BULGARIA Working groups with all the ministries will leave for Brussels under the guidance of OLAF. They will work out measures and plans for returning the money of the EU funds to Bulgaria, Prime Minister Boyko Borisov announced at the news conference organized after Council of Minister’s sitting, which was …

BULGARIA The Council of Ministers passed the Short-term Fiscal Framework 2010-2013 and the basic allowances for 2010-2013. For the first time the strategic document covers the entire term of office of the government and secures the policies and priorities in the different sectors, the government’s press office announced. The document …

SERBIA A previously unknown anarchist group, Crni Ilija, has claimed responsibility for Monday’s firebombing of the Greek embassy in Belgrade, Beta news agency reported Wednesday. In a statement released to the press, the group said it is demanding the release of fellow anarchist Thodoros Iliopoulos, who was arrested during a …

MACEDONIA UN-brokered talks to settle the Athens-Skopje naming dispute are entering a crucial stage, Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis said Tuesday. She said that Greece faces an important six-months as it seeks to settle key foreign policy issues, including the name row, the online edition of Greek daily Naftemporiki reports. …

The head of the OSCE Mission to Serbia, Hans Ola Urstad, has expressed concern regarding new amendments to the Law on Public Information, which could be passed by the Serbian parliament on August 31, daily Danas reports. “This is the second time this year that media legislation is being processed …

Egypt, Vietnam and Cambodia are the latest countries to begin issuing visas to Kosovo passport holders, despite not recognising the state. According to research by the website KosovoThanksYou, Kosovars citizens have visited Egypt, Vietnam and Cambodia in recent months using passports of the Republic of Kosovo. More than 20 countries …

MACEDONIA Macedonia’s main opposition party, the Social Democrats, SDSM, will put up a tough fight in challenging the government’s economic policies, and will provide alternatives, leader Branko Crvenkovski says. The drafting of the party’s new platform, which focuses largely on the economy, is nearly finished, he said in an interview …

MOLDOVA The Transnistrians eligible to vote, who make up over 9% of the voters, were intimidated and disfavored in the July 29 elections, shows the final monitoring report of Promo-LEX Association presented on August 25. According to the report, only 5,000 of the 223,000 Moldovans in Transnistria could exercise their …

MOLDOVA The vice presidents of the Liberal Party (PL) Dorin Chirtoaca and Anatol Salaru refuted the Communists Party’s assertions that the PL is a radical right-wing party that does not tolerate ethnic minorities. Asked Who is to blame for the fact that the other-language speakers do not know and do …

MOLDOVA A new high-pressure main gas pipeline, Balti – Ungheni, was officially commissioned here on Tuesday, the Moldovagaz Moldo-Russian company has reported. This essential object is one of the important-most items of the Republic of Moldova’s 2007-2020 Energy Strategy and of the National Gas Program for a period ending in …