Following a Monday meeting in New York, Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader and EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn concluded that it was possible for Croatia to finish EU accession negotiations by the end of the year. “We discussed all aspects of the negotiations with the EU and we remain optimists …
Read More »Turkey, Serbia Sign Free Trade Agreement
Serbia and Turkey have signed a bilateral economic free trade agreement at the annual economic summit in Istanbul, which will take effect on January 1, 2010. Serbian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Regional Development Mladjan Dinkic and Turkish Foreign Trade Minister Zafer Caglayan signed a free trade …
Read More »Albania produces 1 million electronic IDs
TIRANA, Albania Interior Minister Bujar Nishani says Albania has produced 1 million new electronic ID cards since January and that the rest will be in the hands of citizens before they need them to vote in the June 28th parliamentary elections. Nishani said on Sunday (May 31st) that there is …
Read More »Romania set ups joint venture with Gazprom
Romania’s Romgaz has set up a joint venture with Russia’s Gazprom for underground gas storage facilities that will boost the country’s ability to build gas stocks and could improve supplies to the European Union, the economy minister said Monday. Romgaz and Gazprom each own 50 percent of the joint venture, …
Read More »Switzerland extends free movement for Bulgaria and Romania
Switzerland has signed a protocol with the European Union extending the “free movement” of people under the Schengen Agreement to Romanians and Bulgarians. This means that from June 1 2009, Bulgarians and Romanians no longer require international passports. The two countries are the latest editions to the free-movement agreement, a …
Read More »Armenia Marks Year of Bulgaria Culture
A number of concerts are scheduled form May 29 to June 4 as part of the official celebration of the Year of Bulgarian Culture in Armenia. Both countries’ Ministries of Culture implement a cultural program with the participation of Bulgarian national and classical dancing ensembles, panarmenian.net reported.
Read More »Bosnian Serbs, OHR Engage in “New War”
Politicians in Bosnia’s Serb-dominated entity of Republika Srpska have started a new war with the top western envoy in the country, refusing his calls to stop challenging the country’s constitution. Despite stark warnings from the head of Bosnia’s Office of the High Representative, OHR, Valentin Inzko, Bosnian Serb parties have …
Read More »Albania-Kosovo Highway Marks Milestone
Crews working on the tunnel of the new highway connecting Albania and Kosovo completed work on Sunday, inaugurating the breakthrough with a celebration ceremony attended by Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci and Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha. The 5.6-kilometre tunnel is part of the Rreshen-Kalimash road – one of the …
Read More »Macedonian PM Vows Name Referendum
Any compromise between Skopje and Athens on the “name” issue will have to be approved by the people of Macedonia via a referendum, Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski reiterated on Sunday. Gruevski, who is also head of the largest ruling party, the centre-right VMRO DPMNE, made his statement during a …
Read More »US Urges Creative Macedonia “Name” Solution
US Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg on Thursday urged Macedonia and Greece to find a creative solution to their ongoing name dispute. In an interview with the Macedonian edition of Voice of America, Hillary Clinton’s deputy pledged US help toward finding a resolution to the dispute. “We shall work …
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