Balkans

Direct dialogue between Macedonia and Greece is the best way of overcoming the long lasting bilateral “name” dispute, visiting Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman told media in Skopje. “Direct dialogue between the two parties is the best way to resolve the issue. Both Greece and Macedonia are stable and they …

Pristina and Belgrade may begin talks on decentralisation, cultural heritage and the northern part of Kosovo later this year. The possibility that talks will be held has increased after several EU and US officials visited Kosovo and Serbia. Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini also said indirectly in Pristina that Kosovo …

The Serbian Parliament Collegium will discuss a draft declaration condemning crimes against Serbs, it has been announced. These crimes were committed during the 1990s wars in Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Kosovo during the NATO bombing. Parliament Speaker Slavica Đukić-Dejanović distributed the draft to MPs, which will be discussed on Wednesday. The …

Head of EU delegation to Serbia Vincent Degert says the country made significant steps on the EU pathway in 2009. Speaking in Niš, southern Serbia, on Tuesday, he added that there is yet more work to be done for its EU accession. Degert pointed out that the decision on visa …

The international forces in Kosovo /KFOR/ and the Kosovo authorities started two-day drills in the central part of the country, an official statement released by KFOR in Pristina reads. The aim of the drill is to improve the alertness and efficiency of KFOR within the new structure. “KFOR holds regular …

Croatian Justice Minister Ivan Simonovic was appointed assistant to UN Secretary General Bank Ki-Moon. Simonovic will be in charge of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay in New York.

The National Assembly (lower house of parliament) of France has adopted the aid plan to Greece, which provided a loan of EUR 16.8 billion over three years, of which EUR 3.9 billion for the year 2010. The financial amending bill, presented by the French Budget Minister Francois Baroin, was adopted …

EU for northern Kosovo Michael Giffoni said that more EU presence is needed in the town of Kosovska Mitrovica. “A feeling of some kind of division is very evident in (Kosovska) Mitrovica, and that is something that the EU does not like. In this part

Kosovo Albanian government’s foreign minister, Skender Hyseni, called on EU to avoid making the “essential mistake” of postponing Kosovo’s integration. He said that he believed that the European Union “will make an essential mistake if it postpones Kosovo’s integration process too much” adding that the process should be sped up.

Bulgaria finds itself in good position to balance the situation in the Balkans, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon said at the meeting with Bulgarian Foreign Minister Nikolay Maldenov, the press office of the Foreign Ministry announced.