Balkans

Minister of Local Government Administration Sadri Ferati said that most of the work in the decentralisation process has been completed, citing as evidence the participation of Serb community members in the recent municipal elections. Ferati added that progress has been achieved due to the Kosovo government’s commitment to collaborating with …

Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) will soon join the Schengen zone, former EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said. Solana stressed that regional co-operation and peace in the Balkans are critical to the region, and added that its prospects lie not in division but in European integration. He also …

Kosovo’s Prime Minister Hashim Thaci said Kosovo’s EU perspective is not at risk despite the fact that five EU countries including Spain, the current holder of EU presidency, have not recognized Kosovo’s independence. Thaci made the remarks after Spain took over the rotating EU presidency on January 1.

Zagreb Mayor and candidate in Croatia’s presidential race Milan Bandić says open issues between Croatia and Serbia should be resolved. Croatia and Serbia have potential for a bright European future and cooperation if they resolve their open issues, he said.

Outgoing Croatian President Stjepan Mesić said that there will be negative effects if Bosnia-Herzegovina falls apart. He stated that should the Serb entity, RS, break away, Bosnia’s Croats – who currently form the second entity, the Muslim-Croat Federation – “would do the same”, with all this turning what would remain …

Slovakia is planning on return 139 of its KFOR mission soldiers from Kosovo and leaving only 20 soldiers to work in the intelligence services. “By the end of 2010, the motorized unit which is serving in Kosovo under the NATO flag could return home. There is no longer a need …

Ministry for Kosovo State Secretary Oliver Ivanović said that Montenegro should think hard before establishing diplomatic relations with Kosovo. “They have at least 30 percent of their population considering themselves to be Serbs and are adamantly against the decision. It is not good to have that many dissatisfied people on …

Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Greece Georgios Papandreou is to visit Belgrade today. Papandreou will take part in the annual conference of ambassadors to Serbia. During the visit in Belgrade he will meet with his counterpart Mirko Cvetkovic and the president of the state Boris Tadic.

Serbia will on Monday file a countersuit before the International Court of Justice, ICJ, against Croatia for genocide allegedly committed against Serbs during the war in 90s and World War II. “There is a lot of material which will turn on the lights on the international stage and show what …

Montenegrin top officials disagree on the timing of when the country should establish diplomatic links with Kosovo, with some arguing that a swift exchange of ambassadros may hinder Podgorica’s relations with Serbia Montenegro recognised Kosovo’s independence on 9 October, 2008, one day after the UN General Assembly accepted Serbia’s draft …