Balkans

Foreign ministers of the European Union (EU) on Monday agreed to proceed with Albania’s bid to become a member of the 27-nation bloc, but it’s only the initial step for the country to be formally admitted as a member of the EU. The next step is for the European Commission, …

Bulgaria supports and will keep on doing this for Macedonia’s bid to join the European Union and NATO, Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov said here Monday after meeting with his visiting Macedonian counterpart Nikola Gruevski. At a joint press conference, the Bulgarian prime minister also pointed out that the support …

The governing Democratic Party of Kosovo headed by Prime Minister Hashim Thaci wins the 15 November local elections. Meanwhile, the opposition Alliance for the Future of Kosovo has considerably strengthened its positions, Kosovo’s Central Electoral Commission (CEC) announced. The candidates of the Democratic Party of Kosovo win the mayoral elections …

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has announced that Germany explicitly supports Serbia’s EU integration. After meeting with Serbian President Boris Tadic on Monday in Berlin, Merkel said “Germany believes that Serbia has fulfilled the conditions for entry into force of the Interim Trade Agreement with the European Union.”

Haris Silajdzic, the Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) member of Bosnia’s tripartite presidency, slammed Serbia over claims that they were the guarantors of the Dayton peace agreement which ended Bosnia’s 1992-95 war. “The Dayton agreement does not need any guarantors. Serbia was only a signatory to the agreement because of its role …

EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn welcomed a signing of a border arbitration agreement between Croatia and Slovenia, calling on both countries to ratify the document as soon as possible.

Besides being neighbors, Macedonia and Bulgaria are brotherly peoples, which should help each other, Bulgarian Prime Minister Bojko Borisov said on Monday after meeting Macedonian PM Nikola Gruevski. “That is the reason we support visa liberalization. I will congratulate Macedonian citizens on December 19, when they will be able to …

Kosovo Police Service, KPS, has said that a decision on whether Serbian and Montenegrin nationals will need passports to enter Kosovo will be announced this week.

Now that Croatia and Slovenia have signed a deal for international arbitration to resolve a long-running border dispute, assuming the deal makes it past public reluctance and opposition accusations of treason, it’s a win-win situation for local politics, Anes Alic writes for ISN Security Watch. Neighbors Slovenia and Croatia have …

The largest boycott was registered yesterday at the partial elections held in Albania. The opposition’s boycott, led by the Socialists caused a 20% turnout at the elections. Mayor-candidates from