Balkans

Outgoing Kosovo Albanian Interior Minister Bajram Redzepi says that northern Kosovo will not be on the agenda of the Belgrade-Priština talks. He told local newspapers that “the problem of the north cannot be solved in one year and that it requires a long-term approach”. “I will insist that the north …

Serbia expects to receive EU candidate status by the end of 2011, according to the country’s Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic. Serbian PM is also positive that his country will obtain a date for starting accession negotiations by the end of this year. “If we use this year in the properly …

Greece and Macedonia’s representatives, with the mediation of UN envoy Matthew Nimetz, are to meet on January 27 in New York to negotiate over the name of the Former Yugoslavian republic, Macedonian media and the foreign ministry informed.The talks will be renewed after a seven-week break.

What is the condition of al-Qaida, and what are its prospects in 2011 and beyond? The movement commissions the well-regarded SWISH management agency to deliver a further independent evaluation, to which openDemocracy has exclusive access. By Paul Rogers A report from the South Waziristan Institute of Strategic Hermeneutics to the …

Bosnia-Herzegovina has taken over the presidency of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), sparking concerns that the country’s complicated and indeed paralyzed political situation will have negative consequences on the world body, and at home. Expectedly, Bosnia’s politicians have provided assurances that their own ethno-political conflicts will not keep them …

Bosnia and Herzegovina on Saturday assumed the rotating UN Security Council presidency for the month of January. Bosnia and Herzegovina’s permanent representative to the United Nations, Ivan Barbalic, took over the rotating Council presidency from his American counterpart, U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice, who held the presidency for December 2010.

Cypriot President Demetris Christofias said in his New Year address on Friday (December 31st) that he will continue efforts to reach a settlement of the long-standing Cypriot

In his New Year address, High Representative Valentin Inzko said that forming a government after the October elections should be the politicians’ top priority in

Hashim Thaci said on Friday (December 31st) that a recent Council of Europe report accusing him of involvement in illegal human organ trafficking activities may hamper future talks with Belgrade. Thaci said that Marty’s Report is an attack against the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia. At the same time, he …

Croatia abolished visas Saturday (January 1st) for Albanian citizens travelling to its territory. Before this, only summer travel was visa-free. From now on, Albanians will be able to spend up to 90 days in Croatia without a visa. The foreign ministry in Tirana welcomed the move, saying it would boost …