Balkans

STRASBOURG, France Despite a period of turbulent transition, Serbia is moving forward and making progress on its road to EU integration, the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) concluded on Tuesday (April 28th).

BELGRADE, Serbia Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic announced on Tuesday (April 28th) that Serbia will open a trio of new consulates in Montenegro, the first step to normalise relations between the two countries since Podgorica recognised Kosovo.

PRISTINA, Kosovo Serbs in Mitrovica and KFOR commanders agreed on Tuesday (April 28th) that peacekeeping troops blocking the roads to the Brdjani district will withdraw. KFOR personnel will leave, while Serbs and Albanians, involved in sporadic clashes since Friday, will be able to return to their homes.

ZAGREB, Croatia Justice Minister Ivan Simonovic asked foreign donors Tuesday (April 28th) to help the country finance projects aimed at reforming the judiciary, a key precondition for eventual EU accession. Presenting projects worth about 42m euros through 2012, Simonovic asked the donors to help reduce the number of local courts …

Bulgarian PM Sergey Stanishev’s delayed meeting with Russian President Dimitry Medvedev took place late Tuesday in the Barbihka residence near Moscow. The half-hour meeting took place after the two delegations from Russia and Bulgaria had finished day long talks in Moscow. Medvedev informed Stanishev that he was aware of the …

Bulgaria’s President Georgi Parvanov said Wednesday the Belene Nuclear Power Plant could be build with loans from Russia, if necessary. “It is not very easy to find credits for such a large-scale project as our second nuclear power plant in times of global financial crisis. We should not exclude the …

The new US administration’s first one hundred day anniversary – coinciding with still unconfirmed news that Vice-President Joe Biden will visit the Balkans in May – has been greeted with mixed feelings and still great expectations among the countries in the region. “Biden’s visit will above all be a good …

Outgoing Macedonian President Branko Crvenkovski has warned that while a solution to his country’s long standing spat over its name with Greece may not be popular, a deal is essential and will bring long term positive results. Drawing a parallel with the Ohrid agreement of 2001 which ended the armed …

Albania’s government flatly rejected reports by local media on Wednesday that during a recent meeting between Prime Minister Sali Berisha and his Greek counterpart Costas Karamanlis Albania ceded part of its territorial waters to Athens. The two leaders signed an agreement on Monday, which has not yet been made public. …

Kosovo will be included in European visa liberalisation if it meets the necessary conditions, the vice-president of the European Commission said on Tuesday. Jacques Barrot said Kosovo would be treated like other Balkan countries, during a press conference which closed a two-day conference called Building Migration Partnerships. “Kosovo, like the …