January, 2013

• 31 January

  Mediator Hopeful After Macedonia-Greece Talks

  The UN mediator in the ‘name’ dispute, Matthew Nimetz, sounded optimistic after wrapping up a fresh round of talks with both sides in New York – but provided no details.After a two-hour joint meeting with Macedonia’s negotiator, Zoran Jolevski and Greece’s Adamantios Vassilakis, UN mediator Nimetz said he saw signs …

  Read More »
• 31 January

  Balkans ‘Making No Progress on Human Rights’

  Human Rights Watch said Balkan states were still not properly addressing issues like war crimes, the abuse of ethnic minorities and refugees’ rights to return home.There was no significant improvement in human rights protection in Bosnia, Croatia and Kosovo and Serbia in 2012, the New York-based campaign group said in …

  Read More »
• 31 January

  Serbia PM Files Charges Over ‘Basic Instinct’ Prank

  Prime Minister Ivica Dacic wants to punish a TV crew who subjected him to public ridicule by conning him into a fake interview with a semi-naked model.Ivica Toncev, the prime minister’s special adviser for national security, said on Thursday that Dacic was taking legal action against those who violated the …

  Read More »
• 31 January

  Bosnia Canton Implements Key Rights Ruling

  Sarajevo Cantonal Assembly has changed its constitution to allow ethnic minorities the same rights as the three major ethnic groups.Lawmakers in the Sarajevo Cantonal Assembly adopted changes to their Constitution on January 30 and gave the same rights to minorities as to constituent peoples thus implementing the Sejdic and Finci …

  Read More »
• 31 January

  Croatia and Slovenia Vow to Solve Bank Row

  A bilateral row about a liquidated bank, which threatens to derail Croatia’s EU accession in July, could soon be solved, the Croatian and Slovenian foreign ministers said on Wednesday.After a two-hour meeting in Brussels, the Croatian and Slovenian foreign ministers have agreed to meet again on February 6 with financial …

  Read More »
• 31 January

  Balkan States Unite to Tackle EU Asylum Concerns

  Six Western Balkan states have vowed to cooperate in solving the problem of illegal immigrants to EU countries, following threats to reintroduce visas to the region.Leaders of six Western Balkan countries have concluded that closer cooperation will overcome the problem of people wrongly seeking asylum in Western Europe. At a …

  Read More »
• 31 January

  Albania Slashes Interest Rate to Historic Low

  The central bank cut the key benchmark interest rate on Wednesday by 0.25 per cent to a historic low of 3.75 per cent in an effort to kick start the stagnating economy.“Economic activity remains below potential and sources of growth are unstable,” the central bank governor, Ardian Fullani, said, explaining …

  Read More »
• 30 January

  Russia Opposes Changes to Balkan Borders

  The Russian Foreign Minister has dimissed the Albanian Prime Minister’s call for an eventual unification of all Albanians in one state, saying too much blood has been spilled in the region already.Sergei Lavrov said that any redrawing of borders in Europe is unacceptable, and that fully refers to the situation …

  Read More »
• 30 January

  Kosovo Arrests Five for Serb Grave Desecrations

  “After the arrested were interviewed at the police station, the prosecution sent all the information to the court because there were suspicions about their involvement in the grave demolitions,” Ismet Hasani, spokesperson for Kosovo police in Gjilane, told BIRN. “One of the arrested is an adult, while the other four …

  Read More »
• 30 January

  Serbia Tops Press Freedom List in Balkans

  A new report on media freedom by Reporters Without Borders has ranked Serbia best in the Balkans – though the outlook for the region generally remains cloudy.Serbia has been ranked in top place in terms of press freedom in the Balkans, standing at 63rd place out of 179 countries covered …

  Read More »