July, 2009

• 17 July

  Iraq to pump 15 bln cubic meters of gas through Nabucco pipeline – Stanishev

  SOFIA Bulgaria’s outgoing Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev announced on Friday that Iraq pledged to pump 15 billion cubic meters of gas through Nabucco pipeline starting from 2014-2015.

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• 17 July

  Bulgaria’s Parliament moves to limit MP ‘migration’

  Bulgaria’s new Parliament is only at the stage of laying down the rules that will govern the legislature’s work for the rest of its term, but the major parties have already had their first major clash. The issue that irked the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) and the predominantly ethnic Turk …

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• 17 July

  Dnevnik: Nobody wants Bulgarian passports

  SKOPJE The liberalization of the visa regime stopped the applications of Macedonian citizens for Bulgarian citizenship, the number of which assumed dangerous proportions, the Macedonian Dnevnik newspaper writes. Over the last days the announcements in media about mediation in acquiring Bulgarian citizenship are few and the number of people, who …

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• 17 July

  Albania’s SP blames government for Schengen exclusion

  TIRANA, Albania The opposition Socialist Party (SP) blamed the government Thursday (July 16th) for failing to meet EU standards for achieving visa-free travel to member countries. Three other Balkan countries did make it onto the so-called White Schengen List.

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• 17 July

  Croatia, US join forces against organised crime

  ZAGREB, Croatia Interior Minister Tomislav Karamarko and US Ambassador to Croatia Robert Bradtke signed a memorandum for co-operation Thursday (July 16th) in the fight against organised crime. According to the document, the two countries will join efforts in terms of both prevention and crime-fighting and will co-operate in staff training …

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• 17 July

  Kosovo Serbs feel betrayed by visa liberalisation

  PRISTINA, Kosovo Serbs living in Kosovo have not welcomed the news of visa liberalisation for Serbia, because it specifically excludes them, local media reported on Thursday (July 16th). European Commission officials said on Wednesday that they would propose the inclusion of Serbia, Macedonia and Montenegro in the so-called White Schengen …

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• 17 July

  Study finds goods, services cheaper in Balkans

  BRUSSELS, Belgium Macedonia, Bulgaria, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) and Serbia are the cheapest countries in Europe, according to statistics compiled by the EU’s Statistical Office Eurostat, published on Thursday (July 16th).

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• 17 July

  Bosnia: Political Rows Hinder Reform

  Representatives of Bosnia’s top five political parties have agreed to speed up reforms required to win a green light for EU visa liberalisation and close the doors of the international community’s Office of the High Representative, OHR. The atmosphere of the Thursday evening meeting was tense and characterized by back-and-forth …

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• 17 July

  Kosovo Govt Reveals Plans for Power Plant

  Kosovo’s government has revealed details of a tender for a 3.5 billion euro energy deal, seen as crucial for the economic and ecological development of the country. A 2,000 megawatt, MW, plant is planned for the outskirts of Pristina in two 1000MW phases, which will allow Kosovo to provide enough …

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• 17 July

  Albania: Bombing Linked To Business Row

  Albanian police said on Thursday that a car bombing in front the national assembly building in Tirana was most like linked to a possible business dispute involving the owner of the vehicle. The car, a Mercedes Benz SUV owned by a local businessman, exploded on Wednesday evening, damaging shops and …

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