Balkans

The International Monetary Fund mission will arrive in Belgrade on Thursday to discuss a new precautionary arrangement with Serbia. By the end of this week, the IMF mission will have preliminary talks with the Serbian authorities, and the official

Bulgaria’s Central Electoral Commission (CEC) has made it clear it would welcome observers for the presidential and local elections on October 23, 2011, if the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe decides to send any.

The retrial of former Kosovo Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj for war crimes begins today in The Hague. Ramush Haradinaj, Lahi Ibrahimaj and Idriz Balaj were returned to the International Criminal Tribunal

Serbian Ambassador in Podgorica, Zoran Lutovac, has insisted that Montenegro is again leading an inappropriate campaign against Serbia while its politicians debate a new election law. 

Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Bozidar Djelic says the next round of talks between Serbia and Kosovo will take place September 2 in Brussels. The Belgrade-Pristina talks mandated by the European Union began in March, but stalled last month after Kosovo imposed a ban on imports from

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu is set to embark on a nine-day tour in four Balkan countries. Kosovo will be Davutoğlu’s first stop, where he will stay from Aug. 26-28 before heading off to Bosnia and Herzegovina for another

The charges against wartime Bosnian Serb military commander, Ratko Mladic should be split in two trials, according to a request from prosecutors at the United Nations war crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia on Wednesday.

Serbian Ministry for Kosovo State Secretary Oliver Ivanović said Wednesday that the Serbian government was willing to accept a joint customs form. He pointed out, however, that Serbia would never accept a “Kosovo” customs stamp.

The Serbian government will on September 8-10 organize the Serbia-EU Forum, which will be attended by more than 400 of participants from several countries. The event will be modeled after the Davos Forum – said Serbian Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration Božidar Đelić.

Kosovo refuses to change its customs stamp in line with proposals recently outlined by Serbia. Recent proposals circulating in Serbia to change the format of Kosovo’s custom stamp have been strongly rejected by Pristina.