When EU leaders pose for a “family picture” with counterparts from six western Balkan nations hoping to join the bloc, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy will stay away in protest - highlighting how long and hard their road to membership is likely to be.
The World Bank lowered its forecast for economic growth in the western Balkans to 3.2 percent in 2018 from its previous forecast of 3.3 percent and warned that structural reforms are necessary if the region wants to grow sustainably over the medium term.
https://reut.rs/2HeEYLKThe Serbian Orthodox Church plans to change its name to stress its link with Kosovo, Serbia’s ex-southern province that won independence in 2008, in a move seen as opposition to Belgrade’s efforts to mend ties with Pristina.
http://reut.rs/2DeAcrpEuropean power grid lobby ENTSO-E urged Serbia and Kosovo to urgently resolve a dispute over their power grid, which has affected the broader European network, causing some digital clocks on the continent to lose time.
http://reut.rs/2HfrCv7Twelve years after he died during his trial for war crimes, Slobodan Milosevic, the one-time Serbian strongman, divided his audience again, this time as a character in a musical that made its debut on Tuesday.
http://reut.rs/2I6Hd18The EU’s chief executive on Thursday told the six Western Balkan countries that future membership of the bloc was theirs to secure, but toughened a message that reforms were more important than timelines.
http://reut.rs/2oJ9FgFThe United States urged Albania on Wednesday to avoid “careless language” after its prime minister suggested a single president and single security policy for both his country and neighboring Kosovo in a speech that infuriated Serbia.
http://reut.rs/2CenHArSerbia will need to accept the independence of Kosovo, its former province, in order to join the European Union, German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said in Pristina late on Wednesday.
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