Balkans

Pristina – The EU’s law-and-order mission, EULEX, will have a small presence in the Serb-dominated north of Kosovo when it launches on December 9, says a mission spokeswoman. Karin Limdal told the BBC that the European Union mission will be present at six police stations and the court in the …

Pristina – The Czech Republic, the country who heads the up coming presidency of the EU, expects that more countries will recognise Kosovo in the coming year. Deputy Prime Minster for European Affairs, Alexander Vondra, said he expects recognitions to come from EU countries which have not done so yet.

Zagreb – Croatia is not yet ready to become a member of the European Union, a Dutch newspaper quoted European Affairs Minister Frans Timmermans as saying. NRC Handelsblad reported that Timmermans said that he “completely disagreed’ with the assessment of EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn after the EU Commission said …

Pristina – Kosovo’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs says it will open some 22 new embassies in countries around the world in 2009. In the Pristina daily newspaper ‘Zeri’, the ministry’s spokeswoman Albana Beqiri said these embassies will be set up by ambassadors, adding the that ministry will soon begin hiring …

Pristina _ The transformation of Kosovo’s Protection Corps, TMK, into Kosovo’s Security Forces, KSF, has been postponed until January because of delays in appointed a chief. The Kosovo’s Protection Corps, which is mostly made of former fighters from the Kosovo Liberation Army, will continue providing additional security along with NATO …

Sarajevo _ There are calls for new elections after leaders in Bosnia’s Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim)-Croat dominated Federation entity, upped their salaries despite a looming economic crisis. Calls for a campaign of ‘civil disobedience’ are coming from Bosnian trade unions, non-governmental organisations and media. “They have completely lost any connection with …

Sarajevo – Interior ministers from Serbia, Bosnia, Montenegro, Croatia and Slovenia meeting over the weekend have backed a need for greater cross-border cooperation following the murder of a Croatian journalist. The ministers were also unanimous that the recent assassination of Croatian journalist and publisher Ivo Pukanic had confirmed that mobsters in …

Pristina – The EU has not decided on a definite date to launch its Kosovo law-and-order mission, EULEX, says the spokeswoman for the bloc’s foreign policy chief, Javier Solana. “(The previously stated launch date of) December 2 is not guaranteed,” Christina Gallach said, adding that “the date will be decided in …

Bucharest – The first results from Romania’s general election show the centre-right Democratic Party, PLD, and leftist Social Democratic Party, PSD, each neck-and-neck with 33 percent of the vote. Data from the Central Electoral Bureau, based on a count of around 71 percent of votes, also show Prime Minister Calin Popescu …

Pristina _ “Forget the six points, it is not applicable in Kosovo,” Kosovo’s Prime Minister Hashim Thaci said during a tour of rural areas, saying the UN plan is against the will of Kosovo’s people. He added that the plan goes against the Constitution and sovereignty of the Republic of …