Balkans

Greece’s cabinet has given unanimous backing to a controversial plan by PM George Papandreou to hold a referendum on a EU debt rescue package. He told an emergency cabinet meeting that a referendum would offer “a clear mandate” for austerity measures demanded by other eurozone members. Stock markets recorded big …

Hague Chief Prosecutor Serge Brammertz says the prosecution would do everything it could so that the trial of Ratko Mladć would be sped up as much as possible. The former military leader of Serbs in Bosnia was indicted for war crimes and genocide.

Romania’s President Traian Basescu has reiterated during a visit in Belgrade his country’s position that it has no intention whatsoever to recognize the independence of Kosovo. After meeting with his Serbian counterpart Boris Tadic on Tuesday, Basescu stressed that “at this point there is not a single condition under which …

Bosnian police today detained a Bosnian Serb ex-police commander suspected of having ordered the murder of 10 Muslim civilians at the start of the 1992-95 siege of Sarajevo, prosecutors said.

Bulgaria’s Central Electoral Commission (CEC) is incapable of making decisions on critical issues in a timely or efficient manner, according to the observer mission of the OSCE. The observers of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe point out the problems surrounding the processing

Macedonia’s head of state Gjorge Ivanov has sent a congratulatory letter to Rosen Plevneliev, the President-Elect of Bulgaria, expressing his hopes for further deepening of the bilateral ties.

Croatia will keep on supporting Macedonia in its Euro-Atlantic bid. As a future member of the EU Croatia will not put hurdles on Macedonia’s road, despite the open bilateral issue

Croatia and Macedonia have signed an extradition agreement as part of a wider regional plan to prevent citizens holding dual citizenship from fleeing to another country to avoid prosecution at home. In the presence of the two countries’ presidents, Macedonia’s Gjorge Ivanov

Serbian Parliament Speaker Slavica Đukić-Dejanović says that Serbia will not give up on its EU pathway even if it does not get the EU candidate status on December 9. She however added that she believed that this would not be the case.

Romanian President Traian Basescu will visit Serbia on Tuesday, where he will confer with top government officials. During his visit, Basescu is scheduled to meet with Serbian President Boris Tadić, the president’s press service released in a statement. The two countries’ delegations should confer after a closed-door meeting between the …