Balkans

Macedonia could get its much-desired start date for EU accession talks by the end of this year provided it reaches a “name” compromise with Greece by then, says European Parliament rapporteur on Macedonia, Richard Howitt. 

Macedonia will keep the European Commission recommendation to start negotiations for EU membership, but the country will not negotiate while Brussels sees no progress in talks on the name. That is what unnamed

Bulgaria will join the Schengen zone for sure, but the exact date is the issue, according to US Ambassador in Sofia, James Warlick. The diplomat said on Tuesday, pointing out that Bulgaria had fulfilled all technical requirements and Brussels will give it a green

KFOR members removed on Tuesday morning barbed wire from the Brnjak administrative crossing, which was shut down on September 16. German and French troops of the NATO forces in the province removed the barbed wire from the checkpoint.

In a letter to Brussels, Pristina warns that it will reactivate its trade ban with Serbia if Belgrade fails to honour the September 2 deal. Kosovo’s government on Monday sent a letter to the European Union, calling

The UN envoy in the Greece-Macedonia ‘name’ talks, Matthew Nimetz, has no plans to visit Athens and Skopje any time soon, Greek media report him as saying in New York. Greek media reported that Nimetz said this after a meeting in New York with the Greek Foreign Minister, Stavros Lambrinidis, …

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.