Balkans

The resolution of the name dispute is the ticket of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) to EU accession, Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou said. He has attended the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg. Papandreou has met the newly elected President of PACE Movlud Cavushoglu. …

Serbia is ready to turn a new page in its relations with Montenegro, after relations between the two countries worsened following Podgorica’s decision to establish diplomatic links with Kosovo. In an interview with Podgorica daily Dan on Tuesday, Serbian President Boris Tadic said that relations between Serbia and Montenegro are …

The Council of Europe has suggested holding a multilateral conference on Bosnia with key local and international stakeholders, aimed at finding ways to strengthen democracy and human rights in the country. In a report presented to the Parliamentary Assembly on Tuesday, the Council of Europe’s monitoring committee lists a number …

Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro have reached an agreement on the demarcation of their border. At their meeting the two countries’ foreign ministers expressed hope the other technical details related with the annex to the document would be settled quickly so that the agreement could be signed. An agreement on …

Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov will pay a formal visit to Turkey on January 29 and 30. Borisov will arrive in Turkey upon an invitation by his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, said Turkish

Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou has called on his Turkish counterpart to revive efforts to improve ties between the two long-standing rival countries. Papandreou wrote to Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan saying he was “encouraged by the willingness” of the two sides to improve bilateral relations in recent years.

A spokesperson of the ruling Democratic Party, DS, in Serbia said that texts of resolutions, one condemning the 1995 Srebrenica massacre and the other condemning war crimes committed against Serbs, will be completed in February. Jelena Trivan said that political consultations on the texts of these declarations are ongoing.

Skopje will give up on the so called double name formula if Athens stops disputing the existence of a Macedonian identity, unnamed Macedonian diplomats told local media. This will be the message that Macedonian Foreign Minister Antonio Milososki will convey to his Greek counterpart Dimitris Droutsas at their meeting on …

Albania’s Foreign Minister Ilir Meta has announced that the country will soon open an embassy in Sarajevo, the latest sign that Tirana aims to take a larger regional role, following its entry into NATO. “Taking into account Albania’s increasing role in the Western Balkans, our government has decided to soon …

The meeting will be used to focus on the priorities of the Spanish presidency, with special attention put on economic recovery in the EU, strengthening foreign policies and implementing the Lisbon Agreement.