Balkans

BUCHAREST – Romanian President Traian Basescu on Tuesday urged that international legislation be passed to curb criminality worldwide as criminals become more clever in breaking the law at home and abroad. The adoption of a policy of fighting criminality at the international level is necessary, considering that criminal organizations have …

BUCHAREST – Romania’s center-left government will likely approve on Wednesday an official letter requesting a loan package led by the International Monetary Fund, Prime Minister Emil Boc said on Monday. Romania approached Brussels and the IMF for support earlier this month, becoming the third European Union member after Hungary and …

A new Bulgarian national employment measure will open 87 000 new job opportunities. The Bulgarian Social Minister, Emiliya Maslarova, announced the measure Monday at the opening of a “Labor Transformation – Social Security and Dialogue” conference. The conference will be held at the University of National and World Economy in …

Air-raid sirens wailed on Tuesday as Serbia marked ten years since NATO’s bombing campaign against the regime of late president Slobodan Milosevic to halt its violent Kosovo crackdown. Solemn ceremonies were held at Belgrade monuments to children and journalists killed in the NATO sorties as the sirens were sounded across …

A proposal not to prosecute consenting adults for incest has sparked controversy in Romania, with the Orthodox Church leading public opposition to the move. The Romanian Justice Ministry is considering a change in the law, so that parents, grandparents, brothers and sisters can be exempt from prosecution for incest as …

Kosovo police on Monday prevented Belgrade mayor Dragan Djilas from entering Kosovo’s territory at the customs checkpoint at Konculj. Djilas, who is an official of the Democratic Party headed by Serbian President Boris Tadic, planned to visit the Serb population in eastern Kosovo together with his associates, but was denied …

Kosovo’s Foreign Minister Skender Hyseni has won praise for his performance at the UN Security Council meeting on Monday with Kosovo Albanians saying his rally for the country has never been stronger. Hyseni addressed the council three times, and also argued against Serbia’s President Boris Tadic twice, dismissing his arguments.

Montenegro is efficiently fulfilling its Stabilisation and Association Agreement with the EU and is quickly moving towards accession, EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn says. Speaking in Brussels on Sunday after a meeting with Montenegrin Foreign Minister Milan Rocen, Rehn said Montenegro has strengthened its administrative capacity, implemented legal reforms and …

The son of Franjo Tudjman, Croatia’s late wartime nationalist president, will run for the same post in 2010 elections, he said in a HINA news agency report Tuesday. Miroslav Tudjman, 62, would stand for president as an “independent candidate,” he was quoted as saying in a statement. “It’s a last …

The United States hailed Macedonia for holding violence-free elections but urged the country to keep up the effort for the run-off vote on April 5, local media report. Mary Ann Tyson, the Press Secretary at the State Department’s Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, told Voice of America’s Macedonian news …