Balkans

There is no indication that ex-Bosnian Serb army chief Ratko Mladic is suffering a terminal illness but he is still undergoing tests in prison, a UN war crimes court spokeswoman said Wednesday.

The Dutch parliament today decided not to ratify the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) before Chief Prosecutor Serge Brammertz’s official report. The SAA was signed between theh EU and Serbia in the spring of 2008, and must be confirmed in parliaments of all EU member-states.

The European Union (EU) has not promised Serbia to launch the accession talks but Belgrade will do its best to achieve this goal, said Serbian President Boris Tadic. “No one has promised a date for launching the accession talks,” Tadic said during the celebration of the 15th anniversary of the …

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Belgrade on Wednesday for a two-day official visit. The visit comes at the invitation of Serbian President Boris Tadić.

Bulgaria and Romania have met the necessary technical and legal criteria to join the Schengen area and their accession should be no longer postponed. This is the common opinion of the MEPs during the Tuesday debate in Strasbourg.

The Nabucco agreement will be signed by all countries involved in the project in the Turkish town of Kayseri. With the document the countries undertake the engagement to support the construction of the pipeline, which will transit natural gas from the Caspian region and the Middle East through Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania,

Just days after the general elections in Macedonia, the US reminds the government in Skopje that it has unfinished business regarding the name dispute with Greece. 

President of the European Council Herman van Rompuy said in Brussels late on Monday that the arrest of Ratko Mladić was “a turning point”. It was “an important step towards Serbia’s accession to the European Union”, said he.

Members of the European Parliament will debate on Tuesday the extension of Europe’s borderless Schengen zone to the newest members of the EU club, Bulgaria and Romania. The MEPs will vote on Wednesday.

Representatives from the European Commission and institutions from Bosnia-Herzegovina recently met in Brussels to discuss the process of integration of the country and its progress with fulfilling the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SSA).