Afghanistan’s insurgency can be brought to an end through “soft diplomacy” with the Taliban, if Western forces commit to a timetable to withdraw from the country, a veteran of past negotiations with the militants says. Sayed Jalal, a former child prodigy famous across the country for brokering talks between Iran …

TIRANA, Albania Prime Minister Sali Berisha on Tuesday (April 28th) officially submitted Albania’s application for EU candidate status to the current Union president, the Czech Republic. During a ceremony in Prague, Berisha described it as “a dream come true”.

LUXEMBOURG, Luxembourg The European Court of Justice (ECJ) on Tuesday (April 28th) backed the right of Greek Cypriots to reclaim property in northern Cyprus that they abandoned during the 1974 Turkish military intervention. Foreigners later bought the abandoned property.

SARAJEVO, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) The head of the European Parliament delegation for Southeast Europe, Doris Pack, said on Tuesday (April 28th) the situation in BiH is more serious than she thought. During her visit, Pack said “I’ve been monitoring Bosnia for a long time, and it’s now worse than …

STRASBOURG, France Despite a period of turbulent transition, Serbia is moving forward and making progress on its road to EU integration, the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) concluded on Tuesday (April 28th).

BELGRADE, Serbia Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic announced on Tuesday (April 28th) that Serbia will open a trio of new consulates in Montenegro, the first step to normalise relations between the two countries since Podgorica recognised Kosovo.

PRISTINA, Kosovo Serbs in Mitrovica and KFOR commanders agreed on Tuesday (April 28th) that peacekeeping troops blocking the roads to the Brdjani district will withdraw. KFOR personnel will leave, while Serbs and Albanians, involved in sporadic clashes since Friday, will be able to return to their homes.

ZAGREB, Croatia Justice Minister Ivan Simonovic asked foreign donors Tuesday (April 28th) to help the country finance projects aimed at reforming the judiciary, a key precondition for eventual EU accession. Presenting projects worth about 42m euros through 2012, Simonovic asked the donors to help reduce the number of local courts …

BUCHAREST, Romania Foreign Minister Cristian Diaconescu says he assured EU officials that Romania has no plans to grant mass citizenship to Moldovans. Returning on Tuesday (April 28th) from a meeting of the EU’s General Affairs and External Relations Council in Luxembourg, Diaconescu said Bucharest has guaranteed a case-by-case assessment in …

MOSCOW Chairman of the State Duma committee on international affairs Konstantin Kosachev said on Wednesday PACE insistence to politicize the situation related to South Ossetia and Georgia in its resolution on humanitarian issues was erroneous. He also told Vesti TV channel PACE is taking no concrete action and is only …