October, 2009

• 7 October

  EC Urged to Expand Visa-Free Scheme

  The European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee has urged the European Commission, EC, to change its plan for visa-liberalisation in the Balkans. The committee asked the EC to tentatively add Albania and Bosnia to the White Schengen list, pending the fulfillment of benchmarks, and to urgently open talks on the visa …

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• 7 October

  IMF to Help Serbia, if it Reforms

  The governor of the National Bank of Serbia, Radovan Jelasic, says that the IMF is ready to help Serbia, but “only if there is serious reform”. Following the conclusion of the annual IMF-World Bank meetings in Istanbul, the Serbian government has less than three weeks to decide on how to …

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• 7 October

  Albania and Serbia in Diplomatic Flirtation

  Albania’s Foreign Minister Ilir Meta and his Serbian counterpart Vuk Jeremic, have agreed to strengthen cooperation between their two countries. The pair’s meeting came on the sidelines of a regional conference of the so-called Visegrad states in Budapest on Tuesday, and was followed by a joint press conference. While the …

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• 6 October

  Mufti: Religious rights threatened

  Chief mufti of the Islamic Community in Serbia, Muamer Zukorlić, has told EP Rapporteur Jelko Kacin that the rights of Serbian Muslims are in danger. Zukorlić met with Kacin in Slovenia to gave him a detailed report on the state of religious rights in Serbia, especially the “unlawful behavior of …

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• 6 October

  NGO to release victim census for Kosovo

  The Humanitarian Law Center will present to victims’ families the results of their census of dead and missing persons in Kosovo from January 1998 to Dec. 2000. According to the center, 13,321 individuals were killed, wounded or went missing during the armed conflicts in Kosovo in the period from January …

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• 6 October

  Previous administration of Interior Ministry was excessively politicized, Victor Catan

  MOLDOVA The major reforms will center on the certification of the personnel and liquidation of corruption pyramids inside the Ministry, the Minister of the Interior told. The new Minister of the Interior wants to improve the reputation of the police in the society. According to Victor Catan, the image of …

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• 6 October

  Vote to elect head of state could take place on October 23 or 26

  Communist MP Grigore Petrenko said that the PCRM is preparing for early elections and will not support the Alliance’s candidate for head of state. The members of the Parliament’s Standing Bureau Monday voted for the inclusion of the decision on the creation of the special parliamentary commission for the election …

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• 6 October

  Papandreou’s victory sparks optimism for Turkey ties

  Optimism is on the rise around the Aegean Sea after Greece’s main opposition party, PASOK, takes victory in elections, according to experts and observers. The man most likely to become prime minister, George Papandreou, is known for his friendly stance toward Turkey and a historic rapprochement he worked on with …

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• 6 October

  Milososki to attend meeting of Visegrad Group foreign ministers

  Macedonian Foreign Minister Antonio Milososki will take part today at the meeting of the Visegrad Group foreign ministers, upon invitation of his Hungarian counterpart Peter Balash. The meeting will be attended by the ministers of the Visegrad Group – Hungary, Poland, Czech Republic and Slovakia, of the next two presiding …

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• 6 October

  Russia worried over Berisha’s statements

  Russia is worried over the recent statements of the Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha suggesting that the unification of the Albanian countries (including Kosovo) should take place as soon as possible. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov expressed Moscow’s concern over Berisha statements to his Serbian counterpart Vuk Jeremic, who is …

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