Balkans

PRISTINA, Kosovo The government has decided to conduct a population census in the spring of 2011, local media reported Thursday (June 25th). Prime Minister Hashim Thaci said respecting international standards will be key to its success. Kosovo has not conducted a census since the 1980s.

On July 2 OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis will arrive in Armenia. As press service of the Yerevan office of OSCE told to a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter, OSCE Chairperson-in-Office will arrive in Yerevan immediately after paying visit to Baku. “ OSCE Chairperson-in-Office will not go to Georgia, since activities …

BELGRADE President Boris Tadic says he expects to receive explanation from Bulgarian authorities regarding the Ceku case, B92 informed. Tadic told reporters in parliament in Belgrade on Friday that the decision to release Agim Ceku from custody does not contribute to “good neighborly relations”. He added that Serbia will continue …

The US State Department is denying any claims by Bosnian Serb wartime leader Radovan Karadzic concerning an alleged deal made with US diplomat Richard Holbrooke for immunity. The United States State Department has insisted that no agreement was ever made to provide Radovan Karadzic with immunity from prosecution.

The EU will fund a 1.9 million euro cross-border cooperation project between Serbia and Montenegro, and has opened up bidding for project proposals, reports say. According to a statement by the Serbian Finance Ministry, the project will be co-financed by participant countries to demonstrate their commitment to achieving the goals …

Speaking in the Russian capital yesterday, Serbian Interior Minister Ivica Dacic discussed EU integration, vowing that his country would not sacrifice Kosovo for membership in the European club. “I’m convinced Serbia will enter the EU, as our society is founded on a European civilization. EU integration would mean a better …

The outgoing NATO Secretary General, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, on Thursday urged Macedonia to show more flexibility in solving its spat with Greece, so enabling it to join NATO. Answering questions during the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council’s Security Forum in Astana, Kazakhstan, Scheffer said he had done everything in his power …

A new border point opened between Glloboqice in Kosovo and the town of Borje in Albania on Wednesday. The head of Kosovo Border Police, Bejar Selimi, Albania’s ambassador to Kosovo, Islam Lauka, municipality workers and hundreds of people from both the municipalities of Sharr in Kosovo and Kukes in Albania …

Croatia and Serbia signed an extrensive economic cooperation agreement Wednesday, which will see the two former rivals join regional markets together. The agreement calls for cooperation in the sectors of shipbuilding, energy, electrical engineering, infrastructure, agriculture, tourism, as well as the food, pharmaceutical, tobacco, chemical and wood industries, news agencies …

Serbia will host a meetings of ministers on the environment in Belgrade from June 27-28, the Serbian Ministry of Environment and Spatial Planning announced. Having recently assumed the two-year presidency of the Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Programme, UNEP, Serbia has become a central point for discussing issues …