Balkans

Georgia arrests Bosnian Serb wanted for war crimes

A Bosnian Serb wanted by Republika Srpska (RS) authorities for war crimes against civilians has been arrested in Georgia. BiH Justice Ministry official Jusuf Halilagic said that Sasa Lipovac, 40, is in custody pending extradition. The RS Supreme Court issued an arrest warrant for Lipovac in 2008 after he failed …

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Albanian Foreign Minister Meta says Albania will define maritime borders with Greece

Albanian Foreign Minister Ilir Meta said  that defining maritime borders with Greece is a priority for Albania. Last week, the Constitutional Court in Tirana decided that an agreement on the border delineation violates the constitution and must be renegotiated. The opposition Socialist Party (SP) asked the court to for the …

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Russia opposes Serbian NATO membership

Serbia’s decision to join NATO would have negative effects on its relations with Russia, Konstantin Kosachev said. “For us, such a decision would be inexplicable and would have a negative effect on relations between Russia and Serbia,” the Chairman of the Duma Committee on International Affairs said. “A possible decision …

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Launch of interim trade deal between Serbia and EU

The interim trade agreement between the European Union and Serbia officially comes into force on February 1st. The Chief of EU delegation in Serbia, Vincent Degert told the press in Belgrade that the economic significance of a full implementation of the Interim Agreement is that Serbia will be more attractive …

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Trial begins against Croatia’s Roncevic

The trial against former Defence Minister Berislav Roncevic and his assistant, Ivo Bacic, began in a Zagreb court Friday (January 29th). The anti-corruption office, USKOK, charged them in late October with abuse of power over a 2004 procurement deal involving military trucks. Prosecutors say the contract cost the state millions …

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Sweden’s Bildt says Western Balkans moving ahead with EU bids

Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt said on Saturday (January 30th) that Western Balkan countries have made significant progress and are moving fast along their road to EU integration.Bildt acknowledged some open issues in the region, but said the situation is nevertheless much better than in the last six months of …

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Džozef MekmilanČ Država mora biti u stanju da donosi odluke

Ustavom BiH je precizirano da se odluka o ulasku BiH u NATO donosi na državnom, a ne na entitetskom nivou, istakao je Džozef Mekmilan, pomoćnik zamjenika ministra odbrane SAD, komentarišući mogućnost da se građani BiH na referendumu izjasne o ulasku zemlje u NATO. “Koliko mi je poznato, važeći ustav BiH …

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EULEX: Progress in north only by dialogue

The EU mission in Kosovo, EULEX, today said that it “firmly believes that progress in the north of Kosovo can be made only by dialogue”. A statement from the mission’s press service further said that this could be achieved by involving all communities concerned, “and step by step”. The statement …

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