Balkans

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 …

Croatian President Ivo Josipović has said that Serbia could only benefit from Croatia’s EU accession. “Serbia can only benefit from the fact that Croatia will become a member of the European Union in a year and a half, since it

European Union Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fuele has praised Montenegro for being an open and reliable partner, setting clear priorities and creating, what he termed, ‘an unbelievably inclusive framework for addressing the enlargement process challenges’.

The foreign ministers of Bulgaria, Romania and Greece sent a joint letter to EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fule and regional policy Commissioner Johannes Hahn on Thursday proposing a strategy to speed up the integration of countries from the Western Balkans. The three main objectives of the ministers’ joint strategy are: …