Balkans

The former Yugoslav republics have distributed half of the property of Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRJ) and the remaining part will be discussed late February on the next meeting of representatives of the former republics in Sarajevo, head of the expert group for the implementation of the Agreement on …

Serbian War Crimes Prosecutor Vladimir Vukcevic said that the UN’s Chief War Crimes Prosecutor Serge Brammertz has written that fugitive Ratko Mladic is “not within reach” of Serbia’s security services. In an interview with Radio Free Europe, Vuckovic added that nobody could say whether Mladic is in Serbia or not.

Offical campaigning ahead of Croatia’s presidential elections on 27 December kicked off Thursday. The campaigning period will end on 25 December. An opinion poll published earlier this month showed that the country’s main opposition Social Democrat candidate and Zagreb’s mayor lead the race.

The UN Security Council unanimously approved on Wednesday the extension of the European Union peacekeepers’, EUFOR, mandate in Bosnia for another year. The European Union launched its Althea peacekeeping mission in Bosnia with a military force of 6,300 in 2004 to oversee the Dayton peace agreement that ended the Balkan …

Orthodox Christian believers are gathering in Belgrade today to attend the funeral of the Head of the Serbia’s Orthodox Church Patriarch Pavle. Holy Liturgy was served this morning at 7.30 by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I at the Cathedral Church of St. Michael the Archangel in Belgrade. A funeral procession will …

European Union foreign ministers are discussing the situations in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo at a meeting in Brussels. “There are no security risks in Bosnia-Herzegovina, maybe there are political dangers, but I want to stress that there are no security dangers,” EU Foreign and Security Policies Chief Javier Solana said.

EU Council president Carl Bildt said that solving name issue between Greece and Macedonia will happen only if both sides sit on the same table. After yesterday’s optimistic messages on name settlement, Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt suggested to George Papandreou and Nikola Gruevski to enter direct name talks and …

Macedonian Deputy PM and Finance Minister Zoran Stavreski visits Russia in order to regulate Macedonia’s clearing debt to Russia and finally settle this issue. Stavreski is scheduled to meet his Russian counterpart Aleksej Kudrin on Wednesday.

Twelve candidates will be in the run for election to office of the President in Croatia. The 12 candidates will race in presidential polls slated for December 27 to succeed the incumbent Stipe Mesic whose second term expires in early 2010.

Greece’s Alternate Foreign Minister Dimitris Droutsas has embarked on a tour of the Balkans. Droutsas will be visiting Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) and Albania, starting Wednesday. The purpose of the visits is to coordinate these countries’ commitments for the European Union membership by 2014. “The Balkan is a …