Balkans

Submitting Serbia’s application for EU candidacy was not premature, says Boris Tadić, and adds he hopes the country would receive that status in 2010. Speaking in Novi Sad on Wednesday night, the president said that Serbia was “not the same country” after the formal request to become EU candidate, submitted …

Croatian Ambassador Ivan Kujundjic has become a Doyen Ambassador to Macedonia, Croatian foreign ministry said in a statement. “For a small country such as the Republic of Croatia, it’s a great recognition to be first among the representatives of the international community in certain country,” Kujundhic said. He serves as …

Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha extended an invitation to Serbian President Boris Tadic to visit Tirana. Berisha met with a delegation of Kosovo Serbs, who embarked on a historic trip to Albania, and told them that he invited Serbian president to visit Albania, local media reported.

As of January 1, Montenegrin nationals up to 14 years old who intend to travel to Serbia will require passports, while those aged 14 to 18 will need to present either a passport or ID card. The decision was made by the Serbian Interior Ministry, according to a statement released …

Macedonia’s Constitutional Court has decided not to launch a procedure following an initiative put forward by the opposition Liberal Democratic Party, LDP, to review the constitutionality of the recent Macedonia-Kosovo border ratification agreement. The judges decided that the bilateral agreement involved only a demarcation deal and did not changed the …

After a meeting with representatives of the Serb minority in Kosovo, Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha announced on Thursday the gifting of a 400,000 euro grant to the community of Gracanica. Berisha held a joint meeting with Slobodan Petrovic, head of the Serbian Liberal Party in Kosovo, where he expressed …

Bulgarian Prime Minister (PM) Boyko Borisov has discussed issues on bilateral relations of Bulgaria with Macedonia and Serbia. In a telephone talks he has wished the two friendly countries on their path to the integration in European structures and has welcomed the official Serbia’s application for EU accession, the government …

Bulgaria could add up to 100 troops in Afghanistan in 2010 and will consolidate its military contingent there in Kandahar, Defense Minister Nickolay Mladenov said Tuesday. “In the beginning of January 2010 the Ministry of Defense will request the Council of Ministers our mission in Kandahar to be increased with …

The latest provocation stemming from Bulgaria’s ethnic model is taking place in the country, the nationalist VMRO party warns. In a letter sent to the media Wednesday, VMRO informs that a new party “Union for Peace, Authenticity and Culture” (POMAK) has been founded in the town of Trigrad, in a …

The New U.S. ambassador in Serbia is expected in mid-January, that country’s embassy press attaché Brian Stimmler said on Tuesday. Mary Warlick’s appointment must first be approved by the U.S. Senate, which has not yet voted on the issue. U.S. President Barack Obama announced his intent to appoint Warlick to …