Balkans

Minority groups in Serbia are preparing to boycott the country’s census due to disagreements over the ethnicity of data collectors and the language the census forms have been written in. Ethnic Albanians in South Serbia and Bosniaks (Bosnian Muslims) from the southwestern region

The Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) at the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, OSCE, will monitor the October 23 local and presidential elections in Bulgaria. ODHIR has opened in Sofia on Tuesday a Limited Mission for Election Assessment, Vadim Zhdanovich, Head of the OSCE/ODIHR Assessment …

EULEX Spokesman Nicholas Hawton said on Wednesday that a EULEX prosecutor would investigate the Tuesday events at the Jarinje checkpoint. “EULEX is assessing the circumstance of the violence with the view to launch an investigation into what happened,” Hawton said, adding that the

Montenegro expects to get a positive opinion from the EU regarding fulfillment of conditions for the EU accession in October. EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fule will bring the good news to Podgorica on October 13. A day after the European Commission publishes opinion about fulfillment of conditions for Montenegro’s European …

The last Dutch peacekeepers in Bosnia will leave next month after a two-decade mission overshadowed by the massacre of thousands of Muslim men and boys at Srebrenica in 1995. “We are ending the mission at the end of October when the largest part of our troops return home, except for …

An EU-mediated dialogue process scheduled to take place between representatives of Serbia and Kosovo in Brussels has been postponed after the Serbian delegation demanded a change in the discussion agenda. The seventh round of Belgrade-Pristina talks was due to take place today, covering the subjects of energy, telecommunications and Kosovo’s …

Rasim Ljajic says Serbia should adopt a two-pronged policy towards Kosovo: accepting the ‘reality’ of the loss of the south, while encouraging the Serb-run north to peacefully pursue its campaign for self-determination. In a break with Belgrade’s official line on Kosovo – which is that the whole of the ex-province …

Bosnia announced on Tuesday it will steps against its nationals who abuse the visa-free travel regime to EU countries, in force since late 2010, after warnings from Brussels. “I am certain that once we gather all the information we will adopt decisions that will be restrictive for all those who …

At least six Kosovo Serbs and four NATO troops were injured in clashes at a disputed border crossing on Tuesday, NATO officials and local authorities said. Eyewitnesses said troops from the NATO peacekeeping force KFOR fired teargas and rubber bullets to disperse a crowd rallying against the removal of a …

Bucharest will withdraw its police officers from Kosovo by the end of this year following the completion of their tour of duty. Romania’s Supreme Council of National Defence, CSAT, has decided that the 178 police officers currently