December, 2008

• 17 December

  EULEX ‘Must Probe Ethnic Crimes in Kosovo’

  The EU’s law-and-order mission in Kosovo, EULEX should urgently probe cases of ethnically-motivated crimes and improve the justice system, argues Human Rights Watch. The letter by the New York-based organisation was sent to EULEX chief, Yves de Kermabon. “Progress on prosecutions linked to the March 2004 riots and prosecutions for …

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• 17 December

  Kosovo President: UN Plan Not Obligatory

  The UN’s Six-Point Plan for Kosovo is not obligatory since it does not outline what will happen if the plan is not implemented, Kosovo’s President Fatmir Sejdiu claims. Instead, Sejdiu advocates the superiority of the four-point plan proposed by the Kosovo government. “Pristina’s stance (the Four-point plan) is referred to …

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• 17 December

  UN: Serbian Trains ‘Should Not Enter Kosovo’

  Northern MitrovicaBelgrade had no permission from the UN to allow Serbian trains to enter Kosovo, says a UN mission spokesman after a train reportedly terminated in the town of Zvecan. “Concerning this issue, Belgrade did not discuss it with the United Nations Mission in Kosovo, I’m sorry to say. We …

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• 17 December

  Hungary, Romania Ties ‘To Remain Strong’

  Hungary will enjoy good ties with Romania even though the ethnic Hungarian party, the UDMR, will not be part of Romania’s new government, Hungary’s Foreign Minister Kinga Goncz says. “We are determined to maintain good relations with the Romanian government even if it does not have any Hungarian ministers or …

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• 17 December

  OSCE: Albania Lustration Law Unconstitutional

  The OSCE has slammed a law presented by Albania’s centre-right government of Prime Minister Sali Berisha, for the lustration of high administration figures as unconstitutional. “The law breaches several articles of the [Albanian] constitution and an all-inclusive debate it’s necessary before its passed,” said Organisation for Security and Cooperation in …

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• 17 December

  Kosovo ‘Lacks European Vision’

  Pristina – Everyone agrees that Kosovo should progress towards the EU but there is little talk on how to attain this goal, argues the head of the Club for Foreign Policy, Veton Surroi. “The first statement is that Kosovo doesn’t have a European policy. The good news is that everyone …

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• 17 December

  Romania Coalition Distributes Ministries

  Romania’s Democrat-Liberals, PD-L and the leftist Social Democrat Party, PSD, on Wednesday agreed on the distribution of 19 ministries in the future government. Both parties will have 9 ministries, each, while the future Justice Minister will be an independent, Prime Minister-designate Emil Boc said. The main ministries are split as …

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• 17 December

  Embassies’ “Open Doors Day” in Macedonia

  Skopje – As part of the celebration marking 15 years since Macedonia established diplomatic relations with 13 European countries, the embassies of several nations are opening their doors to visitors. This will be a rare occasion for the Macedonians to catch a glimpse of the Norwegian, Swedish and the United …

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• 17 December

  Bulgaria Grain Farmers Protest EU Fraud

  Grain farmers from all over Bulgaria took part in protests amid concern that fraudulent practices by some farmers would cause the EU to cut further aid to Sofia. Hundreds of farmers took to the roads in tractors and other vehicles in the countryside near the southern town of Stara Zagora, …

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• 17 December

  Bulgaria Approves ‘Unrealistic’ 2009 Budget

  The Bulgarian parliament has approved the government’s 2009 budget based on expected economic growth of 4.7 percent, a rate widely criticised as unrealistic amid the global economic slowdown. The budget plans a surplus of 3 percent of gross domestic product, but also raises social and capital spending which analysts have …

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