Balkans

EU will not close doors after Croatia for membership. Macedonia is in a position to initiate talks with the EU, but the name issue is still pending. That is what EU Commissioner for Enlargement Stefan Fule said.

Germany backs the European perspective on Serbia. That is what German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle after a meeting with his Serbian counterpart Vuk Jeremic in Berlin. According to Guido Westerwelle Serbia has achieved significant progress on its way to the EU. He assessed the arrest of General Ratko Mladic as …

U.N. mediated talks on reunifying the divided island of Cyprus have ended without agreement in Geneva. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon hosted Greek Cypriot leader Dimitris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu for the third session of Cyprus talks since November.

The opposition Serb Progressive Party (SNS) would “halt the European road”, if the final condition for Serbia to join the EU would be to recognize Kosovo. This is according to party leader Tomislav Nikolić.

The Hague Tribunal has rejected Serb Radical Party (SRS) leader Vojislav Šešelj request to be temporarily released. Šešelj on Wednesday entered a plea on contempt of court charges and filed the motion for temporary release.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon called on leaders of the divided island of Cyprus to overcome their differences by October with a view to ending the conflict which obstructs Turkey’s admission into the European Union (EU). Ban met Greek Cypriot leader Dimitris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Derviş Eroğlu in Geneva. …

Hungary has sent a memorandum to European Union member states calling for a sustained policy of admitting Western Balkan countries as members. On July 6, Hungary also urged the EU to grant candidate status to Serbia and set a date for negotiating its EU membership by the end of this …

Council of Europe (CoE) Rapporteur Dick Marty will attend a debate on an OSCE resolution on combat against illicit trade in human organs, submitted by Serbia. The debate will take place on Saturday in Belgrade as part of the ongoing OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (PA) Annual Session. OSCE PA Permanent Committee …

Benjamin Netanyahu arrives on Thursday in Bulgaria, the first visit of an Israeli prime minister to the country for the last two decades. The Israeli delegation will include ministers of finance, telecommunications, construction and civil defense.

Serbian PM Mirko Cvetković said the first agreements reached in the dialogue between Belgrade and Priština “would benefit