October, 2009

• 5 October

  Agenda includes strengthening mandate of EU monitoring mission in Georgia: Danish FM

  “The agenda includes the issue of strengthening the mandate of the EU monitoring mission in Georgia, but I cannot say to you anything more about it today,” the Danish Foreign Minister, Per Stig Moeller said at a news conference held jointly with his Georgian counterpart, Grigol Vashadze in Tbilisi. He …

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• 5 October

  Georgia welcomes all countries’ readiness to mediate between Moscow and Tbilisi: foreign ministry

  Georgia welcomes readiness of all countries, especially friendly Ukraine to act as mediator between Moscow and Tbilisi, Georgian foreign minister Grigol Vashadze said at a press-conference on October 5. “The necessity in the talks with Russia will occur sooner or later but with democratic and free Russia that feels responsibility …

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• 5 October

  Russia extends credits to Bulgaria, Serbia, but will not give Ukraine, Belarus loan

  Russia is ready to extend a credit to Serbia and considers giving a loan to Bulgaria, Russian Deputy PM and Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin told journalists after a meeting with the finance ministers of the two countries in Istanbul where the IMF and World Bank hold an annual session.

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• 5 October

  Greece’s new govt to be announced Monday or Tuesday; it will be sworn in on Oct 7

  Greece’s new cabinet will be announced on Tuesday after PASOK won Sunday’s early elections. On Monday the socialist party PASOK leader Georgios Papandreou will receive a mandate from President Karolos Papoulias to form a new government. According to some sources the new government scheme could be made public as early …

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• 5 October

  EC Asks Serbia for Constructive Kosovo Approach

  Serbia’s attempts to block Kosovo’s participation in regional initiatives could paralyse regional policies, according to a leaked European Commission, EC, report. This according to a report on Balkan countries involved in the EU enlargement process, to be issued in Brussels on October 14.

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• 5 October

  Macedonia Happy With Greek Election Result

  The upcoming change in government in Greece may act to break the current impasse in the Athens-Skopje name talks, Macedonian observers predict. Outgoing Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis has resigned as New Democracy leader after his party suffered an outright defeat in Sunday’s general election to the rival Pan-Hellenic Socialist …

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• 5 October

  Romanian Public Sector on Strike

  Around 700,000 public servants launched a strike on Monday in protest at the government’s decision to cut salaries and jobs in the public sector. Policemen, local authority workers, clerks, doctors, nurses, teachers, social-insurance personnel, public-finance clerks and prison guards have joined what has been called the largest protest in the …

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• 5 October

  Encyclopaedia’s Editor Refuses to Resign

  Blaze Ristovski, the chief editor of the controversial Macedonian encyclopaedia, which enraged the country’s ethnic Albanians, is resisting government pressure to resign. Upon its publication in September, the state-funded tome, prepared by the Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts, MANU, came under fire domestically and in neighbouring states for describing …

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• 5 October

  Macedonia Applauds Irish Yes Vote

  Macedonia has praised the Irish yes vote on the Lisbon treaty, saying its adoption will have a positive impact on EU enlargement prospects. The positive outcome would mean “a positive climate for the continuation of one of the most successful EU projects, the enlargement process, that spreads the zone of …

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• 2 October

  Bosnia: Catching Up with ‘Terrorists’

  As authorities in Bosnia arrest another terrorism suspect believed to be trafficking weapons for radical Muslim groups, sources close to the investigation tell ISN Security Watch’s Anes Alic that they are hoping, finally, to catch up with ‘known’ terrorists before it’s too late. Bosnian border police last week arrested a …

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