Eurasia

SARAJEVO, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) High Representative Valentin Inzko announced on Saturday (June 20th) he is repealing a resolution by Republika Srpska’s (RS) parliament, obliging the entity’s institutions and officials to oppose any future transfer of power to BiH.

SARAJEVO, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) The EU said on Friday (June 19th) that BiH has violated its commitments under the Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA) by adopting a controversial law on customs duties, media reported. On Thursday, parliament endorsed the bill, which imposes higher duties on nearly 1,000 items, …

NICOSIA, Cyprus Turkish Cypriot Foreign Minister Huseyin Ozgurgun said on Friday (June 19th) his government may consider other options if the ongoing reunification talks with Greek Cypriots fail. His statement followed a meeting with UN special envoy for Cyprus Alexander Downer in Nicosia.

TIRANA, Albania The United States and the EU on Friday (June 19th) once again called on Albania to hold free and fair elections to boost its chances for closer ties with the West, media reported. In a statement, the US Embassy in Tirana said next week’s elections will test the …

ATHENS, Greece The long-awaited new Acropolis Museum was officially inaugurated on Saturday (June 20th) at a ceremony in Athens. Greece’s political leaders and hundreds of foreign dignitaries, artists and academics attended the ceremony. The museum was intended to open in time for the 2004 Athens Olympics, but technical and bureaucratic …

Three Scorpions paramilitaries have been sentenced to serve up to 20 years in prison for killing 14 civillians in Podujevo, near Pristina, in March 1999. The verdict, handed down yesterday at the Belgrade District Court War Crimes Chamber, sentenced Zeljko Djukic, Dragan Medic, and Dragan Borojevic to 20 years, and …

Talks surrounding Serbia’s European future were withdrawn at the last minute from this week’s EU Summit agenda in Brussels. Jose Manuel Barroso, European Commission President had no comments or information for journalists about the talks and if Serbia had made it on the agenda. Other topics at the press conference …

Fourteen presidents are taking part in a summit of Central and South-East European heads of state in Novi Sad to discuss issues integral to the region. Today’s plenary session will tackle the economy, energy and European integration. Serbian bilateral meetings are taking place as President Boris Tadic met last night …

The UNHCR has identified Serbia as one of the top five countries with a recurring refugee crisis. At a UNHCR meeting held in Vienna today, Serbia’s UNHCR representative Lennart Kotsalainen stated that fourteen years after the war in the Balkans, “a great number of refugees still live in Serbia, which …

Albania’s President Bamir Topi has invited the presidents of neighboring Macedonia, Kosovo and Montenegro to visit his country next week. Topi is to host Macedonian President Georgi Ivanov, Kosovo’s Fatmir Sejdiu and Montenegro’s Filip Vujanovic in the town of Vlora. They are expected to discuss regional issues, according to Macedonia’s …