Balkans

LJUBLJANA, Slovenia During a meeting in Ljubljana on Wednesday (April 8th), Serbian Defence Minister Dragan Sutanovac said Belgrade has no plans to apply for NATO membership. The issue was raised in light of neighbours Croatia and Albania joining the Alliance last week.

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

A deal guaranteeing immunity for Bosnian war-time leader Radovan Karadzic was agreed by US special envoy Richard Holbrooke, it has been claimed. Gojko Klickovic, who is indicted for war crimes, said he was present when an agreement was made and signed by Radovan Karadzic and Richard Holbrooke in 1996, he …

Macedonia’s budget needs to be urgently revised as the country spends more than it receives, the International Monetary Fund’s representative to the country, Bert Van Selm, said in the local media. He said this year’s first trimester shows a forecasted 13 per cent growth in revenue, on which the budget …