Macedonia is well on the way to being granted a full visa liberalisation for travel to the EU, local media said Wednesday citing an unnamed diplomatic source. The European Commission’s assessment of whether the countries in the Western Balkans have fulfilled the requirements for the abolition of the visa regime …
Read More »Report: Nimetz To Visit Macedonia, Greece
The UN mediator in the Athens-Skopje name row, Matthew Nimetz will probably visit both countries by June-end in a renewed effort to find a solution to the on-going spat, Greek media say. Nimetz has not confirmed the reports. Wednesday’s edition of Greek daily “To Vima” says that Nimetz will only …
Read More »Italy Wants to Abolish Visas for Serbs
Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Franco Frattini, says abolishing the EU visa regime for Serbian citizens is possible by the end of 2009. In an interview with the daily ‘Blic’ newspaper he said: “The time has come to do everything to bring down the borders that separate the Balkan countries …
Read More »Bajdenova bezbjednost u BiH nije ugrožena
Author: Mirza Čubro SARAJEVO – Obavještajne i sigurnosne agencije u BiH ne raspolažu saznanjima o bilo kakvoj mogućoj sigurnosnoj prijetnji Džozefu Bajdenu, potpredsjedniku SAD, koji danas dolazi u posjetu BiH. “Državna agencija za istrage i zaštitu (SIPA) i ostale sigurnosne agencije koje sudjeluju u osiguranju posjete američkog potpredsjednika prate sigurnosnu …
Read More »US Vice President Kicks Off Balkan Tour
US Vice President Joseph Biden landed at Sarajevo’s airport on Tuesday early morning, officially kicking off his three-day tour of the Balkans. Aboard the Vice President’s Boeing 757, code-named “Air Force 2,” Joe Biden landed shortly before 5:00 am local time, traveling directly from Greensborough, North Carolina, where he held …
Read More »EU Moves to Pull Peacekeepers from Bosnia
EU foreign ministers discussed plans for the final closure of the EU’s peacekeeping mission, EUFOR, in Bosnia, citing a stable security situation in the country. At a regular monthly meeting in Brussels on Monday foreign ministers agreed to move ahead with plans for EUFOR’s transition to “a non-executive capacity-building and …
Read More »HDZ performs strongly in Croatian elections
ZAGREB, Croatia The senior ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) and its coalition partners managed to win the most votes in 14 counties in Sunday’s (May 17th) local elections. Preliminary results from the State Electoral Commission suggest the leading opposition party, the Social Democratic Party (SDP), claimed victory in five counties, …
Read More »Albania unprepared for visa-free regime with EU
TIRANA, Albania The country has not done enough to meet the requirements for abolishing the visa regime with the EU, local media reported on Sunday (May 17th), citing a report by the European Commission. The document officially appears on Monday.
Read More »Kosovo government to prepare EU partnership plan
PRISTINA, Kosovo The government will soon present an EU partnership plan to guarantee smoother integration, Prime Minister Hashim Thaci told a cabinet meeting Friday (May 15th). He added that the government, local institutions and the public must share a commitment to EU integration and treat it as a high priority. …
Read More »Cyprus rules out veto of Turkey’s EU accession
NICOSIA, Cyprus Foreign Minister Markos Kyprianou said on Friday (May 15th) Nicosia does not intend to veto Turkey’s EU accession process, “either on its own or with another country”.
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