Eurasia

Ahead of the sixth round of EU-led talks in Brussels, Serbian leaders say the outlines of a compromise solution to the vexed issue of nothern Kosovo are within sight.Ivica Dacic, Serbia’s Prime Minister, and his Kosovo counterpart, Hashim Thaci, are to continue their talks on the future of Serbian-financed institutions …

The campaign for the March 24 vote began on Monday after a last-minute political deal ensured that the Macedonian opposition reversed its boycott pledge.The agreement on Friday ended the opposition’s parliamentary boycott as well as ensuring its participation in the municipal race later this month, after a political crisis that …

Bulgarian demonstrators staged some of the largest rallies since the crisis erupted in the country and vowed to continue protests as their demands escalated.More than 100,000 people took to the streets across the country on Sunday, Bulgaria’s Liberation Day, demanding sweeping changes to the political system and economic policy. The …

Politicians expressed revulsion after two days of violent, ethnically-charged protests gripped the capital, sparked by the controversial appointment of an ex-guerrilla as defence minister.Skopje was calm again on Monday after the unrest on Friday and Saturday that saw riot police use tear gas and armoured vehicles during clashes with protesters …

Croatia’s main opposition party, the Croatian Democratic Union, wants new polls after EU accession this year, accusing the government of mishandling the economy.“The ruling coalition’s [pre-election] plan was a deception. The governing team is incompetent, unskilled and even conceited,” said Croatian Democratic Union, HDZ, president Tomislav Karamarko in a televised …

EU enlargement commissioner Stefan Fuele condemned the ruling majority’s decision to hold a referendum on three bills required for Albania’s EU candidate status bid.I have been repeatedly stressing that the laws, and in particular the rules of procedures, need to be approved through consensus between the opposition and government and …

New leader of Slovenia says her country will not stand in the way of Croatia’s membership of the European Union.Ratification of Croatia’s European Union accession treaty is not just a question of good-neighbourly relations but is also in Slovenia’s strategic interest, Slovenia’s Prime Minister-designate Alenka Bratusek told the Croatian newspaper …

After the incumbent, Filip Vujanovic, launched his campaign late last week in Bar, his main rival, Miodrag Lekic will hold his first election convention in Niksic on Monday.Billboards that went up in the capital, Podgorica, on Friday, showing a smiling Vujanovic dressed casually in a beige sweater and white shirt, …

Azerbaijani-Croatian ministerial consultations are underway in Zagreb. A delegation from the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry’s led

Heavy fighting in northern Mali has left at least 50 rebel fighters and a French soldier dead, officials said Sunday, as Chad promised to prove its soldiers had killed two top Islamist militants. French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian called for “caution” on Chad’s reports