December, 2010

• 20 December

  Cyprus proposes direct talks with Turkey

  Cyprus is ready to start direct talks with Turkey to find a solution to the Mediterranean island’s longstanding division, Cypriot Foreign Minister Markos Kyprianou declared on Friday (December 17th). “We should start the direct exchange of opinions. We should directly share our demands and our complaints,” Kyprianou said. Ankara has …

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• 17 December

  Montenegro granted status of EU candidate country

  The EU leaders have approved the proposal to grant Montenegro a status of a candidate country. In November the EC recommended granting the status to Montenegro. The Balkan country applied for EU membership in December 2008. On May 1 it received a status of an associated country.

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• 17 December

  Talks between Russia and Georgia in Geneva ended without any agreement

  Russia and Georgia concluded their 14th round of talks in Geneva on Thursday, without reaching agreement on security and other issues of mutual concern. According to the press communique delivered by the co-chairs of the talks, discussions

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• 17 December

  Re-voting expected in some Kosovo municipalities

  Numerous irregularities that marred the December 12th snap elections are expected to prompt another round of voting in three municipalities, local media reported on Thursday (December 16th). The Central Election Commission (CEC) said the decision will be announced after the complaints and alleged violations are thoroughly investigated. Sources inside the …

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• 17 December

  Pristina, Tirana reject Marty’s report on Thaci

  Officials in Kosovo and Albania angrily deny allegations of weapons, drugs and human organ trafficking that Council of Europe (CoE) Special Rapporteur Dick Marty has made against Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci. Acting President Jakup Krasniqi said on Wednesday (December 15th) that the report

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• 16 December

  BiH appeals court upholds Glavas sentence

  The appeals chamber of the Court of BiH upheld on Tuesday, December 14th, the war crimes sentence handed down to Branimir Glavas. In July, Croatia sentenced the former parliament member to eight years

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• 16 December

  UN urges speed up in Cypriot talks

  The UN Security Council two days ago urged Greek and Turkish Cypriots to accelerate talks to reunify their divided island. The Council expressed concern about the pace of negotiations in recent months and urged “decisive progress in the near future”. The Council also adopted a resolution extending the mandate of …

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• 15 December

  EU ready to probe Thaci over Marty’s draft report

  The European Union said Wednesday it was ready to probe Kosovo’s prime minister Hashim Thaci over accusations he was involved in organ-trafficking and other crimes in the aftermath of the 1998-99 war with Serbia. The report, by Swiss Council of Europe deputy Dick Marty, accuses Thaci of being in charge …

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• 15 December

  Montenegro to receive EU candidate status

  European Union foreign ministers have agreed to grant official EU candidate status to Montenegro, the fourth former Yugoslav republic to take this step towards European integration. “We have given the green light for Montenegro for candidate status,” Belgian Foreign Minister Steven Vanackere was cited by the AP as saying on …

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• 15 December

  Moldova to recount election votes

  Moldova’s Central Elections Commission is beginning to recount the ballots that were cast in a snap parliamentary election on November 28th. The Commission is complying with the decision that the republic’s Constitutional Court has made on application by the opposition Communist Party, which

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