Balkans

WASHINGTON, United State Democracy watchdog Freedom House said on Tuesday (June 30th) that democratic development in Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia and Albania is stable, while a drop is seen in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). In its 13th report on “Nations in Transit”, the organisation described 2008 as a generally …

BELGRADE, Serbia Though voting is more than four months away, President Boris Tadic said on Wednesday (July 1st) no protections are in place for the Serb minority to participate in Kosovo’s November local elections. Nor, he said, would there be any guarantee that Serbs would have any legitimacy in Kosovo …

THE HAGUE, The Netherlands Prosecutors from Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), Croatia and Serbia arrived at the UN war crimes tribunal Wednesday (July 1st) for a six-month programme in which they will work alongside colleagues from The Hague. Welcoming them, tribunal chief prosecutor Serge Brammertz described it as a “new phase” …

Albania’s Democratic Party claimed victory in Sunday’s parliamentary elections with 99 per cent of the ballots counted. “Our coalition was certified by the people,” Prime Minister Sali Berisha, head of the party, told a cabinet meeting on Wednesday. “EU integration will be the most important issue in the next four …

The abrupt resignation of Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader, continued to draw praise but also much condemnation, both from Croatia and abroad. “Despite Mr. Sanader’s upbeat comments, he leaves the country in its worst economic state since the devastating 1991 war,” reported the Wall Street Journal on Thursday.

Pristina’s Municipal Assembly is to hand five hectares of prime real estate to the US for a new embassy building, according to an agreement signed between the two parties on Wednesday. The city decided to give this land to the US government as a sign of gratitude for the country’s …

Bosnia’s Federation government gets a new prime minister, but as the entity government faces economic crisis and protests over planned social benefits cuts that threaten to bring it down, the only options are bankruptcy or political suicide, Anes Alic comments for ISN Security Watch. The Bosniak- (Bosnian Muslim) and Bosnian …

Nations in Transit for 2008, a report published by the US-based rights watchdog Freedom House, has criticised Albania for failing to uphold the separation of powers between politics and the law. The report says the separation of powers between the legislature, executive, and judiciary remains fragile and is intermittently damaged …

The European Commission urged Macedonia to appoint a new official in charge of EU affairs as soon as possible. The appeal came after Macedonia’s Deputy Prime Minister, Ivica Bocevski, who was in charge of EU integrations, resigned on Tuesday. “We are awaiting additional information to find out who will be …

The new Swedish Presidency of the European Union warned Albanian political leaders that it was carefully monitoring the aftermath of Sunday’s parliamentary elections. “The final assessment of the elections will depend, to a significant extent, on the conduct of the vote count, the aggregation of results, and the handling of …