Eurasia

European Union foreign ministers have agreed to grant official EU candidate status to Montenegro, the fourth former Yugoslav republic to take this step towards European integration. “We have given the green light for Montenegro for candidate status,” Belgian Foreign Minister Steven Vanackere was cited by the AP as saying on …

Moldova’s Central Elections Commission is beginning to recount the ballots that were cast in a snap parliamentary election on November 28th. The Commission is complying with the decision that the republic’s Constitutional Court has made on application by the opposition Communist Party, which

Serbian and Russian Foreign Ministers Vuk Jeremić and Sergey Lavrov discussed bilateral and international cooperation in Moscow today. The two ministries are preparing a declaration on strategic partnership between Russia and Serbia. 

Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych sees Ukraine as “a reliable bridge” between the major economic centers of the world – Europe, Russia and the United States. “Ukraine wants to be a reliable bridge between large, powerful and economically developed centers of the world such as Europe, Russia and the United States. …

As of Wednesday, the citizens of Bosnia-Herzegovina who possess biometric passports will be able to travel visa-free to the EU member states. This also applies to trips to Switzerland, Iceland, and Norway. The European Council approved on November 8 the decision on visa abolition for citizens of Bosnia-Herzegovina and Albania.

Slovakia’s Miroslav Lajcak has been appointed to a top post in the EU’s new diplomatic service, where he will head the section for Russia, the Eastern Neighborhood and the Western Balkans. The former Slovak foreign minister previously served as his country’s ambassador to Serbia and also as the high representative …

The Albanian opposition is resuming anti-government street protests with a rally in the port city of Durres on Tuesday (December 14th). Spartak Ngjela, leader of the Law and Justice Party, which doesn’t have

Croatian Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor said on Monday  that Austria supports her country’s EU integration process. After meeting with Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann in Vienna, Kosor explained that the talks focused on additional efforts Croatia must make in order to close the negotiation chapters on judiciary and competition. She said …

Representatives of Serbs who fled Croatia during the 1991-1995 war announced on Monday (December 13th) they are launching a petition drive to insist that Croatia resolve their property rights and other outstanding issues before joining the EU. They will start collecting signatures as of Wednesday in Serbia, Montenegro, Republika Srpska, …

The Serbian War Crimes Prosecutor has filed an indictment against six individuals suspected of helping war crimes indictee Stojan Zupljanin evade justice. Deputy War Crimes Prosecutor Bruno Vekaric said that the indictment covered the period from