Governance in the Economic and Monetary Union. Thus, Bulgaria will be one of the 25 EU member states to join the so called EU fiscal pact, with the UK and …