Balkans

Kosovo’s prime minister has suspended seven officials the day after the publication of a damning report on corruption. A report by Kosovo’s anti-corruption agency revealed on Monday that 113 officials are suspected of corruption. According to the investigation for 2008, employees of the government and the courts head the list …

Kosovo’s Vetevendosje (Self-determination) movement is accusing Kosovo’s government of financially supporting Serbia’s illegal institutions in the newly independent country. Vetevendosje, led by Albin Kurti, a former student leader and war prisoner of the Milosevic regime, claims that the government has no intention to fight the mechanisms of the state of …

In a ceremony held in Brussels on Tuesday the flags of Albania and Croatia were raised at the NATO headquarters. Present at the ceremony headed by NATO General Secretary Japp de Hoop Schefer, were Albania’s Prime Minister Sali Berisha, his Croatian counterpart Ivo Sanader and the foreign ministers of the …

The UN mission in Kosovo is no longer needed, a delegation from the European Parliament said on Monday. Doris Pack, head of the European Parliament’s delegation for the West Balkans, made the comments after a meeting with Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci. The European mission in Kosovo, EULEX, declared itself …

European Union, NATO and United States’ top officials are praising the recent peaceful and democratically run Macedonian elections. The presidential and municipal poll on Sunday, which cemented the power of the ruling conservative VMRO DPMNE party was seen as a test of the country’s democratic credentials. The vote was closely …

Kosovo’s exports have almost halved in February 2009 compared to the same period last year. Figures from Kosovo’s statistical institution reveal a drop of 45 per cent in exports and a worsening trade balance. The country’s exports during February 2009 were worth €7.7 million, down from €14.1 million 12 months …

The Bosnian capital, Sarajevo, marked the day it was liberated from Nazi occupation with traffic chaos – and the opening of a landmark shopping and business centre. “Sarajevo under siege again,” screamed a report by the city newspaper Oslobodjenje on Tuesday, comparing traffic chaos with the four-year, war-time siege of …

The Sarajevo international airport was closed for some 50 minutes on Monday after an anonymous tip about a bomb planted at the airport. Luckily, the tip was a false alarm, the Dnevni avaz daily reported. The information centre of the Sarajevo international airport received an anonymous tip at around 3:20pm …

BELGRADE, Serbia – NATO is ready to improve its relations with Serbia, but Serbia’s accession into NATO is entirely a domestic decision, outgoing NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said on Saturday (April 4th).

PRISTINA, Kosovo – Italy will neither withdraw its troops from KFOR nor reduce its staff in the mission, local media quoted Italian government officials as saying on Monday (April 6th). Italy will not make any move in that direction without a decision by NATO, Italian Deputy Defence Minister Giuseppe Cossiga …