Balkans

The President of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, has suggested that Bulgaria could receive EUR 500 M from preliminary payments through European Programs to help the country through the financial crisis, Bulgarian National Radio reported late Thursday. Barroso’s announcement came after a meeting with Bulgarian PM Sergey Stanishev who …

Zagreb,  – Turkey, Italy and Hungary reiterated Thursday their support of Macedonia’s accession to NATO at meetings with Defense Minister Zoran Konjanovski. At the sidelines of enlarged Southeast European Defence Ministerial of the countries from the US-Adriatic Charter in Zagreb, Konjanovski held bilateral talks with his Turkish, Hungarian counterparts Vecdi …

Albania’s finance ministry said on Thursday it would borrow 250 million euros (315 million US dollars) from two foreign banks to cover its budget deficit. The ministry said in a statement it chose Deutsche Bank and Greece’s Alpha Bank for the loan from seven bidders who offered to lend the …

Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn urged Slovenia and Croatia on Thursday to accept the European Union’s mediation in their border row, warning it was the only way to end their 18-year-old feud. “I expect from both countries a positive response,” Rehn told journalists on the sidelines of a meeting of European …

(BELGRADE) – A Serbian government decision to withdraw a draft parliamentary anti-discrimination bill at the request of religious authorities has sparked outrage, local media reported Thursday. The draft, passed by the government last month, was unexpectedly withdrown from the statute book late on Wednesday, a day before the begining of …

Major archaeological excavations have started at four ancient sites around Macedonia, namely at the sites of Heraklea Lynkestis, Skopje’s Kale Fortress, Stobi and Isar. It is expected that the sites will be completely explored, Pasko Kuzman, Director of Cultural Heritage Protection in the Macedonian Ministry of Culture, told the Dnevnik …

Romania’s President Traian Basescu will on Monday address Parliament in a key note speech in which he will say that the country is facing difficult times and make an appeal to Romanians for austerity measures. “I will ask for support in getting a loan from the IMF or the European …

Sofia. Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov met with speaker of Macedonian Parliament Tajko Veljanovski, president’s office press office informs. Bulgarian President pointed in the conversation Bulgaria will continue supporting Macedonia in its attempts for the realization of its European Atlantic perspectives, in the context of Bulgaria’s support towards countries from West …

Sofia. Natural gas price has to be re considered with Russia. This is what Union of Democratic Forces’s chairman Martin Dimitrov said in the National Assembly during the parliamentary control. According to Minister of Energy Petar Dimitrov Bulgaria has lost BGN 456 million due to the suspended gas delivers. Private …

Sofia/Skopje. Macedonian parliament chairperson Trajko Veljanovski is on a visit to Bulgaria. In a statement at the Bulgarian National Assembly on Thursday, Veljanovski and his Bulgarian counterpart, Georgi Pirinski, said that Macedonia and Bulgaria must not let the stereotypes of the past and the unfriendly commentaries ruin the good political …