Southeastern Europe’s proposed natural gas pipeline moved a step closer to reality after the Romanian president signed a decree allowing parliament to ratify construction. The intergovernmental agreement on the Nabucco project was signed by the prime ministers of Turkey, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary and Austria in Ankara in July.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is ready to help Greece if it needed. Director of the IMF’s European Department Marek Belka stated IMF is ready to render aid to Greece in case of request by the EU or Greece itself, but marked that the country could solve its issues alone.

Big margin of victory in first round over nearest rival, Milan Bandic, puts Social Democrat nominee in pole position to claim the prize on January 10. Ivo Josipovic, 52, won the first round of Croatian presidential elections last weekend by a wife margin and, along with his nearest rival, Milan …

Transnistria’s special representative for parliamentary ties with other unrecognized states Grigory Marakuta, who had chaired the Transnistrian supreme soviet [parliament] for nearly 2 decades, thinks that accession to Russia is indeed very desirable for the unrecognized republic but is hardly probable because Transnistria has no common border with the Russian …

There are many gaps in Serbian-Albanian relations, when taken into consideration other neighboring countries. Macedonian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ilir Meta said following the strong objection made by the Self-Determination movement in Kosovo regarding the Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha’s announcement of financial assistance for Kosovo …

Romania’s parliament will begin talks on the centrist coalition government’s austere 2010 budget bill on Jan. 11, key to freeing up a 20 billion euro aid package led by the International Monetary Fund. The IMF has said it would return to Bucharest once a budget has been approved in January …

Relations between Croatia and Serbia have not worsened and cooperation is good between the two countries, Croatian President Stjepan Mesić said. Speaking on the differing stances on Kosovo, Mesić said that the policies of Serbia are too focused on the “Kosovo myth”, but that Serbia “does not have to recognize …

Fatmir Sejdiu says he will not invite President Boris Tadić to a “mini summit of presidents of Kosovo’s neighboring countries”. “I won’t invite him to a meeting of colleagues from the region. There will certainly be other occasions, but I won’t invite him just for the sake of it. How …

The Spanish state secretary for European affairs says his country will “encourage” Serbia and the West Balkans in the EU integration process.

Russia and Ukraine have signed a new agreement on Russian oil transits via Ukraine to Europe for next year, a spokesman for Ukrainian energy company Naftogaz said on Tuesday.