Balkans

Outgoing Croatian President Stjepan Mesic sets off for a visit to Kosovo. At the end of December he accepted the letters credential of the Kosovan ambassador to Zagreb Valdet Sadiku and said he would visit Kosovo a day after Orthodox Christmas to avoid offending Serbian President Boris Tadic. The Serbian …

Kosovo’s President Fatmir Sejdiu has asked EULEX and the International Civilian Office (ICO) to support authorities in their efforts to dissolve Serb parallel structures in Kosovo. Sejdiu met on Tuesday (January 5th) with EULEX chief Yves de Kermabon and ICO official Fletcher Burton to discuss the recent appointment of judges …

Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor reassured her government’s coalition partners that the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) is stable and stronger than ever. This follows the expulsion of former prime minister and honorary party president Ivo Sanader, which sparked fears of a split in the ruling party. Sanader was expelled from the …

The opposition Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) will take concrete steps to force early elections, leader Tomislav Nikolic said. He noted that one possibility would be to launch a nationwide petition to collect signatures for the move. Nikolic added that his party will seek the early vote in order to receive …

The Office of the High Representative (OHR) in Bosnia says a referendum on independence of the Republic of Srpska (RS) would violate the Dayton agreement. The 1992-95 war in Bosnia-Herzegovina ended with the peace deal, and organized the country into two entities: the Serb RS, and the Muslim-Croat Federation. “The …

Outgoing Croatian President Stjepan Mesić has decided to shorten prison time of Siniša Rimac by one year. Rimac was sentenced to eight years in prison when Croatia’s Supreme Court ruled that he personally took part in the executions of ethnic Serb civilians in the Pakračka Poljana region of western Slavonia …

The UN Security Council will debate the situation in Kosovo during its January 22 session, the presiding country, China, announced. Stressing that Kosovo remains and important item on the Security Council agenda, China’s Permanent Representative Zhang Yesui said that UN mission in Kosovo, UNMIK, chief Lamberto Zannier’s report will be …

Obviously, I was wrong and I my previous statements have led to this small diplomatic scandal, which raged out, Minister of Bulgarian Diaspora Bozhidar Dimitrov said. 

The economic crisis has put Romanian political leadership under pressure, but this should not distract the government from complying with its international obligations, Romanian ambassador to Berlin Lazăr Comănescu said. Commenting on the loss of a confidence vote which sanctioned the end of the grand coalition government of Emil Boc, …

The New Kosovo Alliance party, with leader Bedzet Pacoli, expressed its dissatisfaction with the visit of Serbian President Boris Tadic to Kosovo. Boris Tadic arrived on Wednesday at the Decani Monastery to spend Christmas Eve.