Eurasia

Serbia is to submit its formal application to join the European Union today, but the largest republic of the former Yugoslavia faces a tough fight to join the 27-member bloc. Even its own parliament is split on the issue with delaying tactics employed by nationalist MPs. Eventually Serbia’s president and …

Turkey and the European Union on Monday (21 December) opened the environment chapter of negotiations in the nation’s bid to join the bloc, EUobserver reports.With the move, the Anatolian state creeps further towards its goal, having now opened 12 out of the total of 35 negotiating chapters. Swedish Foreign Minister …

The deadline for providing the answers to the three questions posed by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) judges expires on Tuesday. The judges posed the questions to the countries taking part in the nine-day hearing before that court on the legality under international law of the Kosovo Albanian unilateral …

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev made a telephone call to Georgian counterpart Mikheil Saakashvili. The Azerbaijani leader congratulated Mikheil Saakashvili on his birthday and wished him robust health and successes in his activity. The Georgian President expressed gratitude to Azerbaijan`s leader Ilham Aliyev for attention and congratulations.

“Our red lines are well-known-we will not make any compromises on Macedonia’s identity and will not change the Constitution,” said Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov in his annual statement before the MPs. The name issue, Macedonia’s accession to NATO and the European Union, co-operation with the neighbor countries were the issues …

Traian Băsescu has officially taken office as President of Romania at the official ceremony on Monday and was sworn in. The ceremony was attended by the Romanian patriarch Daniel, judges from the Constitutional Court, Prime Minister Emil Boc, other members of the government, chairperson of the Supreme Court of Cassation, …

Serbian President Boris Tadić is to visit Kragujevac and Kragujevac-based carmaker Zastava on Monday, his press office announced. According to an annex to the agreement between Serbia and Fiat, the Italian automobile manufacturer will take over Zastava by the end of 2009, the statement issued in Turin, where Tadić was …

Slovenian President Danilo Turk is in Kosovo today for meetings with Fatmir Sejdiu and Hashim Thaci. The visit, described as official, will also see Turk meet with the Kosovo assembly president, Jakup Krasniqi. As he meets with the Kosovo Albanian president and prime minister, they will discuss “bilateral relations between …

Once Serbia becomes a candidate for European Union membership, it will receive EUR 250mn from the European IPA funds. Economic analyst Goran Nikolić said that Serbia is currently using two installments from the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA) funds worth EUR 200mn, and that once it becomes a candidate for …

Leader of the Democratic Union for Integration (DUI) Ali Ahmeti, as expected, was reelected at the Congress Saturday to rule the party next four years. In the 40-minute address to delegates at the Congress, Ahmeti has turned more attention to the implementation of the Framework Agreement, foreign policy, economics, reforms, …