Balkans

The negotiations among the Bosnia-Herzegovina’s political leaders under joint mediation of the US diplomats and EU representatives have been put on halt Tuesday. After Tuesday’s talks, the Prime Minister of Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik, said that they produced no significant results. “For us, the proposed package of measures is unacceptable …

Bulgaria is eager to further boost co-operation with Greece in investment, infrastructure and energy projects, Foreign Minister Roumyana Zheleva said in an October 20 2009 meeting with leaders of the Hellenic Business Council in Bulgaria (HBCB). The meeting discussed a range of opportunities to build on the traditionally good relations …

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev came to Belgrade today to honour Serbia’s Second World War past, but also to lay some foundation stones for the future. In the first-ever Russian presidential visit he brought an entourage of 100 advisors with him to discuss a wide range of financial and economic issues. …

Ministries of Montenegro and France undersigned a cooperation agreement for bilateral cooperation in the field of labor and social polity until 2011. The main projects of the two governments would be focused on improvement of healthcare and security at work as well as social dialog.

A long-awaited Report of the European Commission demonstrates that Bulgaria has failed to absorb a huge percent of the EU funding it has been eligible for. The Report, which reviews the absorption of EU Funds in Bulgaria and Romania from their EU accession in January 2007 until July 31, 2009, …

Russian Emergency Situations Minister Sergey Shoigu says that cooperation between Serbia and Russia has made progress, but still has room for improvement. Shoigu and Serbian Interior Minister Ivica Dačić headed a meeting of an inter-governmental Serbo-Russian committee for trade, economic and scientific cooperation. After signing a protocol on cooperation, Shoigu …

The 65th anniversary of the liberation of Belgrade will be marked today with a series of events and in the presence of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. The highest state and military honors will be given at the Liberators’ Cemetery in Belgrade, while wreaths will be laid to mark the anniversary …

Talks between U.S. and EU representatives and Bosnian political leaders will continue today at the Butmir military base. The goal of the talks is the establishment of functional institutions at state level to allow Bosnia-Herzegovina to progress towards Euro-Atlantic integration.

Greece’s Prime Minister George Papandreou urged Turkey on Monday to withdraw its troops from Cyprus to help ongoing talks aimed at reunifying the divided island. The long-festering dispute on the eastern Mediterranean island has poisoned relations between Greece and Turkey, both NATO members, undermining alliance and European Union cooperation on …

Processing of applications for Bulgarian citizenship filed by ethnic Bulgarians living abroad has improved considerably, Bozhidar Dimitrov, Minister without Portfolio responsible for Bulgarians abroad, told Bulgarian-language Trud daily on October 19 2009. In just one month, the speed at which the Citizenship Council at the Justice Ministry worked had tripled, …