Balkans

Kosovo’s parliament speaker said Pristina was under no obligation to negotiate with Serbia even on technical issues as long as Serbia had not recognized Kosovo. International officials have long said that Belgrade and Pristina must hold so-called ‘technical talks’ to deal with issues arising from Kosovo’s secession last February, especially …

acedonian presidential candidate Georgi Ivanov, who is backed by the conservative VMRO DPMNE, is leading with 27 percent support over opposition favorite Ljubomir Frckoski who has 13 percent, the latest opinion poll done by local agency “Rating” shows. Third on the list is Imer Selmani, the leader of the newly …

Bosnia’s outgoing top envoy, High Representative Miroslav Lajcak, called for the closure of his former office and for a new western approach to Bosnia in his first press conference as new Slovak Foreign Minister on Tuesday. Lajcak still officially holds dual post of the head of the Office of the …

A comment by Macedonia presidential frontrunner Georgi Ivanov that homosexuals were not discriminated against but just being paranoid has attracted harsh criticism from his opponents, political analysts and gay rights campaigners. “Our system discriminates against no one. The homosexuals stigmatize themselves and think they are being discriminated”, the candidate of …

Albania’s opposition Socialist party is ahead of the ruling Democrats of Prime Minister Sali Berisha in voter preference four months before a general election, according to a poll conducted by Zogby International for broadcaster Top Channel TV. In the poll released on Tuesday, 37 percent of respondents said they would …

Several thousand Kosovo Serbs protested in the divided town of Mitrovica on Tuesday against the recently formed Kosovo Security Force, asking the international community to disband the fledgling armed force for “presenting a threat to the stability in the region”. Kosovo Serbs leaders called on all Serbs and other non-Albanians …

Bosnia’s EU peacekeeping force, supported by NATO and local police, carried out two raids on Tuesday morning on homes belonging to relatives of Bosnian Serb wartime commander Ratko Mladic, the most high-profile war crimes suspect from the 1992-95 war still on the run. The operation was carried out in the …

Both Serbia and Kosovo ignored an invitation by the United Nations mission in Kosovo to hold talks on the ‘technical issue’ of cultural heritage, with negotiations supposed to be held today in Pristina. Rasel Giki, UNMIK spokesperson confirmed that the UN mission invited both Belgrade and Pristina to the round …

Slovenia’s parliament ratified the NATO accession of Albania and Croatia on Monday, paving the way for the alliance’s enlargement in the Balkans. NATO issued invitations to Albania and Croatia last year in its Bucharest summit. All member states have to ratify the protocol before those two countries can be considered …

The European Commission would not like to see Serbia apply for EU candidate status before the key Stabilisation and Association Agreement is unblocked and put forward for ratification. Several Serbian politicians have said Belgrade might put forward the application for EU candidate status during the first half of this year. …