Balkans

Serbian and Croatian defense ministry officials Dušan Spasojević and Pjer Simunović, harmonized a defense agreement in Zagreb on Thursday. The deal should be signed by the two countries’ ministers of defense, reports said.

Greece on Friday requested the activation of a European Union/International Monetary Fund aid package. Athens is currently negotiating details of a 40-45 billion euro aid package with officials from the European Union and Monetary Fund aimed at pulling the country out of a debt crisis which has skaken the euro.

For the first time since it was established, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, ICTY, will hold a hearing to consider the review of a judgment delivered by the Appeals Chamber. On June 3 the Appeals Chamber will hold a hearing regarding Veselin Sljicancanin’s application for a review …

The foreign ministers of NATO member states agreed at their meeting in Tallinn, Estonia on Thursday to extend a Membership Action Plan, MAP, to Bosnia, but attached conditions to its implementation. Bosnia’s top officials welcomed the decision, expressing hope that it would help stabilize the country and contribute to the …

Republika Srpska (RS) President Rajko Kuzmanovic denied on Wednesday that the entity is attempting to minimise the crimes committed in Srebrenica in July 1995. On Tuesday, High Representative Valentin Inzko criticised a recent decision by the RS government to revise a report drafted by the previous government on the number …

European Parliament Vice President Miguel Angel Martinez shares the conviction and optimism of Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos that Macedonia will start the talks

Greece will not quit on the resolution of the name dispute as a condition for start of the neighboring country’s EU accession talks, Alexandar Mallias, a former Greek ambassador to Macedonia said on Thursday. Alexandar Mallias reckons that name Republic of North Macedonia to replace

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has expressed concern about Kosovo’s strategy to integrate the country’s ethnically divided north. In a report to the Security Council, the U.N. chief warned that tensions in the region could increase unless the government of Kosovo acts with transparency and in consultation with local communities. …

Bulgaria should return on the Balkans as EU member state. This means that we must be more active and constructive in our aid for the Western Balkans in their effort to solve the conflicts and become part of the European family, Bulgarian Foreign Minister Nikolay Mladenov said. 

The State Prosecution in Montenegro has indicted seven people on charges of war crimes in Bukovica, in the Sandzak region of Montenegro. The indictment was filed at the High Court in Bijelo Polje with a request for the arrest and detention of all seven indictees.