ANKARA, Turkey — Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said Tuesday (31 May) that the country is ready to sign an expanded customs union agreement with the EU, which includes Cyprus. He added that the document awaits some finalisation on the EU side. Sealing the treaty is the main condition set by …

SKOPJE, Macedonia — Prime Minister Vlado Buckovski and UNMIK chief Soren Jessen-Petersen are to meet in Skopje Wednesday (1 June) to discuss issues related to border demarcation and co-operation in fighting organised crime, according to the Makfax news agency. Later this month, Kosovo Prime Minister Bajram Kosumi is expected to …

PRAGUE, Czech Republic — Croatian Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic paid a daylong visit to the Czech Republic on Tuesday (31 May) and said Prague fully supports Zagreb’s bids for membership in the EU and NATO. Grabar-Kitarovic met with Czech counterpart Cyril Svoboda and parliamentary officials. …

ZAGREB, Croatia — A delegation that included interior ministry representatives has returned from Italy, where they had gone to investigate reports last week that special police had detained fugitive war crimes indictee Ante Gotovina. The reports, which ended up being refuted by both the Italian and Croatian governments, said the …

PRISTINA, Kosovo, Serbia-Montenegro — Kosovo adopted a new system of postal codes on Tuesday (31 May) to speed up mail delivery. Pristina will now use 10000 as its new code instead of the old Yugoslav code of 38000. The new system has been approved by UNMIK’s legal office. In other …

SARAJEVO, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) — The Sarajevo-based International Commission on Missing Persons said Tuesday (31 May) that it is conducting a new project aimed at locating and mapping mass graves in BiH. According to panel spokesman Doune Porter, the first stage of the project — seeking new methods for …

BELGRADE, Serbia-Montenegro — Serbian authorities announced Tuesday (31 May) that they have lifted an international warrant for the arrest of Slobodan Milosevic’s wife, Mira Markovic, in exchange for a promise from her lawyer that she would attend her trial in Belgrade in September. Markovic is wanted in connection with the …

TIRANA, Albania — The government announced on Tuesday (31 May) that it has seized the assets of four Islamic organisations suspected of ties to terrorists. “Coming to Albania in the 1990s, these foundations have hidden behind charity work to finance suspect activities or to make investments to launder their funds,” …

LJUBLJANA, Slovenia — NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said Tuesday (31 May) that the Alliance anticipates closer co-operation with Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia-Montenegro, assuming the two countries fulfil their international obligations. “We are holding out the prospect of enhanced co-operation with Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia-Montenegro — …

On 29 December 2004, just one day after being sworn in, the new Romanian government decided to radically change the tax system. Since 1 January, profit taxes have been reduced from 25 per cent to 16 per cent, and the graduated income tax was replaced with a 16 per cent …