TBILISI It would be a stretch to say Mikheil Saakashvili has been humbled. But almost a year after Georgia’s war with Russia, the flamboyant president, like his country, cuts a more modest figure. The five-day war dashed the former Soviet republic’s hopes of taking back control of the rebel regions …

Boyko Borissov, Bulgaria’s new prime minister, yesterday pledged to mend fences with the rest of the European Union by stepping up the fight against corruption. The European Commission last week criticised the outgoing government for failing to curb high-level corruption. It has been critical of the failure to bring to …

BELGRADE, Serbia Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic said on Saturday (July 25th) he is optimistic that Serbia’s interim trade agreement with the EU — as part of the broader pre-membership agreement — would be unblocked by the beginning of 2010. In an interview with the newspaper Danas, Jeremic said talks on …

SARAJEVO, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) Justice Minister Barisa Colak says BiH will not extradite its citizens to other countries, regardless of the type of the arrest warrant involved, local media reported on Sunday (July 26th). He was responding to his Serbian counterpart Snezana Malovic, who visited Interpol’s headquarters in Lyon …

TIRANA, Albania The Central Election Commission (CEC) is ready to deliver the final results of the June 28th general elections, having reviewed all complaints from political parties through the Election Council, local media reported on Sunday (July 26th). But various parties still have another week to file complaints related to …

PRISTINA, Kosovo Ten municipalities will benefit from a grant of 340,000 euros each provided by the European Commission (EC), which they will use to strengthen local governance. “Public administration reform and local governance reform play a key role in Kosovo’s future,” EC official Kjartan Bjornsson said on Friday (July 24th). …

SKOPJE, Macedonia The country paid tribute Sunday (July 26th) to the victims of a devastating earthquake that struck Skopje 46 years ago, killing more than 1,000 people. Official delegations laid flowers in front of a monument to the victims at the cemetery in the capital. The quake, which registered 6.9 …

ZAGREB, Croatia A day of national mourning in memory of the victims of Friday’s train accident near the town of Split is being observed Monday (July 27th). The derailment killed six people and injured at least 50. All sport and cultural events scheduled for Monday are cancelled. The trade union …

Macedonia will follow directions given by the European Commission, EC, in deciding whether to establish a visa regime for citizens of Kosovo and Albania. According to Macedonia’s Foreign Ministry, this issue has yet to be discussed. Until now, citizens of Albania and Kosovo have travelled freely into Macedonia. “It is …

The outgoing head of the European Commission, EC, mission to Serbia, Josep Lloveras, considers that Serbia is on the right path to EU integration but needs to maintain momentum. “Unfortunately, Serbia has lost a lot of time and cannot allow itself further failures. Thus, the best way to alleviate the …