Balkans

EU officials in Brussels admit Sunday’s crucial parliamentary elections in Albania demonstrated electoral progress, but warn that more needs to be done before the country can be said to have achieved full international standards. EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn has noted in a statement that “tangible progress has been made …

Dutch Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen is scheduled to visit Serbia in July to discuss trade cooperation between the two countries, but the visit will not change the Netherland’s against Serbia’s Stabilization and Association Agreement, SAA. A Dutch Foreign Ministry statement said that Verhagen would discuss with his Serbian counterpart Vuk …

There is no need for a new Ohrid peace accord as the existing one remains vital for the country’s stability, prosperity and EU-integration, the EU Ambassador to Macedonia Erwan Fouere said Monday in response to calls for the agreement’s revision. “It has been emphasized on several occasions that Macedonia’s road …

Serbian residents of northern Kosovo continued efforts to maintain a road block at administrative border crossing points with Serbia on Monday. The main cause of protest is aimed against introducing customs checkpoints at the Jarinje and Brnjak administrative crossings with central Serbia. Protesters announced to reporters of Serbia’s Tanjug news …

SARAJEVO, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) High Representative Valentin Inzko met with members of a US congressional delegation on Sunday (June 28th) to discuss the political situation in BiH. He called for a broader commitment by the international community to pressure authorities into meeting their obligations related to the Stabilisation and …

SKOPJE, Macedonia Foreign Minister Antonio Milososki and Greek counterpart Dora Bakoyannis failed to meet on the sidelines of an OSCE ministerial conference on the Greek island of Corfu, local media reported Sunday (June 28th).

BELGRADE, Serbia President Boris Tadic called for calm Friday (June 26th) concerning a law on the special status of the Vojvodina region, which is predominately populated by ethnic Hungarians. The law was forwarded into parliamentary procedure by a pair of minority parties, the Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians and League of …

PRISTINA, Kosovo Thousands of Serbs turned out on Sunday (June 28th) to celebrate the 620th anniversary of the Kosovo battle in which the Serb Army confronted the invading Ottoman Turks.

PRISTINA, Kosovo The government played down on Sunday (June 28th) suggestions of a border dispute brewing between Kosovo and Serbia in eastern Kosovo. The reaction came after a series of claims about a Serbian gendarmerie unit patrolling inside the village of Karacevo, an area Kosovo says is part of its …

Bulgaria has defended its decision to release former Kosovo prime minister Agim Ceku, wanted for alleged war crimes in Serbia. “I guarantee that Bulgarian justice institutions acted in accordance with the domestic and international laws,” Bulgaria’s deputy prosecutor, Galina Toneva, told media in reference to the release last week of …