Balkans

Croatian President: believes the trial of Dragan Vasiljkovic will be fair

Croatian President Ivo Josipovic said that he believes the trial of Dragan Vasiljkovic, who was arrested in Australia yesterday, will be fair. “I do believe that today in Croatia everybody can expect a fair trial. As in any legal system, we have all that is needed to monitor the quality …

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Croatia’s Justice Minister thinks that Croatia will open the judiciary chapter of its EU accession negotiations in June

Croatia’s Justice Minister Ivan Simonovic is optimistic that Croatia will open the judiciary chapter of its EU accession negotiations in June, and will be able to wrap up talks by the end of the year. In an interview with Europolitics Tuesday (May 11th), Simonovic said that

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EU Enlargement Commissioner: political crisis impeding Albania’s integration

EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fuele expressed concern again Tuesday (May 11th) about the political stalemate in Albania that he says is hampering the EU integration process. A ten-day hunger strike by the opposition is complicating the situation, he noted. Spain, current holder of the rotating EU presidency, is urging politicians …

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Fuele says Kosovo knows visa liberalisation requirements

EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fuele said on Tuesday (May 11th) that Kosovo must do two things — implement re-admission agreements and integrate returnees — before the EU can even consider initiating a dialogue on visa liberalisation. “It is important that Kosovo too understands and knows the conditions,” Fuele said, adding …

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Kosovo wants information on mass graves from Serbia

Foreign Minister Skender Hyseni has asked Belgrade to provide facts about mass graves dating from the 1998-1999 conflict. “Serbia is responsible to make mass grave sites containing Albanian bodies public,” Hyseni was quoted as saying on Tuesday (May 11th). The latest one, believed to contain the bodies of 250 Kosovo …

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Germany extends Kosovo mission

Germany’s government says it will keep up to 2,500 troops in Kosovo for at least another year as part of the NATO-led peacekeeping mission. Government spokesman Christoph Steegmans said the Cabinet approved extending the mandate while also cutting the maximum number of soldiers by 1,000 from 3,000. He says Germany …

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Bulgarian Foreign Minister Urged to Support Kosovo in EU

Bulgarian Foreign Affairs Minister, Nikolay Mladenov, has showed his support for the strengthening of the state institutions in Kosovo so as “to protect the rights of all ethnic communities.” Mladenov was speaking after meeting with his counterpart in Pristina Skender Hyseni and Kosovo PM Hashim Thaci, as part of his …

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