Balkans

Thousands of members and supporters of the opposition Socialist Party (SP) rallied in Tirana on Friday (May 14th) on behalf of about 200 people who started hunger strikes two weeks ago, demanding transparency in the June 2009 general elections. The protestors gathered in the main square chanting “Open the ballot …

The Higher Court in Podgorica on Saturday (May 15th) sentenced six former members of the Yugoslav National Army (JNA) for war crimes. They were found guilty of ordering and committing torture against prisoners of war and civilians between October 1991 and August 1992 during an attack on Dubrovnik, and got …

More than 10,000 people gathered in downtown Athens on Saturday (May 15th) to protest the government’s austerity measures. The action, organised by the labour union of the Communist Party, PAME, was a continuation of similar protests in the capital for the past week. A 24-hour general strike will be held …

Presidents of Kosovo, Albania, Macedonia and Montenegro will gather in Kosovo next month, local media said. The aim of the mini-summit, due to take place in the town of Prizren, is to promote regional cooperation.

Serbian Deputy PM Božidar Đelić stated in Zagreb on Friday that Serbia supports Croatia’s accession in the European union in 2012. It is seen as a signal of further enlargement of the union and an incentive to the region countries to persist on their path to the EU, he explained.

Johannes Swoboda, vice-president of the European Parliament’s delegation for relations with south-east Europe said one of the solutions for Serbs in Kosovo would be autonomy as was the case with Serbs in BiH with the help of the Dayton treaty.

Serbian Prime Minister Mirko Cvetković will meet with his Croatian counterpart Jadranka Kosor in Zagreb. With recent improvements in relations between Serbia and Croatia, started by several meetings between President’s Boris Tadić and Ivo Josipović, the two prime ministers will meet on Friday in hopes of continuing the trend. Along …

Turkish Prime Minister Redzep Erdogan will kick off his 2-day visit to Greece, aimed at improving Greek-Turkish ties. He will be accompanied by another 10 Turkish ministers and over 100 Turkish businessmen. A visit to Greece by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan this week marks “the start of a …

The process of Western Balkans EU integration depends mainly on the domestic politicians and not on Brussels, EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fule said. Asked about the progress made by Western Balkan countries, Fule said that EU needs one’ country’s green light in order to start accession talks with Macedonia.

Romania is no case in the situation of Greece, and has all the instruments necessary to avoid such situation, President Traian Basescu told a press conference Thursday. “Contrary to what some say on TV that Romania is in the same situation as Greece, we still have 2011 and 2012 … …