Balkans

Ruling Democratic Party and G17 Plus officials in Serbia have concluded that the number of government ministries should be cut in a bid to cut costs, Belgrade daily Blic reports. Citing a source from the Democratic Party, Blic reports that the number of government ministers should be cut in proportion …

Lithuania will reduce the number of troops it has in Kosovo because of the improved security situation, the country’s Defence Ministry Spokesman Danguole Bickauskiene said on Tuesday. Speaking to French news agency Agence France Presse, AFP, Bickauskiene noted that the withdrawal of troops from Kosovo is affected by the economic …

Some 1,000 hardline nationalists staged an anti-NATO rally in the main square of Belgrade, chanting “Kosovo is the heart of Serbia” and waving banners hailing Milosevic as the “hero of the Serbian nation.” Earlier, air-raid sirens wailed and church bells tolled on Tuesday as Serbia marked the 10th anniversary of …

Local authorities in Bosilegrad municipality, an area around 450 kilometres southeast of Belgrade and populated by ethnic Bulgarians, have introduced a state of alert over weather conditions. Mayor Vladimir Zaharijev said that because of the huge snow drifts of up to a metre high around 30 villages were cut off …

Romania has reached an agreement with major international lenders for a €20 billion loan designed to finance the country’ sbudget and current- account deficits. According to the agreement, the International Monetary Fund is to lend €12.95 billion, the European Union – €5 billion while the rest will come from the …

The European Commission is seeking an explanation from Paris over French car-making giant Renault’s decision to recall some of its production from Slovenia to France. “The commission will ask the French authorities for explanations,” said the Commission spokesman on competition issues Jonathan Todd. French Secretary of State for Industry Luc …

The German Bank for Development is to provide the Procredit Bank in Kosovo with a loan to finance new energy efficiency schemes for the wider population in Kosovo. ″We are sure that this support will contribute to a sustainable utilisation of energy in Kosovo,″ said the vice head of Entwicklungsbank …

`This has been a decision by the whole government,` Carme Chacon told a news conference. Spain’s defence minister on Monday denied reports of a split within the Socialist government over a decision to pull troops out of Kosovo which has dampened hopes of better ties with the United States. “This …

Excessive loud diplomacy, expressions that harm good relations, all this is harmful for Croatia’s cooperation with Slovenia. Relations between Croatia and Slovenia are not good and a lot more needs to be done to mend them. Slovenian President Danilo Tuerk said in an interview published by Slovenia’s news agency STA. …

The peaceful conduct of both the presidential and parallel local elections contrasted with the violence of last year`s parliamentary poll. Politics professor Gjorge Ivanov took a clear lead over his rivals on Monday in the first round of Macedonia’s election hailed by the European Union for its lack of violence. …