Balkans

The House of Representatives of the central parliament held its first session Tuesday (November 30th) since the October 3rd general elections. The chamber is composed of 42 lawmakers — 28 from the Federation of BiH and 14 from Republika Srpska. The Social Democratic Party, which emerged as the most popular …

The EU-Macedonia Joint Parliamentary Committee ended its two-day meeting in Brussels on Tuesday (November 30th) recommending the start of EU accession talks with Macedonia as soon as possible. The committee praised the country’s progress in the economic sector and cited progress in advancing political dialogue. The committee urged all political …

An amendment was adopted by the EU-Macedonian Joint Parliamentary Committee to the protection and maintenance of Bulgarian monuments and graves on the territory of the Republic of Macedonia.

The Serbian government has adopted a strategy for negotiations with Pristina. Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic said the strategy covered all disputable issues and was in coordination with Serbia’s state policy. According to informal reports only experts will be included in the talks. The dialog will be led by a …

Azerbaijani Ambassador to Bulgaria Emil Karimov presented his credentials to Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov this week. The Bulgarian anthem was performed in accordance with national protocol. During the meeting, Parvanov

European Parliament Rapporteur for Kosovo Ulrike Lunacek said in Priština yesterday that the EU had not set any official date when visas for Kosovo would be lifted. The statement was Lunacek’s reaction to Hashim Thaci’s recent comment that, if he were reelected as prime minister, the EU would

Bulgaria’s Finance Minister Simeon Djankov is on a three-day visit to Georgia. On Monday, Djankov he participated with a public lecture in a conference entitled “Making a Difference for Entrepreneurs: Reforming Business Regulation in Eastern Europe and Central Asia” in Georgia’s capital Tbilisi.

EU Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs Olli Rehn said on Sunday (November 28th) that Greece may be given more time to repay a 110 billion-euro emergency loan that the bloc and the IMF extended to the country in May. Finance ministers have agreed to look into the possibility of …

The EU-Macedonia Joint Parliamentary Committee kicks off a two-day meeting in Brussels on Monday (November 29th). According to draft conclusions quoted by Macedonia’s MIA news agency, the committee will back the European Commission’s recommendation to open accession talks with Skopje. The panel is also expected to urge Macedonia and Greece …

An appeals chamber of the Court of BiH will discuss a motion Monday (November 29th) filed by Branimir Glavas against his war crimes sentence. The former Croatian lawmaker was sentenced in July in Croatia to eight years in prison for war crimes against Serbian civilians during the 1991-1995 conflict. Glavas, …