Balkans

TIRANA, Albania Foreign Minister Lulzim Basha said on Tuesday (July 28th) he is optimistic that the EU will evaluate Albania for visa liberalisation this year and “will open the doors for Albanians” soon. Visiting Brussels, Basha said the EU is focused on further enlargement. On Monday, local media reports suggested …

SARAJEVO, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) Deputy High Representative Raffi Gregorian is critical of the government’s decision not to extend the mandates of international judges and prosecutors working on terrorism, organised crime and corruption cases, local media reported on Tuesday (July 28th).

SKOPJE, Macedonia Parliament approved amendments Tuesday (July 28th) to the law on financing political parties, a precondition for accelerating the country’s EU integration process. The measure, which was passed without debate, is aimed at boosting control over and the transparency of party funding. Lawmakers must pass two more pieces of …

BELGRADE, Serbia Come September, the government plans to submit to the EU and the international community a new plan for decentralising Kosovo. Oliver Ivanovic, a senior official in the Ministry for Kosovo and Metohija, said on Tuesday (July 28th) that Serbia still rejects former envoy Martti Ahtisaari’s independence plan as …

As the political will to face off against powerful social groups lacks, Bosnia’s Federation government starts auctioning off luxury cars in a meager attempt to meet IMF savings demands, Anes Alic writes for ISN Security Watch. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on 8 July approved a previously halted €1.2 billion …

Albania will quintuple its military deployment in Afghanistan ahead of parliamentary elections in the central Asian country. “Albania has decided to increase its contribution to the alliance forces in Afghanistan, ahead of the August poll, [which are] seen as crucial for the country,” the Foreign Affairs Ministry said in a …

Italy strongly supports the European integration of the Western Balkans and backs thawing the Interim Trade Agreement between the EU and Serbia, says Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini. “Italy is decisively engaged in convincing its partners in the EU who do not support the unfreezing of the Interim Trade Agreement …

Bulgarian Prime Minister Boiko Borisov is pledging swift action to crack down on crime, The Sofia Echo reports. In a move designed to assuage investor and European Commision, EC, concerns about endemic organised crime in Bulgaria, Borisov has signaled his determination to rid the country of serious criminality – a …

Montenegro’s parliament approved on Tuesday a plan to send 40 soldiers to join NATO peacekeepers in northern Afghanistan, the country’s first ever participation in such a mission. “A squad and medical personnel will be sent at the start of the next year, while two officers who are due to join …

Kosovo Albanian Hysen Sherifi has been charged in the US alongside six others in connection with an international terror plot, which included a potential attack on Kosovo. The 24 year old, who is a US resident, was indicted in Raleigh, North Carolina, for attempting to engage in ‘violent jihad’, the …