Balkans

Bulgaria’s new Parliament is only at the stage of laying down the rules that will govern the legislature’s work for the rest of its term, but the major parties have already had their first major clash. The issue that irked the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) and the predominantly ethnic Turk …

TIRANA, Albania The opposition Socialist Party (SP) blamed the government Thursday (July 16th) for failing to meet EU standards for achieving visa-free travel to member countries. Three other Balkan countries did make it onto the so-called White Schengen List.

ZAGREB, Croatia Interior Minister Tomislav Karamarko and US Ambassador to Croatia Robert Bradtke signed a memorandum for co-operation Thursday (July 16th) in the fight against organised crime. According to the document, the two countries will join efforts in terms of both prevention and crime-fighting and will co-operate in staff training …

PRISTINA, Kosovo Serbs living in Kosovo have not welcomed the news of visa liberalisation for Serbia, because it specifically excludes them, local media reported on Thursday (July 16th). European Commission officials said on Wednesday that they would propose the inclusion of Serbia, Macedonia and Montenegro in the so-called White Schengen …

BRUSSELS, Belgium Macedonia, Bulgaria, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) and Serbia are the cheapest countries in Europe, according to statistics compiled by the EU’s Statistical Office Eurostat, published on Thursday (July 16th).

Representatives of Bosnia’s top five political parties have agreed to speed up reforms required to win a green light for EU visa liberalisation and close the doors of the international community’s Office of the High Representative, OHR. The atmosphere of the Thursday evening meeting was tense and characterized by back-and-forth …

Kosovo’s government has revealed details of a tender for a 3.5 billion euro energy deal, seen as crucial for the economic and ecological development of the country. A 2,000 megawatt, MW, plant is planned for the outskirts of Pristina in two 1000MW phases, which will allow Kosovo to provide enough …

Albanian police said on Thursday that a car bombing in front the national assembly building in Tirana was most like linked to a possible business dispute involving the owner of the vehicle. The car, a Mercedes Benz SUV owned by a local businessman, exploded on Wednesday evening, damaging shops and …

Italy’s air force squadrons will patrol Albanian airspace, following the country’s accession into the NATO alliance in April. According to the restructuring plans of the Albanian armed forces, Tirana has retired its ailing MIG fighter jet fleet, while in the framework of NATO, the integrity of the country’s airspace, has …

Boyko Borisov, deputy president of the Bulgarian Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria, GERB, which won general elections last month, has been handed a mandate to form a new government within seven days, Bulgaria’s Focus news agency reported. Under Bulgarian law, Borisov, GERB’s informal leader and likely new prime minister, …