Balkans

PRISTINA, Kosovo Serbs in a northern Mitrovica neighbourhood started rebuilding five houses Wednesday (May 13th), closely monitored by EULEX officials. The situation seems to be calm, in contrast to periods over the past two weeks, when Serbs had protested repairs to homes owned by ethnic Albanians situated in the Serb …

BUCHAREST, Romania By a wide margin Wednesday (May 13th), parliament rejected the first no-confidence vote filed against Prime Minister Emil Boc’s cabinet, which its foes accused of implementing policies that only aggravate the economic crisis.

THE HAGUE, The Netherlands The UN war crimes tribunal rejected a request by former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic to drop the charges against him Wednesday (May 13th). Karadzic insists the tribunal is hindering the process and his defence preparations by constantly raiding the homes of his relatives.

Petar Dimitrov, Bulgaria’s Minister of Economy and Energy, has stated that Bulgaria’s economy will not improve until the rest of Europe shows signs of recovery. “More than 60% of Bulgaria’s GDP depends on the European market. And if the crisis in the EU is not over, it would be an …

The recently elected leader of the biggest opposition right-wing party in Bulgaria, whose running in the upcoming European election was allegedly undermined by people close to the ruling parties, conferred with EU ambassadors on Thursday. Martin Dimitrov was accompanied by the leader of the so-called Blue coalition ballot for the …

Bosnia’s new top international envoy, High Representative Valentin Inzko, faces his biggest challenge so far as Bosnian Serb leaders grouped together to demand he stop using his governing powers. The challenge was issued at a session of the Assembly of the Serb-dominated Bosnian entity of Republika Srpska, which on Thursday …

After strongly contesting the appointment of the head of the international election monitoring team, the Albanian Central Electoral Commission on Thursday approved her appointment, along with a further 39 long-term observers. The centre-right government of Prime Minister Sali Berisha had earlier objected to Ambassador Audrey Glover’s appointment as head of …

The US Congress Wednesday passed a resolution on Bosnia and Herzegovina, calling for an appointment of a new US special envoy and continued constitutional reform in the troubled country. The prospect of renewed US focus on the country has sparked immediate reactions within Bosnia, and threatens to trigger a fresh …

The EU’s foreign policy chief Javier Solana said Wednesday that it is likely that Macedonia gets a date for the start of accession talks this year. “I think this is very likely and it is very possible,” Solana said in Brussels. Solana was meeting with Macedonia’s new president Georgi Ivanov, …

All the computers and the radar of the state plane carrying Premier Nikola Gruevski from Brussels to Paris failed Thursday. The plane landed back safely in Brussels. Gruevski and his delegation are now trying to find an alternate way of getting in to Paris to meet French President Nicolas Sarkozy, …