The new head of the Office of the High Representative, OHR, and EU Special Representative, Austria’s Valentin Inzko, officially took up his challenging position from the outgoing Miroslav Lajcak on Thursday. “I fully appreciate the responsibility and importance of this new role,” 59-year-old Inzko said at a joint press conference …

Four prison guards from Skopje’s prison, recently suspended for brutality against convicts, claim they have been framed. The four allegedly tied several convicts to radiators and showers on March 16, beating them brutally. They were suspended and are now charged with use of undue force after several domestic and international …

The Office of the Public Prosecutor in Bosnia’s northern district of Brcko, has pressed charges against a local Bosnian Serb Orthodox priest, who is accused of sexually abusing two underage girls, local media reported on Thursday. The priest was charged after police investigated the case for more than a year. …

The EU will find practical and pragmatic ways to prevent Kosovo from becoming the ‘black hole’ of Europe, says EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn. Rehn welcomed the fact that “the Balkans is to be on the EU agenda, after the latter was filled with financial and economic problems”. Even though …

Deputies in the Serbian Parliament last night adopted a controversial Anti-discrimination law and will consider amendments to the same law today. Deputies adopted the law around midnight, but without discussing all proposed amendments, after the time for the debate had expired. A total of 446 amendments were submitted to the …

The European Union’s Enlargement Commissioner, Olli Rehn, on Wednesday night presented Croatia and Slovenia with a new compromise proposal to resolve the border dispute between the two countries. The proposal would enable the continuation of Croatia’s accession negotiations with the European Union, a statement from Rehn’s spokeswoman, Krisztina Nagy, said.

Kosovo’s Customs Service was regulated by the UN, until the end of 2008. Four hundred Russian policemen leave Kosovo after nine years of service under UNMIK. Russia has ended its “participation in the peaceful operation in Kosovo”, Russian UNMIK commander, Leonid Pogorelov, said today. 

Hague Tribunal Chief Prosecutor Serge Brammertz is due in Belgrade today to meet with officials responsible for Serbia’s cooperation with the court. President of the National Council for Hague Cooperation Rasim Ljajic cautioned against placing great expectations on what he said was a regular working visit. He said Brammertz would …

NATO parliamentarians express satisfaction that Croatia will soon become a member of NATO. Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader hosted a delegation from the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, headed by Assen Agov, president of the sub-committee for transatlantic relations and vice-president of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly (NATO-PA). The members of the NATO-PA …

Representatives from the EU, the US, and Russia among others are meeting in Sarajevo, where they are expected to debate the international community’s future role in Bosnia and Herzegovina and confirm the country’s new top international envoy. The conference of the Peace Implementation Council started in the Bosnian capital on …