Balkans

Croatia’s President-elect Ivo Josipovic and Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor held their first official meeting Monday (February 1st), following Josipovic’s victory in the January 10th run-off election. They discussed the EU integration process, the economic crisis and ways to fight corruption while agreeing to meet the day after Josipovic’s February 18th …

Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha said that the questionnaire Brussels sent to Albania before it can be granted visa liberalisation has been completed. Experts from Brussels will visit Tirana in the coming weeks to evaluate the process.

NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said that the Alliance supports all strategies that strengthen peace and security in Kosovo, including the integration of all communities into society. The strategy for the Serb-dominated north, which was drafted by the International Civilian Office (ICO) in support of Kosovo’s government, failed to get …

President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso expressed on Tuesday support for the measures Greece proposed to take to reduce its excessive budget deficit, but warned that there were still risks. “The envisaged correction of the deficit is feasible but subject to risks,” he told reporters one day before …

Pripadnici Oružanih snaga (OS) BiH parlamentarnom vojnom povjereniku uputili su 30 pritužbi, a najveći broj odnosi se na proces činovanja, statusna pitanja i otpuštanja zbog godina starosti. Kazao je ovo Boško Šiljegović, parlamentarni vojni povjerenik BiH, koji je ovu funkciju preuzeo u septembru prošle godine. Šiljegović naglašava da do sada …

The Multi-National Battle Group–North will begin their 2-day exercise in northern Kosovo to confirm their operational competence of the new structure of the battle group, KFOR informed.

Finland’s Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb will pay official visit to Macedonia on Tuesday. The FM Stubb is scheduled to meet with his counterpart Macedonian FM Antonio Milososki and Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov. The two ministers will discuss the bilateral relations between the two countries, Macedonia’s bid for EU membership as …

Attempts to re-energise long running peace talks between leaders of ethnically-divided Cyprus do not seem to have produced the firm results Ban Ki-moon was after, but at least there appears to be goodwill on both sides. Flanked by Greek Cypriot President Demetrius Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat, …

Serbian Defence Minister Dragan Sutanovac said that voting on the resolution on the Srebrenica massacre will show who on the Serbian political scene behaves and thinks like a responsible person, and who remains in a past era that should be long behind the country. In an interview with the Tanjug …

KFOR downsized from 14,000 to 10,000 troops effective, the peacekeeping force announced. KFOR — made up of troops from 32 countries — will continue to provide security and stability for all Kosovo communities. The downsizing is being implemented in accordance with a NATO decision from July 2009 amid improving security …