Balkans

The Albanian local elections process set for May 8th should set a good example, head of the Central Election Commission Arben Ristani said on Sunday (January 16th). “We hope that political parties, which I believe

US Ambassador to Kosovo Christopher Dell is urging Kosovo politicians to forget an endless election cycle, and instead focus on the rule of law, good governance, and economic growth. In an editorial published on Saturday (January 15th), Dell wrote that Kosovo needs an honest

The Dutch government will end its mission to Bosnia-Herzegovina in mid-November this year at the latest, bringing to a conclusion the Netherland’s participation in Operation Althea since December 2004. Initially, 530 Dutch soldiers were stationed in Bosnia which was ravaged by a civil war between 1992 and 1995, but today …

Greek Deputy Foreign Minister Spyros Kouvelis will visit Azerbaijan in February 2-3. The Greek and Azerbaijani sides are considering more than 10 new projects of the inter-ministerial agreements. The parties are also working on the draft programme of cooperation between Azerbaijan and Greece in the fields of science, education and …

The Macedonian state leaders are considering asking the UN General Assembly to adopt the name Republic of Macedonia as the country’s official name. The idea popped up when Syria and Zimbabwe recognized the country’s constitutional name, making the total number

Greek President Karolos Papoulias will pay an official visit to Azerbaijan. The visit is scheduled for April 4-6. He will arrive in Baku in response to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s visit to Greece in February last year, which led to a significant revival of bilateral ties and relations. It is expected …

Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov said that Bulgaria is “an extremely reliable” external border of the European Union. “The Bulgarian government and the Interior Ministry are fulfilling their commitment to procuring

The European Union (EU) is aiming at preventing illegal immigration passage through the land border of Turkey and Greece, with a technical delegation from EU Commission examining the border between Turkey and Greece on Friday. Stefano Manservisi, the commission’s director-general for home affairs, told local media that he had held …

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Saturday (January 15th) that all concerned parties should encourage Turkish and Greek Cypriots in their efforts to find a settlement to the long-standing Cypriot issue. His remarks came a few days after Angela Merkel visited Cyprus and criticised the Turkish Cypriots for lack of …

EU Internal Market and Services Commissioner Michel Barnier said on Friday (January 14th) that the prospect of Greece leaving the eurozone is out of the question. “Greece is still in a state of emergency, but has reasons to hope for a better future, since there are prospects for development. Amidst …