February, 2009

• 17 February

  Kosovo ‘A Failed State’ – Serbia’s Tadic

  Kosovo is not an independent state despite seceding from Serbia a year ago, Serbia’s President Boris Tadic told AFP in an interview For Serbia, the Feb. 17 anniversary is “a day when the authorities in Pristina declared the independence of Kosovo in an illegal way, based on international law,” Tadic …

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• 17 February

  Ad Spot Raises Macedonia-Greece Tension

  ll the artifacts used in a Macedonian tourism promotion campaign were dug up in Macedonia, the makers of the video said after local media reported that Athens will launch a protest over Skopje’s use of ancient Greek artifacts. Local media previously reported that Athens plans to send protest letters to …

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• 17 February

  Kosovo Serbs Ignore Kosovo Independence Day

  Moderate Kosovo Serb leader Oliver Ivanovic said the Serbian minority in Kosovo would ignore the February 17 celebrations of Kosovo’s declaration of independence, as it did not recognise the secession from Serbia. “No doubt Albanians will celebrate Feb. 17, but, regarding the Serbian community, we will ignore it just like …

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• 17 February

  Kosovo’s Thaci Hails First Year of Independence

  Kosovo’s first year of independence has been successful, Kosovo’s Prime Minister, Hashim Thaci said on the eve of the first anniversary of the secession from Serbia, adding that Kosovo will in the end be a full member of the European Union and NATO. Kosovo declared independende on February 17, 2008 …

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• 17 February

  Defiant Serb MPs To Visit North Kosovo

  A group of hardline Serbian parlamentarians will visit northern Kosovo on Tuesday, the first anniversary of Kosovo’s secession from Serbia. Serbia has said Kosovo’s Feb 17, 2008 secession is ‘illegal’ and it still considers Kosovo its southern province. Hardline Kosovo Serb leader Marko Jaksic told local radio Contact Plus that …

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• 17 February

  Kosovo Independence Brought Stability – Sejdiu

  Kosovo has good reason to be proud of its achievements in its first year of independence, President Fatmir Sejdiu said ahead of the Feb 17 anniversary of Kosovo’s secession from Serbia, noting that rather than destabilise the Balkans, the declaration of independence had opened doors for progress. “During its first …

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• 17 February

  Albania High Court Suspends Lustration law

  Albania’s constitutional court suspended on Monday a controversial “clean hands” lustration law targeting former officials of the communist regime, which critics say could be used for political revenge attacks by the government. With seven votes in favor and two against, the judicial panel voted to defer the effects of the …

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• 17 February

  Serbs ‘Will Never Accept Kosovo Secession’

  Serbia will never give up Kosovo, Serbia’s Minister for Kosovo Goran Bogdanovic said on Monday, noting that the secession of what Serbia still sees as its southern province “has complicated relations in the region, in Europe, even in the world”. Kosovo declared independence on February 17, 2008 and has been …

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• 17 February

  Friday 13th Near-Jinxes Macedonia Airport

  Two planes had to make an emergency landing in Macedonia’s Skopje airport on Friday the 13th, leading aiport authorities to publicly reassure passengers over the ominous date. An airport spokesperson told Dnevnik daily these problems do occur from time to time and had nothing to do with the date that …

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• 17 February

  Bulgaria Plans Tourism Promo Of Hidden Gems

  Bulgarian authorities plan to invest in tourism projects in “beautiful and lesser-known places around the country” and build them up to their former splendor and prominence. The first areas to benefit from the initiative are the town of Trun in western Bulgaria, the village of Sitovo near Plovdiv and Goleshevo …

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