Balkans

Greece is aiming to complete negotiations on its debt swap deal by the end of the week, the government’s spokesman said Wednesday, adding that the talks were at their “most delicate phase.” Charles Dallara, head of the Institute of International Finance — the body representing banks and other investment firms …

Bulgaria’s Cabinet approved, at a scheduled meeting on January 25 2012, a proposal to accept Schengen visas as equivalent to Bulgarian visas for short stays. This means that travellers who have Schengen visas will be

Bulgaria’s new President Rosen Plevneliev, who was officially inaugurated on Sunday, has been congratulated by his Macedonian counterpart George Ivanov in a phone conversation.

FYROM Vice Prime Minister Teuta Arifi and her Greek counterpart, Theodoros Pangalos, are to meet on Wednesday in Athens in a move to revive moribund talks on the ‘name’ dispute. The meeting of the senior politicians will be the first formal contact between officials from two countries since Greece formed …

Kosovo’s judiciary still fails to meet European and international standards, since it is not fully independent from the executive branch, a newly released OSCE report finds. The independent functioning of the judicial system in Kosovo still faces a number of shortcomings, and judges continue to

Prime Minister Igor Luksic says all segments of Montenegro’s society should be involved in the country’s EU negotiations. Luksic said that the internal consensus reached on European integration has been one of the most important successes of the state, and must be maintained as Podgorica continues its path towards membership …

Bosnia’s state prosecution has suspended an investigation into 58 people suspected of assisting Hague indictee Radovan Karadzic while he was in hiding. Karadzic, who is currently on trial at the Hague Tribunal accused of crimes against humanity and genocide in Bosnia, was in hiding in Bosnia and Serbia from 1996 …

The European Parliament has urged the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to create a joint expert committee with Bulgaria to tackle the sensitive issue of history education in the country. The committee’s task will be to further the objective interpretation of historical events, increase

Serbia can become candidate for EU membership if it fulfills the conditions in time, EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fule said on Tuesday. Fule met with Serbia’s Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremić in Brussels today.

Bulgarian President Rossen Plevneliev is going to Brussels on January 25 2012 for talks with European Unions leaders as well as Nato Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Plevneliev’s office said. The trip to Brussels is Plevneliev’s first since taking office as head of state. His programme includes meetings with European Council …