May, 2009

• 18 May

  HDZ performs strongly in Croatian elections

  ZAGREB, Croatia The senior ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) and its coalition partners managed to win the most votes in 14 counties in Sunday’s (May 17th) local elections. Preliminary results from the State Electoral Commission suggest the leading opposition party, the Social Democratic Party (SDP), claimed victory in five counties, …

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• 18 May

  Albania unprepared for visa-free regime with EU

  TIRANA, Albania The country has not done enough to meet the requirements for abolishing the visa regime with the EU, local media reported on Sunday (May 17th), citing a report by the European Commission. The document officially appears on Monday.

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• 18 May

  Kosovo government to prepare EU partnership plan

  PRISTINA, Kosovo The government will soon present an EU partnership plan to guarantee smoother integration, Prime Minister Hashim Thaci told a cabinet meeting Friday (May 15th). He added that the government, local institutions and the public must share a commitment to EU integration and treat it as a high priority. …

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• 18 May

  Cyprus rules out veto of Turkey’s EU accession

  NICOSIA, Cyprus Foreign Minister Markos Kyprianou said on Friday (May 15th) Nicosia does not intend to veto Turkey’s EU accession process, “either on its own or with another country”.

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• 18 May

  Thousands rally in Ankara to support secularism

  NKARA, Turkey Tens of thousands of people marched in Ankara on Sunday (May 17th) in support of secularism and against the scores of recent arrests stemming from the controversial Ergenekon probe.

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• 18 May

  BiH asks Interpol to drop arrest warrants

  SARAJEVO, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) Security Minister Tarik Sadovic has asked the local Interpol office to contact the international police organisation’s headquarters in Lyon and ask it to withdraw arrest warrants issued for several people from BiH, local media reported on Sunday (May 17th). Serbia had confirmed on Saturday that …

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• 18 May

  Romania charges former intelligence chief

  BUCHAREST, Romania The National Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office indicted Radu Timofte, former chief of the Romanian Intelligence Service (SRI), on charges of fraud and forgery, media reported. The charges Friday (May 15th) stem from the purchase of an apartment from the country’s state protocol authority (RA-APPS). Prosecutors say Timofte failed to …

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• 18 May

  DUI Urges Macedonia “Name” Solution

  The leader of the ruling ethnic Albanian party in Macedonia has called on the government to focus on efforts to find a solution to the ongoing name row with Greece. Ali Ahmeti, leader of the Democratic Union for Integration, on Sunday also warned the government against stirring up tensions between …

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• 18 May

  Montenegro President Visits Serbia

  The President of Montenegro, Filip Vujanovic, is visiting Serbia in what is seen as a move by both sides to improve relations between the two countries. Vujanovic will meet his Serbian counterpart Boris Tadic. It is their first meeting after Serbia expelled Podgorica’s ambassador last year in objection to Montenegro’s …

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• 18 May

  France Supports Macedonia Visa Lifting

  France supports the lifting of EU visas for Macedonian citizens, French President Nicolas Sarkozy told Macedonian Premier Nikola Gruevski Friday in Paris. Macedonian media media cited Sarkozy as saying that France would unambiguously support any European Commission’s recommendation for lifting the visa regime for Macedonian citizens.

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