Balkans

KOSOVO In a ceremony held at KFOR HQ in Priština on Tuesday, German General Markus Bentler took over as commander of the NATO-led force in Kosovo. He replaced Italian General Giuseppe Emilio Gay. The outgoing commander said that a gradual reduction of NATO members would not mean the end of …

ALBANIA Fatmir Sejdiu has promised the families of missing Albanians that he will use his authority to order the identification of human remains as soon as possible. The Kosovo president is the first provincial official to visit the mothers of missing persons, who have been striking in front of the …

SERBIA The Special Court in Belgrade has sentenced four Wahhabi to a total of 27 years in prison. Adis Murić and Bajram Aslani were sentenced to eight years, Nedžad Bulić to seven, and Enes Mujanović to four years. The group was accused of criminal association with a view to unconstitutional …

BULGARIA Bulgarian President Georgi Purvanov expressed concern about what he called the lack of competence that the new Cabinet and Prime Minister Boiko Borissov have shown about the country’s energy policy and asked Borissov to take a firm stand when dealing with Russia and energy giant Gazprom. In an article …

BULGARIA SAPARD program would be part of the talks at high level between Bulgarian Prime Minister (PM) Boyko Borisov and the President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso. Thus political trust, which Bulgaria has expected, would come from the highest level, European Commissioner for Consumer Protection Meglena Kuneva said.

BULGARIA We need succession in the energy strategy and policy of Bulgaria, , reads an article by President Georgi Parvanov titled “Energy Strategy and Policy Needs Pragmatism and Leadership”.

HOLLAND Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic could go on trial as early as October 19 for war crimes and crimes against humanity, the pre-trial judge of the tribunal overseeing his case said on Tuesday. Karadzic, the most prominent figure being prosecuted for crimes during the 1992-95 Bosnian war, asked …

GREECE The construction of the Burgas-Alexandroupolis oil pipeline suits the interests of both Greece and Bulgaria, Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis said in an interview with local media.

GREECE “The market suffocates, small and medium-sized enterprises suffer and the unemployment rate endangers the families in Greece. The lack of state over the last years turned Greece into a state of inter-firm indebtedness and affairs”, the leader of the Greek oppositional political party PASOK George Papandreou said after his …

GREECE The signing of president’s decree officially kicked off the early elections campaign in Greece. The two biggest political parties started their elections battle. Leaders of the New Democracy and PASOK – Kostas Karamanlis and George Papandreou, respectively, agreed to organize TV debates in parallel to the elections campaigns, inviting …