Balkans

The Greek army has stated that it will considerably reduce its presence in the peacekeeping mission in Kosovo. This comes as Athens is fighting a large debt crisis, the Albanian language media in Priština reported on Friday.

Foreign ministers of Serbia and Slovakia, Vuk Jeremić and Miroslav Lajčak, met on Thursday on Bratislava. They said that the EU-Western Balkans summit in Sarajevo earlier this week had confirmed the EU’s commitment to continued enlargement.

Bulgaria relaxes visa procedures for Russian, Ukrainian, Belarussian and Moldovan nationals following an order signed by the Bulgarian Foreign Minister Nikolay Mladenov this Friday. The news comes immediately after Mladenov reported Friday morning that he has a draft ready for facilitating the visa regime for those countries.

I’m confident that there will be new talks on Kosovo status, State Secretary of Serbia’s Ministry for Kosovo and Metohija Oliver Ivanovic said. He said that talks on Kosovo status are inevitable and there are always the better option than tensions, which can be caused if there are no negotiations. …

Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov:  We are Euro-Atlantic-oriented country. We work at good level with the Russian, American and European offices. The Prime Minister said that Deputy U.S. Secretary of State responsible for drug sector will arrive on Tuesday in Bulgaria. It is expected the two officials to discuss police …

Measures for further alleviations of the visa regime for Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian and Moldovan citizens will be initiated at the order of Bulgarian Minister Nikolay Mladenov is order to achieve an immediate effect on tourist flow, press centre of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced. Visas for organized tourist groups …

EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fuele said on Wednesday (June 2nd) he would like to see a solution to the political crisis in Albania before the European Parliament (EP) discusses lifting the visa regime. “I would not like to answer on behalf of other institutions, however the EP respects EC decisions,” …

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon on Wednesday (June 2nd) appointed Lisa Buttenheim as his special representative and head of the UN peacekeeping mission in Cyprus. Buttenheim, of the United States, will replace Taye-Brook Zerihoun of Ethiopia, who was appointed in April to a UN post in New York.

NATO closed down its office in Tirana on Wednesday (June 2nd), a little more than a year after Albania joined the Alliance in April 2009. In his remarks, President Bamir Topi thanked all peacekeepers serving in missions around the world.

The EU-Western Balkans meeting in Sarajevo on Wednesday (June 2nd) reaffirmed that countries in the region have EU membership prospects, and afterwards, Kosovo Foreign Minister Skender Hyseni noted “All participants … asked for acceleration of the integration process.” He added that the meeting underscored a commitment to expand visa liberalisation …