Both Brussels and Strasbourg will watch closely Macedonia’s March 22 presidential and local election for signs of democratic maturity after the country’s last general election in June 2008 was marred by violence and fraud. The European Commission via its office in Skopje will monitor both the pre-election campaign and the …

European foreign ministers failed to formally appoint the new international representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina on Monday but sources said that Austrian Valentin Inszko, Vienna’s former ambassador to Bosnia, was now the strongest contender for the post after the British frontrunner pulled out. According to diplomatic sources, Emyr Parry Jones, …

The European Union is apparently not keen on taking up Belgrade’s offer and sending a fact-finding mission to assess Serbia’s cooperation with the Hague war crimes tribunal , according to European officials. Serbian foreign minister Vuk Jeremic called EU member states in January to send a fact finding mission to …

Bosnia plunged deeper into political crisis over the weekend after Bosnian Serb leaders abandoned crucial negotiations, accused a US diplomat of conspiracy, threatened to pull out of joint institutions and even call for a referendum on independence. This was only a part of the infuriated response of the leadership of …

Warming up for the official start of the Macedonia presidential race, the ruling conservative VMRO DPMNE party came up with an unusual way to attack the candidate of the opposition Social Democrats, calling him ‘too rude’ to lead the nation. The VMRO party youth asked Ljubomir Frckoski to apologize to …

Kosovo’s authorities have said they are adamant about “defusing Serbia’s threats towards Kosovo’s territorial sovereignty” and would stop any Serbian officials entering Kosovo unannounced. Serbia’s Minister for Kosovo and Metohija, Goran Bogdanovic was stopped from coming into Kosovo at the weekend, with authorities saying he was planning to come into …

Around 13,000 Kosovo health workers went on strike on Tuesday to protest against delays in being awarded a pay hike, already promised last year. Kosovo’s Minsitry of Health promised to increase health workers’ wages by at least 44 euro a month in October 2008, a pledge that has yet to …

Bulgarian police found an unexploded bomb in the centre of Sofia in the early hours on Tuesday, the Interior Ministry said. The manager of Planet night club on Oborishte street, between Alexander Nevsky cathedral and Vassil Levski Boulevard, called the police about a suspicious package left outside the place in …

A Bulgarian court has sentenced Issa Mehmed, nicknamed ‘The Hacker’, to four and a half years in prison for founding an organized crime group, money laundering, financial fraud and extortion, Croatian Javno news reported Tuesday. Mehmed and four members of his criminal gang were arrested on 20 January 2008 for …

After several weeks of an intensive emergency vaccination campaign the mumps epidemic in Macedonia has topped 3,600 patiens, but authorities expect the infection to eventually let up in the coming weeks. More than 35,000 people were vaccinated in the nation-wide action so far, the health ministry informs. The epidemic started …