Eurasia

Victor Ponta’s new government faces a challenge in reconciling Romania’s tough commitments to the IMF while carrying out its election pledge to ease the burden of austerity on the population.Romania’s Prime Minister-designate on Wednesday presented his new cabinet, which is expected to gain the backing of parliament on December 21. …

The government has released a list of half a million former fighters in the independence war from 1991-1995 – in a drive to clamp down on the widespread abuse of veterans status.Three Ministers, of Defence, the Interior and Veterans, all three former soldiers, presented the registry, which has been published …

Serbia’s minister in charge of corruption has said that at least 20 politicians were financed by tycoon Miroslav Miskovic, and that the Delta Holding owner should disclose their names.Aleksandar Vucic, Serbia’s deputy prime minister in charge of corruption, has called on Miskovic, the owner of Delta Holding, to reveal the …

Serbian officials confirmed a united stance on Kosovo while the President is set to present his Kosovo platform in the upcoming days.Serbian Prime Minister Ivica Dacic said that the country’s top officials agreed on Sunday night a unified state policy on Kosovo.”There is complete unity on the most important questions …

The Serbian and Croatian prosecutors have questioned on Monday in the Danish capital Copenhagen, two potential witnesses to the war crimes in the Croatian municipality Dvor in 1995.The Chief Croatian Prosecutor, Mladen Bajic, and his Serbian counterpart, Vladimir Vukcevic have questioned, together with their Danish colleagues, two members of the …

The leader of the center-left ruling coalition in Romania has been nominated to lead the country’s future government.The Romanian president, Traian Basescu, on Monday re-appointed Victor Ponta as the prime minister, in a move aimed to end the current political stalemate. Rather unusually, Basescu announced the nomination in a written …

The Advisory body of Council of Europe suggests that the most important judicial functions in Montenegro should be appointed by a two-third parliamentary majority.The Council of Europe’s advisory body on constitutional matters, the Venice Commission, has examined the draft opinion on draft amendments to the Constitutional provisions relating to the …

Albania on Friday said it had recognized the anti-Assad opposition as the only legitimate representative of the Syrian people.“Albania calls on the United Nations and NATO to take all the necessary measures to stop the barbarian massacre being carried out by Bashar Al-Assad and his regime against the Syrian people,” …

Standard and Poor’s downgraded Croatia’s credit rating to junk on Friday, a development deemed “catastrophic” by a local analyst.”The Croatian government’s reforms have so far been insufficient to eliminate the structural rigidities that hamper the country’s growth potential,” the rating agency said in a statement explaining its decision to lower …

The Macedonian opposition has blocked the adoption of the national budget for next year, as it battles with the government over proposed loans.Parliament’s Commission on Financing and Budget is blocked with over 1,200 amendments submitted by the opposition Social Democrats, SDSM. This makes it uncertain whether the commission will have …