Balkans

The EU’s Enlargement Commissioner has appealed to Albania’s government and the opposition to find a solution to the current political stalemate and end the opposition’s month-long boycott of parliament. “It takes two to tango and I appeal to the opposition to end the parliamentary boycott which does not respect European …

If Macedonia fails to secure a date of its EU accession talks in December, DUI and SDSM won’t call for snap polls because they don’t want to harm the positive momentum that will last in the coming months. “Unless Prime Minister Gruevski comes up with a plan, SDSM is ready …

The “name” row between neighboring Macedonia and Greece could be settled using the recent Croatia-Slovenia model, through international arbitration, Macedonia’s foreign minister Antonio Milososki said Wednesday.   Milososki made this remark after meeting Spanish members of the European Parliament, Francisco Jose Millan Mon and Jose Ignacio Salafranca, the Macedonian MIA …

Greece will support any possible agreement that aims to resolve the longstanding dispute on Cyprus, the Greek prime minister has said. Prime Minister George Papandreou, who is also in charge of the Greek Foreign Ministry, called on his European counterparts to work together on the Cyprus dispute in a statement …

Kosovo President Fatmir Sejdiu stated that “historical, legal and constitutional” arguments were on “Kosovo’s side” in the ICJ case. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has started proceedings to determine the legality of the February 2008 unilateral independence declaration by Kosovo’s ethnic Albanians, which Belgrade rejected as an illegal act …

At a session of the Committee on Foreign Affairs in the European Parliament, which was attended by Macedonian Foreign Minister Antonio Milososki, the Bulgarian MEP from the Group of the Socialists and Democrats in the EP Evgeni Kirilov raised the issue of the Bulgarian military cemeteries and monuments in Macedonia, …

Montenegrin Prime Minister Milo Đukanović said that Montenegro and Serbia “need to step out of the shadow of Kosovo”. “Differing relations towards Kosovo hinder our relations today. We understand Serbia and we are sorry about the problem it finds itself in because of this. And we believe that we are …

Serbian President Boris Tadic supported on Tuesday Greek Prime Minister Geórgios Papandréou’s initiative for Western Balkan countries to join the EU by 2014. In Athens Tadic and Papandréou talked about Serbia’s European integration, visa liberalization, bilateral relations, situation in the region, and fight with crime.

Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic has announced that Serbia will submit its EU candidacy request by the end of the year, with aim of joining the EU in five to seven years. In an interview for the European Parliament’s official website, Jeremic said that, according to the latest polls, 70 …

The President of the European Parliament Jerzy Buzek has issued a special address to the Bulgarian people on the occasion of the 20th year since November 10, 1989, coup that led to the collapse of the country’s communist regime. “There’s no freedom without solidarity,” said the President of the European …