Balkans

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 …

The first trucks entered Kosovo from Serbia through the Merdare border in Podujevo, 30km northeast of Pristina, on Friday (September 16th), as the agreement on customs stamps was initiated. According to EULEX, the agreement was the last missing piece needed to relaunch a proper customs system. Kosovo became a single …

Leaders from six of Bosnia’s main parliamentary parties held a meeting in Sarajevo yesterday, ten days after similar talks were held in Mostar. Although agreement was achieved on the subjects of state census, law on military aid, military property and the representation of Roma in government, the most important decision …

Meta was charged with corruption in May after a video was broadcast appearing to show him discussing corrupt deals with another former minister, Dritan Prifti. The three new experts will review the video’s authenticity, which Meta contends had been doctored and his words taken out of context.

Serb-run northern Kosovo remained calm on Saturday, one day after the controversial deployment of EU police and Kosovo customs officials on border crossings with Serbia. Kosovo customs staff and EULEX police arrived by helicopter at the crossings at Jarinje and Brnjak at around 8am on Friday under an agreement with …

Macedonian Foreign Minister Nikola Poposki leaves Tuesday on an official visit to Belgrade. During the visit Poposki will meet with Serbian counterpart Vuk Jeremic. The two will discuss the development of the bilateral cooperation and support in the Euro-Atlantic processes in the two countries.

There are no open issues standing between Macedonia and Kosovo, Kosovo’s ambassador to Skopje Skender Durmishi after meeting with Mayor of Debar Argetim Fida. In Durmishi’s words, there are no open issues but there are new motives and hopes for further development of the bilateral relations and cooperation. Durmishi gave …

Ahead of a meeting in Sarajevo on Wednesday, Peter Sorensen pleads with Bosnia’s leaders to let people ‘have an ordinary life’. In a move to nudge Bosnia’s quarreling leaders in the direction of forming a central government, Peter Sorensen, the EU’s Special Representative to Bosnia, met the Bosnian Serb leader, …