Balkans

Representatives from the EU, the US, and Russia among others are meeting in Sarajevo, where they are expected to debate the international community’s future role in Bosnia and Herzegovina and confirm the country’s new top international envoy. The conference of the Peace Implementation Council started in the Bosnian capital on …

Public service unions are likely to file a lawsuit challenging a decision by the Croatian government to adopt a law that will reduce the base salary for 180,000 public service employees by six percent. Instead of cancelling collective contracts with employees, the cabinet has decided to introduce a law that …

Albania’s central bank warned the government on Wednesday against increasing budget expenditure, as this could put the macroeconomic stability of the country at risk. The central bank called for a tighter fiscal policy saying the government has no room to offer further fiscal stimulus. “This is the maximum that the …

The chief of the International Monetary Fund’s mission in Serbia Albert Jagger confirmed today at a press conference that the IMF will approve the loan arrangement with Serbia, but said the Serbian goverment must fulfill some conditions first. “These conditions are: rebalancing the budget, changes in tax regulations, and getting …

About 2,000 workers in Montenegro protested Wednesday over the possible closure of a factory owned by embattled Russian tycoon Oleg Deripaska, the Associated Press reported. The workers at aluminum maker KAP, the biggest Montenegrin exporter, defied a police ban and gathered in front of government headquarters to put pressure on …

Around 1,000 employees of Romania’s state-run railway company, CFR, have started a protest in Bucharest’s main railway station following government plans to scrap around 12,000 jobs this year. “Until now, our negotiations with the government have failed, but we still hope a solution will be found in order to save …

Slovenia`s Constitutional court has rejected the request of the SSN party for temporary cease raising signatures for a referendum. Slovenia`s Constitutional court has rejected the request of the Slovene People`s Party (SSN) to temporarily cease raising signatures for a referendum on Croatian NATO membership until the court passes a decision …

Prime Minister Robert Fico called an extraordinary meeting of his Security Council to prepare measures to counter `export of extremism.` Slovakia accused a far-right Hungarian movement on Tuesday of recruiting ethnic Hungarians in southern Slovakia to stir up trouble and distract attention from Hungary’s own economic problems. Prime Minister Robert …

Krsto Savic, 49, the ex-police chief in the town of Gacko, was sentenced to 20 years for killing, detention, forcible transfer and torture. Bosnia’s war crimes court jailed two Bosnian Serb wartime policemen on Tuesday for 20 years and five years for persecution of non-Serbs in southeastern Bosnia early in …

NEW YORK, United States — The UN Security Council launched a debate on Monday (March 23rd) on Kosovo and the status of the Serbian minority there. No major progress was reported at the session, where UNMIK chief Lamberto Zannier and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon presented their quarterly report on the …