Eurasia

The European Commission as rejected a request by Bulgarian Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev to send European officials and diplomats to help the country’s state administration in its handling of EU funds. In a letter, obtained by the Dnevnik newspaper, European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso told Stanishev that the new …

Bulgaria’s Criminal Assets Forfeiture Commission on Tuesday imposed a ban on funds and property worth 828,000 leva (423,500 euro) owned by Alexander Tomov, a former deputy prime minister and now president of CSKA Sofia football club and executive director of Kremikovtzi steel plant. Tomov is under investigation for embezzlement while …

As the World Bank issues its latest report which forecasts the first global recession since World War II, the chill winds of economic slowdown are increasingly being felt in the Balkans. The current unprecedented economic downturn has forced the World Bank to adjust its estimates and warn that the recession …

The member states and institutions of the European Union are keeping a close eye on the rich energy potential of the Balkan countries, Western officials have said, urging local leaders to undertake necessary reforms and unlock this sector for potential investments. This message was delivered by several senior EU officials …

LJUBLJANA, Slovenia – Slovenian President Danilo Turk and Parliament Speaker Pavel Gantar signed on Friday (March 27th) the protocol for Croatia’s NATO accession, thus allowing the country to join the alliance at its April summit. Slovenia was the last of the 26 NATO members to ratify the protocol. The move …

ANKARA, Turkey – Six people, including opposition Great Union Party (BBP) leader Muhsin Yazicioglu, died in a helicopter crash in the southern province of Kahramanmaras, Interior Minister Besir Atalay said on Friday (March 27th). Yazicioglu’s helicopter crashed Wednesday in bad weather. Searchers took two days to find the wreckage and …

PRAGUE, the Czech Republic — EU foreign ministers reaffirmed on Saturday (March 28th) the EU’s commitment to the Balkan countries’ integration process. The Balkans remain on track for joining the EU despite the economic downturn in Europe, the ministers said.

PARIS, France/NAIROBI, Kenya – Interpol said on Friday (March 27th) that a man arrested in Kenya on suspicion of war crimes in former Yugoslavia did not have the fingerprints of former Bosnian Serb commander Ratko Mladic. Police in Kenya released the detainee on Friday, saying he was a Croatian national …

SARAJEVO, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) – Austrian diplomat Valentin Inzko assumed the post of high representative in BiH on Thursday (March 26th), thus becoming the seventh since 1996. Inzko replaced Miroslav Lajcak, who left to become foreign minister of Slovakia. The new high representative said he will follow the priorities …

BELGRADE Serbia – Hague war crimes tribunal (ICTY) Chief Prosecutor Serge Brammertz expressed his satisfaction with Serbia’s efforts to co-operate fully with the ICTY during his talks on Friday (March 27th) with War Crimes Prosecutor Vladimir Vukcevic. The meeting between Brammertz and Vukcevic was “extremely successful and efficient”, said Bruno …