January, 2013

• 24 January

  Kosovo Proposes First Ambassador to Belgrade

  Lulzim Peci may be the first Kosovo diplomat to represent the country in Serbia, although the nature of his appointment is likely to be interpreted differently by the Serbian government.Kosovo’s Foreign Minister, Enver Hoxhaj, has proposed Lulzim Peci as Kosovo’s ambassador to Serbia, Artan Behrami of the foreign ministry told …

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• 24 January

  Brussels Takes Bulgaria to Court over DTT Deals

  The European Commission is referring Bulgaria to the EU Court of Justice over the way it assigned its digital broadcast spectrum.The European Commission on Thursday said the procedure followed by Bulgaria was based on disproportionately restrictive award conditions, which had led to the exclusion of potential candidates. This hampered competition …

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• 24 January

  Serbian Red Star Chief Quits Following Tussle

  After chairing Serbia’s prestigious Red Star football club for only a month, Dragan Dzajic, a football legend, resigned on Wednesday following a physical altercation with Nebojsa Covic, the club’s vice-president. It is not clear exactly why the incident occurred, but media reports said that Miodrag Zecevic, the club’s secretary, had …

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• 24 January

  Talks Fail to End Mostar Election Impasse

  The Office of the High Representative has failed to break the deadlock between Bosniaks and Croats over Mostar’s electoral system after calling a meeting of the main parties.A meeting in the ethnically divided southwestern city of Mostar on January 23 – called by the Office of the High Representative, OHR, …

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• 24 January

  Fuele Knocks Heads Together in Macedonia

  The EU Enlargement Commissioner, Stefan Fuele, on Wednesday paid an unannounced visit to Macedonia, where he apparently urged leaders to resolve the ongoing political crisis and focus on the EU agenda.Commissioner Fuele met President Gjorge Ivanov, the Prime Minister, Nikola Gruevski and the opposition Social Democrat leader, Branko Crvenkovski, but …

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• 24 January

  Croatian Court: State Responsible for Serbs’ Murder

  In a landmark ruling, the court said the state was to blame for the killing of two elderly Serb civilians after the Croatian military operation ‘Storm’ in 1995.The judge in the town of Knin ruled that Croatia must pay 540,000 kuna (about 70,000 euro) to the children of Serb victims …

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• 24 January

  Serbia’s Balkan Channel Ambitions Questioned

  As the Serbian government mulls involving the Chinese in building a river channel from Belgrade to Thessaloniki, opposition parties and some experts have dubbed it unrealistic.Milan Bacevic, Serbia’s Urban Planning Minister, has travelled to China to start preliminary talks on building a channel running from Belgrade to Thessaloniki in northern …

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• 24 January

  Romania Declares Chemical Firm Has Gone Bust

  After attempts to sell it failed, the mainly state-owned Oltchim chemical company is filing for insolvency.Romania’s mainly state-owned petrochemical and plastics manufacturer, Oltchim, is to start insolvency procedures after sending a request to a local court, the Economy Minister, Varujan Vosganian, said on Wednesday. Oltchim is the second large state-owned …

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• 24 January

  United States and Italy provide support for France in Mali

  United States helped France to flew troops and supplies into Mali, while Italy’s lawmakers voted to also provide assistance. The US mission started on Monday with two C-17 flights from southern France loaded with cargo and dropping it off in Mali. The flights are expected to continue for several days.

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• 23 January

  Serbian Bosniaks Seek Opt-Out From Saint’s Day

  Muslims in southwest Serbia say schools in their region should not feel pressured to celebrate the day of St Sava, the patron saint of Serbian schoolchildren and a heroic figure to Serbs.Mustafa Fetic, head of the educational board of the Bosniak National Council, which represents the country’s Muslim minority, says …

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