Balkans

The Albanian Transportation Ministry has announced the temporary closure of the Thirre tunnel in the Rreshen-Kalimash road, one of the key segments of the Albania-Kosovo highway. The 5.6-kilometre tunnel will be closed from Monday till Thursday, with crews continuing construction work, which cannot be carried out with traffic passing through. …

PRISTINA, Kosovo The European Commission (EC) has decided that visa liberalisation should apply only to citizens with exact addresses within Serbian territory, and “not … citizens living on Kosovo’s territory”, according to local media reports Monday (July 6th).

TIRANA, Albania The opposition Socialist Movement for Integration (SMI) announced Sunday (July 5th) that it will hold an extraordinary national convention Tuesday to secure party support for a future coalition government with Prime Minister Sali Berisha’s Democratic Party (DP).

BELGRADE, Serbia The government plans to ask the IMF to increase the budget deficit envisioned in its agreement with the institution, due to the global economic crisis, Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic told Tanjug on Sunday (July 5th). When IMF representatives visit Belgrade next month, authorities will request that the limit …

BRUSSELS, Belgium Several EU countries and Turkey will sign an inter-governmental agreement on the construction of the Nabucco pipeline in Ankara on July 13th, the European Commission (EC) announced on Friday (July 3rd). Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is expected to host the ceremony.

With nearly all ballots counted, Bulgaria’s opposition Citizens for the European Development of Bulgaria, GERB, party, founded by Sofia Mayor Boiko Borisov, has 42 per cent of the vote, while the Socialist-led coalition has 18 per cent, according to local media reports. Borisov is expected to be the next prime …

Members of the nationalist Vetevendosje (“self-determination”) movement rallied outside government buildings in the Kosovo capital Pristina on Sunday to express their unhappiness regarding departing US Ambassador Tina Kaidanow’s performance in office. According to a group press release, Kaidanow “misused her position as the most powerful international official in Kosovo.” The …

members of a radical Islamic Wahhabi movement to more than 60 years combined in prison after they were found guilty of planning terrorist activities and illegal weapons possession. The alleged leader of the group, Senad Ramovic, was sentenced to 13 years, while another ten members received from six months to …

A new Macedonian flag, coat of arms and anthem are envisaged in the revised platform of the country’s primary opposition ethnic Albanian party, the Democratic Party of Albanians, DPA, local media reported Monday. The revised platform, adopted over the weekend by the party’s highest institutions, champions significant changes to the …

Survivors associations from Srebrenica say they may cancel this year’s funeral ceremony at the Potocari memorial, after one Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) man was arrested by Bosnian Serb authorities on his way to Potocari.