May, 2009

• 8 May

  Romanians Lackluster About EU Elections

  Campaigning for seats in the European Parliament officially started on Thursday, with around 350 independent candidates and parties’ representatives competing in June 7 elections. This will be the second time that Romanians will vote for a representative in the European legislative. Opinion polls show that Romanians are less interested in …

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• 8 May

  US Endorses Albanian Prosecutors’ Work

  The US ambassador to Albania in an impassioned speech on Wednesday harshly attacked attempts by politicians to exert pressure on prosecutors, robustly upholding the profession’s independence. At a ceremony marking the expansion of joint-investigation units commended for fighting economic crime in the last two years, John L. Withers emphasised that …

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• 8 May

  Low Turnout Seen in Bulgaria for EP Poll

  A recent survey shows that Sofia mayor Boiko Borissov’s party, Citizens for the European Development of Bulgaria, GERB has the support of 23 to 24 per cent of Bulgarians intending to vote in the June 7 elections for European Parliament. The senior partner in the tri-partite ruling coalition, the Bulgarian …

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• 8 May

  Kosovo Says It Is Joining the IMF

  Kosovo officials say their country has gained enough votes to join the International Monetary Fund, IMF, an important step in the country’s efforts to secure both global recognition and international aid. Kosovo’s government has said that a vote at the body by more than half the IMF’s member states had …

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• 8 May

  Albania Panned Over Kosovo Road Loan

  Opposition parties and independent economists have panned Tirana’s centre-right government for acting ”irresponsibly” by accepting what they say is an exorbitantly high interest rate on a commercial loan to finance the Albania-Kosovo highway. “The government has indebted its citizens in order to finance its pre-electoral spending,” former Minister of Finance …

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• 8 May

  Afghan official: 147 dead in fighting

  KABUL – Sobbing relatives showed U.S. and Afghan investigators the demolished buildings and graves in two western villages where a local official said Thursday he collected the names of 147 people killed in a disputed incident involving American forces and Taliban militants. If local reports of the death toll are …

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• 6 May

  Slovenia Not Pleased With Rehn`s Proposal

  Current proposal of European Union expansion commissioner Olli Rehn is acceptable in principle, but Slovenia will provide its amendments to it, so that it is more balanced, said the spokesperson of Slovene Foreign Affairs Ministry Milan Balazic on Wednesday. Talking at a press conference a few hours before Slovene PM …

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• 6 May

  Croatia to accept Rehn’s proposal on resolving border dispute with Slovenia

  ZAGREB, Croatia The government will accept EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn’s latest proposal on resolving the border conflict with Slovenia, leaders decided during a high-level meeting Tuesday (May 5th). Rehn suggests that a five-member panel of arbitrators decide the issue.

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• 6 May

  Cypriot leaders agree to boost reunification talks

  NICOSIA, Cyprus President Demetris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat agreed on Tuesday (May 5th) to intensify talks aimed at reunifying the divided island, UN Special Representative in Cyprus Taye-Brook Zerihoun said. He explained the two leaders discussed progress achieved so far and decided to speed up the …

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• 6 May

  Vetevendosje leader held for questioning at Macedonian border

  PRISTINA, Kosovo The leader of Kosovo’s Vetevendosje (Self-Determination) movement, Albin Kurti, was held briefly at the Blace border point between Kosovo and Macedonia late Tuesday (May 5th).

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