Balkans

Flag Stolen from Croatian Embassy in Belgrade

Serbian President Boris Tadic has emphatically condemned the theft of the Croatian flag from the country’s embassy in Belgrade. Tadic said he was in contact with all the necessary institutions “in order to arrest and punish the extremists and hooligans who did this”, according to the president’s press service. The …

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Speed Reforms, Unite Against Crisis, EU to Bosnia

Bosnia must speed up European integration reforms to catch up with neighbours and unite political forces against the economic crisis, the EU presidency chairman said on Thursday. Foreign ministers of the current Czech, previous French and future Swedish EU presidency visited Bosnia this week to review reform progress and tell …

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Denmark lifts labour restrictions on Bulgarians, Romanians

COPENHAGEN, Denmark Denmark is lifting labour restrictions on Bulgarians and Romanians effective on May 1st, the Romanian Employment Agency announced on Wednesday (April 8th). That means Bulgarians and Romanians will have the right to work in the country without the permits currently required and under equal terms with Danish citizens …

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Albanian government appoints mission to NATO headquarters

TIRANA, Albania Four days after the country’s official acceptance as a member of the Alliance, Albania has appointed its mission to NATO headquarters in Brussels, local media reported on Wednesday (April 8th). Permanent representative for Albania Artur Kuko will lead the mission. Also on Wednesday, Tirana witnessed a ceremonial raising …

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Hague appeals council orders provisional release of former Kosovo culture minister

THE HAGUE, Netherlands The Appeals Council at The Hague war crimes tribunal on Wednesday (April 8th) ordered the temporary release of former Kosovo Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports Astrit Haraqija. The time he spent behind bars awaiting trial equalled the five-month sentence he received for contempt of court. The …

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Bulgarian EU Parliament Members Visit Macedonia over Military Graveyards Issue

Bulgarian European Parliament Members Evgeni Kirilov (PES) and Nikolay Mladenov (EPP) are on an official visit to Skopje, Macedonia, over the issue with Bulgarian military graveyards in the former Yugoslav republic on Friday. The frontline where the Bulgarian Army fought during the Balkan Wars (1912-1913) and WWI is within the …

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EU is ‘Scared’ by Situation in Bosnia

The European Union is “scared” by the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina and concerned the country is lagging behind the rest of the region, the Czech Foreign Minister said. The message came at the end of the two-day visit of Czech, French and Swedish foreign ministers – Karel Schwarzenberg, Bernard …

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Maldives Recognition Probe Ends

The Parliament of the Maldives has suspended an investigation into allegations of a $2 million bribe, allegedly accepted by the government of this small chain of Indian Ocean islands to recognise Kosovo’s independence. A parliamentary committee that was investigating the allegation, after concerns raised by Maldives president Mohamed Nasheed, said …

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Greece Expects Cooperation From Macedonia

Greece hopes the new Macedonian President will cooperate in finding a compromise to the long-standing name row between the two countries, the Greek Foreign Ministry said on Thursday. Athens hopes that Georgi Ivanov, the President elect from Sunday’s poll, “will work on settling the name row in line with NATO …

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