Balkans

The support for Macedonia’s EU and NATO integration remains a vital element in US efforts to promote peace and stability in the Balkan region. US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs

Slovenian MEP Zoran Thaler will hold lecture on „Macedonia’s EU integration and name issue“, Thursday afternoon in Skopje. Zoran Thaler is EP rapporteur on Macedonia. The lecture, which will take place in the Congress center at Skopje fair, will be open for the public.

Bulgaria wants to participate in the European missile shield, and it is in its interests to do so, according to the Foreign Ministry. Speaking in an interview with Dnevnik published on April 15 2010, Foreign Minister Nikolai Mladenov said

EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fuele has welcomed the message of reconciliation sent by Croatian President Ivo Josipovic, and stated that the move marks a step towards building better relations across the region.

Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha has delivered in Brussels a copy of his country’s completed European Union pre-accession questionnaire, and faced criticism over the country’s deadlocked political situation from the EU enlargement commissioner.

The country will close its EU accession negotiations on the free movement of goods chapter during next week’s inter-governmental conference, local media reported on Tuesday (April 13th). So far, Zagreb has wrapped up negotiations on 17 of the 30 chapters it has opened.

Radovan Karadžić says Hague prosecution’s witness Ahmet Zulić lied in his testimony about surviving a mass murder of Muslims in Sanski Most, Bosnia, in 1992. The former Bosnian Serb political leader, who is representing himself, asserted during the cross-examination of the witness at the Hague Tribunal that the massacre was …

The Albanian government passed a bill on Tuesday that will lift visa restrictions for Serbian citizens traveling to Albania, and parliament is now expected to adopt the measure. The decision follows the visit of Albanian Foreign Minister Ilir Meta to Belgrade in early March. Meta’s trip to the Serbian capital …

KFOR Commander Gen. Markus Bentler says the situation in Kosovo is calm, and added that KFOR was “not leaving, but rather adjusting its structure”.

Defense ministers of Serbia and Montenegro Dragan Šutanovac and Boro Vučinić today signed and inter-state agreement. The deal relates to exchange of equipment and documents.