Balkans

Croatia marked on Sunday (May 1st) the 16th anniversary of Operation Bljesak (Flash), in which Croatian forces removed Serb forces from the self-proclaimed Republic of Serbian Krajina. A delegation led by Parliament

Bulgaria and Romania’s bid to join the Schengen border-free area won the Civil Liberties Committee’s green light on Monday. They have met the necessary conditions, based on the evaluation reports on their preparations, say MEPs. However, Parliament must be kept informed of additional measures to be taken in the Bulgaria-Turkey-Greece

Kosovo’s Interior Minister Bajram Rexhepi has said the EU’s mission in his country, EULEX, has two options – either enhance its efficiency, or find a strategy to leave. Rexhepi’s statement is related with the enforcement of functions and authorities in Northern Kosovo and the beginning of the work of Kosovan …

Following his meeting on 28 April with Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs Dimitris Droutsas, Serbia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior Ivica Dacic thanked Athens on its support to the European course of Serbia and its accession to the EU as soon as possible.

EU foreign ministers are expected to endorse strategies for Bosnia and Herzegovina at a meeting in Brussels on Monday (21 March). The strategies are supposed to make more coherent use of existing funded programmes, but no major new money will be made available. The EU strategy for the region will …

Representatives of EU institutions and 14 countries along the Danube River met on Friday (April 29th) in the town of Vukovar to discuss the EU’s strategy for the Danube region and its role in improving peoples’ lives.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called for a speedy, effective and mutually acceptable resolution of the long-running dispute between Greece and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia over the latter country’s name, saying he was encouraged by recent steps taken by the two sides. 

Macedonian Minister of Foreign Affairs Antonio Milošoski met with the Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon late last evening. The two of them have discussed the naming dialogue between Greece and Macedonia and the latter’s application for UN Human Rights Council among other topics. Milošoski also presented the case …

On the second day of his visit to Bosnia, EU envoy Miroslav Lajcak will meet Serb officials and address a controversial referendum on cooperation with the state court. Lajcak, an envoy of EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, spoke with Croat and Bosniak leaders on Thursday and urged the rapid …

Republika Srpska (RS) President Milorad Dodik said on Thursday (April 28th) that Serbia should not interfere in Bosnia and Herzegovina’s (BiH) political situation but the country, as a guarantor of the Dayton Peace