Balkans

The Kosovo and Metohija Political Forum has been established in the town of Gracanica, ahead of Kosovo’s forthcoming local elections, to represent local Serbs. Broadcaster B92 reports that the forum was created at the initiative of 50 Gracanica residents, and neighbouring villages, in order to unite Kosovo Serbs. The leader …

Albanian Foreign Affairs Minister Ilir Meta, has said that the EU rule of law mission, EULEX, is vital in strengthening Kosovo’s institutions. “EULEX will help bring European standards to Kosovo’s institutions, especially [in moving] towards a government based on the rule of law” Meta said during a meeting with ethnic …

Croatian Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor could soon receive an invitation for an official meeting with US President Barack Obama at the White House. Daily Vecernji list reports that Croatian and American diplomats are working intensively on setting up the Kosor-Obama summit. Should it take place, Kosor would be the first …

The Bulgarian Cabinet has approved a three-year plan for mutual assistance and co-operation between the Bulgarian Health Ministry and its Chinese counterpart, a Government media statement said.

There is no possibility for radical Islam to flourish in the country, according to Bulgarian Defence Minister Nikolai Mladenov, as quoted by the Bulgarian National Television on September 30 2009. Mladenov is in Gotheburg Sweden, at the EU defence ministers conference, where one of the paramount topics earmarked for discussion …

Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic says that Serbia will see in the next couple of weeks how successful it was in preventing further states from recognising Kosovo. In an interview with daily Danas, Jeremic said that the Serbian delegation to the UN General Assembly in New York had held meetings …

The presidency of the Macedonian Academy of Science and Arts, MASA, decided on Wednesday to withdraw its controversial Macedonian encyclopaedia. The editors of the encyclopaedia were ordered to revise and correct the passages in the book that refer to Macedonian-Albanian relations, Albanians in Macedonia, the former head of the 2001 …

The European Parliament’s rapporteur on visa issues, has proposed that the European Commission, EC, include all five western Balkan states in the EU visa liberalisation programme. Slovenian MEP Tanja Fajon made this recommendation, while arguing that the two states that have yet to meet all necessary benchmarks be included on …

The Macedonian government looks set to survive after the leaders of the ruling VMRO-DPMNE party and ethnic Albanian Democratic Union for Integration, DUI, met to settle their differences. VMRO-DPMNE leader Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski and DUI head Ali Ahmeti met on Tuesday afternoon to discuss the turmoil caused by the …

The heads of the European Commission and OSCE in Albania have both enjoined the country’s Socialist opposition party to end its parliamentary boycott. Speaking after a meeting with the minister of foreign affairs, Deputy Premier Ilir Meta, the head of the OSCE office in Tirana, Robert Bosch, said that his …