Balkans

Kosovo’s ‘supervised independence’ will end next year when the International Civilian Office (ICO), who watches the progress, wraps up its mission. ICO, who’s mission is to guide Kosovo through its first years, is scheduled to shut operations by the end of next year. 

Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha nominated two new ministers on Tuesday. Eduard Halimi was named the new minister of justice, and Aldo Bumçi the new minister of culture and tourism.

At the forum that took place at Belgrade on Tuesday, the participants agreed that without the European Union the Western Balkans would be like in the 90’s. The forum was attended by civil representatives

Croatia’s Prime Minster Jadranka Kosor on Wednesday hailed the arrest of fugitive Goran Hadzic, accused over massacres and deportations in her country during its 1991-1995 war of independence.

As first Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu and then Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced that relations would freeze with the EU during the Greek Cypriot presidency in the latter part of 2012 unless

Bulgaria and Romania need to make further progress in judicial reform and in the fight against corruption and, in the case of Bulgaria, also in the fight against organised crime. The reports stress in particular that the judiciary

Serbian President announces the arrest of Serbia’s last remaining UN-indicted war crimes suspect, the former leader of the Croatian Serbs, Goran Hadzic. Goran Hadzic was arrested at 8.24am, Serbia’s President, Boris Tadic, told

After a day-long discussion, Macedonia’s ruling coalition voted on Tuesday to abandon four war-crimes cases related to the 2001 conflict.

Kosovo talks which were expected to yield new agreements in Brussels on Wednesday have been postponed until September. An EU assessment found that Serbia and Kosovo are unable to compromise on the subjects of the talks, and it would be better to wait.

Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fule on Tuesday in Brussels pronounced Albania’s May 8 local elections for Tirana “not good”. “The elections in Tirana were not good, as they demonstrated beyond doubt that the electoral framework needs to be reformed,” Fule told a joint press conference