Balkans

The EU has decided to extend duty-free goods imports from Western Balkan countries until 2015 and the European Parliament approved the decision. This will be retroactively applied from Jan. 1 this year, by passing a regulation.

A delegation of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe will observe the holding of local elections in Bulgaria on October 23, which coincide with a presidential vote, the CE announced. The delegation of the Council of Europe will meet with government representatives, including members …

UN chief Ban Ki-moon on Monday urged Serbia and Kosovo to patch up their boundary dispute, saying blocked borders were unacceptable. “I am urging them to resolve all the pending issues, it is unacceptable that the borders are blocked,” said Ban in Bern. “It is a many-year conflict, a political …

Macedonia is ready to start the accession talks with the EU, said Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski. In his words, the recommendation of the European Commission (EC) for launching the negotiations conforms the progress of the reforms and the positive results achieved over the last year. “We have done everything …

Turkey will freeze its relations with the EU if Cyprus takes up the rotating presidency of the Union in the second half of 2012 as scheduled, stated Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The Turkish PM stated that his country does not wish to hold diplomatic relations with the “so-called state” …

Officials of the Serb Radical Party (SRS) proposed to parliament on Monday an urgent adoption of their draft declaration regarding Serbia’s EU bid. The opposition party is suggesting that there should be an end to political talks between Serbia and the EU and NATO, regarding the country’s rapprochement and full …

Local Serbs in the northern Kosovo towns of Leposavic and Lolasin are reportedly

Vehicle border crossings between Macedonia and Greece will be shut for the next ten days, due to a strike by Greek customs officers, the Macedonian Government has said. During the strike only pedestrians will be allowed to go

European Enlargement Commissioner Štefan Füle is to arrive on a visit to Belgrade on Friday. He will meet with Serbia’s state leaders, whom he will present with EC’s report, and will discuss the country’s European integration progress.

The European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso Thursday evening reiterated Commission’s support for Bulgaria’s accession to Schengen. Barroso, who arrived in Sofia to participate in a European People’s Party Bureau Group Meeting, told a joint press conference with Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov that Bulgaria has met all the necessary …