Balkans

Leader of Greek socialist party PASOK, Georgios Papandreou, who is the new Prime Minister of the country after winning the October 4 general elections, is to arrive Friday in Istanbul to take part in the informal meeting of the foreign ministers in the South East European Co-operation Process (SEECP).

Emergency negotiations, convened by senior European Union and US officials and attended by the leaders of Bosnia’s three main ethnic groups, have started in an attempt to break the country’s political deadlock. The meeting started with a joint dinner on Thursday evening and continued on Friday morning. It is taking …

Greece’s newly elected prime minister George Papandreou and Macedonia’s foreign minister Antonio Milososki may convene Friday at the sidelines of a regional summit in Istanbul, Turkey, local media in both countries report. Both are present at the informal meeting of the Southeast European Cooperation Process, SEECP. A bilateral meeting would …

A one hundred-year-old mosque burned to the ground in the northern Bulgarian town of Nikopol, amid accusations of arson, media report. Eyewitnesses told media that firefighters rushed the scene, but were too late as the flames quickly enveloped the entire building. Imam Gyursel Mimishev, speaking to Bulgarian National Television, said …

A new European Commission, EC, document reportedly argues that the EU should unblock its Interim Trade Agreement with Serbia. Beta news agency reports that the EC is urging the unfreezing of the pact, arguing that the authorities in Serbia have proven their commitment to the country’s EU integration process and …

The chief editor of the controversial Macedonia encyclopedia, which caused outrage among ethnic Albanians, has been removed from the post. Blaze Ristovski was discharged from his duties at a Wednesday afternoon session of the Macedonian Academy of Arts and Sciences, MANU, which released the tome. Ristovski had resisted pressure to …

Čelnici Vlade FBiH zloupotrijebili su položaj jer su u protekle tri godine odbijali aktivirati bankarske garancije od po 50 miliona KM godišnje kako bi osigurali da konzorcij INA-MOL provede ugovornu obavezu o investiranju 150 miliona KM u “Energopetrol”. Pokazala je to istraga Kantonalnog tužilaštva u Sarajevu o provedbi ugovora o …

Croatian President Stjepan Mesić says that relations in the region have reached a major impasse since Kosovo unilaterally declared independence. Normalization of relations between Zagreb and Belgrade slowed after Croatia recognized Kosovo independence, and Serbian indignation has begun to spill over into Bosnia-Herzegovina and is seriously undermining the situation in …

EU Special Envoy to Kosovo Pieter Feith has called on Serbs to participate in the local elections in Kosovo scheduled for November 15. Feith expects higher turnout in this election, adding that the results will have to be honored. “According to polls, we expect higher turnout this time round. The …

European Parliament Rapporteur for Bosnia-Herzegovina Doris Pack says that Milorad Dodik refuses to listen to any advice and that he is “obstinate.” “Milorad Dodik is so obstinate that I don’t think anyone can bring to bear on him or the moves he has in his head, let alone persuade him …