Balkans

Cyprus is ready to start direct talks with Turkey to find a solution to the Mediterranean island’s longstanding division, Cypriot Foreign Minister Markos Kyprianou declared on Friday (December 17th). “We should start the direct exchange of opinions. We should directly share our demands and our complaints,” Kyprianou said. Ankara has …

The EU leaders have approved the proposal to grant Montenegro a status of a candidate country. In November the EC recommended granting the status to Montenegro. The Balkan country applied for EU membership in December 2008. On May 1 it received a status of an associated country.

Numerous irregularities that marred the December 12th snap elections are expected to prompt another round of voting in three municipalities, local media reported on Thursday (December 16th). The Central Election Commission (CEC) said the decision will be announced after the complaints and alleged violations are thoroughly investigated. Sources inside the …

Officials in Kosovo and Albania angrily deny allegations of weapons, drugs and human organ trafficking that Council of Europe (CoE) Special Rapporteur Dick Marty has made against Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci. Acting President Jakup Krasniqi said on Wednesday (December 15th) that the report

The appeals chamber of the Court of BiH upheld on Tuesday, December 14th, the war crimes sentence handed down to Branimir Glavas. In July, Croatia sentenced the former parliament member to eight years

The UN Security Council two days ago urged Greek and Turkish Cypriots to accelerate talks to reunify their divided island. The Council expressed concern about the pace of negotiations in recent months and urged “decisive progress in the near future”. The Council also adopted a resolution extending the mandate of …

The European Union said Wednesday it was ready to probe Kosovo’s prime minister Hashim Thaci over accusations he was involved in organ-trafficking and other crimes in the aftermath of the 1998-99 war with Serbia. The report, by Swiss Council of Europe deputy Dick Marty, accuses Thaci of being in charge …

European Union foreign ministers have agreed to grant official EU candidate status to Montenegro, the fourth former Yugoslav republic to take this step towards European integration. “We have given the green light for Montenegro for candidate status,” Belgian Foreign Minister Steven Vanackere was cited by the AP as saying on …

Serbian and Russian Foreign Ministers Vuk Jeremić and Sergey Lavrov discussed bilateral and international cooperation in Moscow today. The two ministries are preparing a declaration on strategic partnership between Russia and Serbia. 

As of Wednesday, the citizens of Bosnia-Herzegovina who possess biometric passports will be able to travel visa-free to the EU member states. This also applies to trips to Switzerland, Iceland, and Norway. The European Council approved on November 8 the decision on visa abolition for citizens of Bosnia-Herzegovina and Albania.