Balkans

Bozidar Djelic started a two-day visit to Brussels on Monday to lobby for Serbia in the run-up to the expected publication of a European Commission “opinion”, or “avis” on Serbia’s possible candidate status. After meeting Enlargement Commissioner Fuele, Djelic said Fuele had especially commended Serbia’s good results in reforming justice, …

The Serbian government has decided to bring North Kosovo back into Serbia’s tax system, cancelling the regulation about customs procedure at border checkpoints, which actually means that Serbia will collect VAT in North Kosovo again.

Serbian Deputy PM Božidar Đelić began his two-day visit to Brussels, where he will hold bilateral meetings with officials of the European Commission and parliament. He will also open the “Serbia Days in European Parliament”.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon met with Kosovo officials that “Kosovo institutions should coordinate their activities with the international missions”. Ban said they should “coordinate with KFOR and EULEX in establishing peace in north Kosovo” – according to a statement issued in Priština.

EU candidate Turkey has again threatened to freeze relations with the bloc over the thorny topic of Cyprus. Ankara is angry at plans to give internationally-recognized Greek Cypriot authorities the EU’s rotating presidency next July.

The Greek government prepared for crisis talks with European and International Monetary Fund officials Monday amid intensifying fears of potential default after euro-zone finance ministers last week further delayed a decision on the nation’s next round of financial aid.

All major roads in northern Kosovo remain blocked but the situation remains calm following the deployment of EU police and Kosovo customs officials to border crossings with Serbia last Friday. Serbs in northern Kosovo have strengthened barricades on major roads and are reportedly refusing to remove them until Kosovo police …

The Netherlands will “work against” Bulgaria and Romania joining the Schengen Agreement, the country’s Immigration Minister Gerd Leers promised late on Thursday evening. Neither Bulgaria nor Romania is doing enough to combat corruption, Leers reportedly told

Romania and the United States signed a missile defence agreement during President Traian Basescu’s visit to Washington on Tuesday (September 13th). The accord is being widely hailed in Bucharest as a major security breakthrough. It was signed by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her Romanian counterpart, Foreign Affairs …

The visit, just one day before Pristina and EULEX resume customs and police control over the northern border gates 1 and 31, prompted Serbs in Northern Kosovo to block the main roads with make-shift barricades, as well as the main bridge over the Ibar that connects the ethnically divided city …