Eurasia

EP Delegation arrives in Kosovo

A six-member delegation of the European Parliament (EP), headed by German representative Doris Pack, will stay in Kosovo and Metohija on November 13-16, where the first local elections organized by the provisional Kosovo authorities will be held. Ahead of the elections called for November 15, the delegation will meet with …

Read More »

Security Fears at Kosovo Vote Counting Centre

With just two days left before the local elections, concern has been raised about mysterious visits to the vote counting centre by workmen claiming to work for EULEX, and questions are being asked about three tenders, crucial to the election process. Mystery workmen, claiming to be employees of EULEX and …

Read More »

Bulgaria, Azerbaijan Seal Gas Supply Deal

Bulgaria and Azerbaijan are expected to sign an agreement to cooperate on gas supplies Friday, as President Ilham Aliyev pays a working visit to Sofia at the invitation of his Bulgarian counterpart Georgi Parvanov. Earlier the week Bulgaria’s Minister of Economy, Energy, and Tourism, Traicho Traikov, announced that Bulgaria’s state-owned …

Read More »

Balkan Countries Not Ready for Gas Crisis

Countries from Central Europe and the Balkans should do more in order be better prepared for a otential gas crisis and should find ways to reduce their dependency on Russian supplies, officials and businesspeople said during a Central European Initiative, CEI, meeting held in Bucharest. “The debate over energy security …

Read More »

Tratatul de la Lisabona şi R. Moldova

„O nouă ordine mondială… nu poate face abstracţie de o „Mare Europă” de la Atlantic la Vladivostok” (Serghei Lavrov şi Franco Frattini) Uniunea Europeană îşi modifică, treptat, profilul. Tratatul de la Lisabona este semnat de toate cele 27 de state membre, iar Comisia Europeană îşi intensifică eforturile pentru ca textul …

Read More »

Russia, Georgia to hold new talks in January

Russia and Georgia have agreed to hold a new round of talks on January 28 next year, aimed at reducing tensions following their five-day war in August 2008. Representatives of the two sides met for the eight time in Geneva on Wednesday for what a European Union mediator described as …

Read More »

Dutch FM Suggests Softer Tone Towards Serbia

Dutch Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen has suggested a softening in the Dutch position regarding Serbia’s cooperation with the UN War Crimes Tribunal. Speaking at a debate on EU enlargement in the Dutch parliament, Verhagen said Serbia’s cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, ICTY, showed that: “Upward …

Read More »

Albania and Bosnia must catch up on reform to qualify for short-stay visa waiver, say MEPs

Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina must catch up on the reforms needed to qualify for a short-stay visa waiver like those of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro, said MEPs on Thursday. The European Commission should report on the two countries’ progress early in 2010, and also …

Read More »

IMF May Delay Second Bosnia Tranche

The International Monetary Fund, IMF, could delay the release of the second installment of its stand-by deal with Bosnia, an official said. “I have a feeling that the second installment will be postponed,’’ Mustafa Mujezinovic, the prime minister of Bosnia’s Croat-Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) entity told journalists.

Read More »