Greek and Turkish Cypriots started peace talks in September 2008, the latest bid to end a conflict. Business leaders of Greece, Turkey and the two communities on Cyprus on Thursday urged leaders of the divided island to reach a peace deal this year. Greek and Turkish Cypriots started peace talks …

Analysts say the Croatian delay will drive another nail in the coffin of Balkan states` EU ambitions. A border dispute with Slovenia will prolong Croatia’s European Union entry talks into 2010 and may undermine Zagreb’s resolve to enforce the toughest reforms that still lie ahead. Analysts say the Croatian delay …

TIRANA, Albania—Albania’s government has increased its guarantee on bank deposits to euro25,000 ($32,034) from euro5,433 previously, an effort to build confidence in the banking system, the state press office said Friday. The government decision also aims to reassure more than 1 million Albanian immigrants that their deposits would be safer …

Ukraine and Croatia are considering prospects for suspending visa regulations over the 2009 summer season. Ukraine’s Ambassador Markiyan Lubkivskyi discussed the issue with Croatian Interior Minister Tomislav Karamarko. 

ZAGREB – Croatia is likely to have up to 25,000 more jobless this year, the head of the European Union candidate’s unemployment bureau said on Friday, giving a much lower estimate than employers and analysts. “Based on last year’s and this year’s expected growth figures, we estimate that annual average …

Skopje – European Parliament’s resolution, adopted Thursday in Strasbourg, presents a victory for Macedonia’s diplomacy as its recommends launching of the country’s EU entry talks and free visa regime for its citizens, Vice-Premier for European Affairs Ivica Bocevski said on Thursday. – Today, the Republic of Macedonia scored a small …

Belgrade – Thirteen Serbs were convicted of war crimes Thursday and sentenced to prison for the execution-style killings of some 200 Croats – one of the worst massacres of POWs during the bloody Balkan conflicts of the 1990s, AP reports. Serbia’s war crimes court judges handed the maximum 20 year …

Montenegro will provide financial aid to ailing aluminium producer KAP, under several conditions, the government said. Early in January, KAP had said it would suspend production by February without government’s support, due to severe losses from high production costs and falling metal prices on the international crisis. Local media later …

MOSCOW – Russia’s budget expenditures could grow by 600 billion rubles ($17 billion) to 9.6 trillion ($275 billion) this year, First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov said on Friday. He added it was only a preliminary figure and that it would be confirmed following a Cabinet session. The official said …

MOSCOW -Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Friday he was happy to have the government’s economic policies criticized, while telling regional deputies to be “extremely” attentive to social problems. In comments that contrasted with the tough image of his predecessor, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, Medvedev stressed the need for open debate …