Balkan hopes of starting accession negotiations with the European Union hang in the balance, as France insists the bloc is not yet ready to discuss the possibility of accepting new members, documents exchanged between diplomatic missions in Brussels show.
See at: https://bloom.bg/2OMv0EM
European Union leaders may have sought to balance political, national and geographic interests when choosing the bloc’s new leadership, but ex-communist nations both inside and outside its borders look to have ended up with the short end of the bargain.
While the EU’s biggest eastern members helped torpedo German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s plan and celebrated the proposal of French President Emmanuel Macron winning approval, the picks for three tops jobs create the risk of conflict and disappointment for governments stretching from Poland to Kosovo.
Kosovo will adopt laws next week to open the way to turning its lightly armed security force into an army, its parliament speaker said, drawing condemnation from its neighbor Serbia.
Serbian lawmakers approved two women to become new vice governors at the central bank, creating a gender ratio unique in Europe in a team that sets the Balkan nation’s monetary policy.
EU membership is the prize meant to persuade Serbia and Kosovo to set aside resentments left by war. It’s finally possible.
Steve Bannon helped upend the political order in the U.S. before falling out with President Donald Trump. Now he’s looking to recreate his former glories in Europe.
Bannon is planning a roadshow across half a dozen European countries starting this week to galvanize populist leaders and parties into a loose alliance and help gain a bigger foothold for their policies in the European Parliament, Trump’s former strategist said in an interview.
The leaders of Serbia and Kosovo will discuss a potential land swap and the idea has sparked warnings of a return to conflict.
If history is anything to go by, Europe’s most volatile region is headed into another precarious period, and the repercussions could again be felt around the world.
See at: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-09-06/europe-risks-opening-a-pandora-s-box
Serbia’s proposal to normalize ties with Kosovo may include some form of partition along ethnic lines to try to halt an outflow of Serbs from areas dominated by ethnic Albanians, President Aleksandar Vucic said.
“It’s better to get something than nothing,” said the president, who is yet to outline details of his plan that may bring a breakthrough after years of European Union-mediated talks between Serbia and Kosovo that have failed to mend ties. The former foes need to reach a deal to free up their path to the EU.
Serbia’s government told the country’s dominant Christian Orthodox Church not to pressure President Aleksandar Vucic on the future of Kosovo as he readies the Balkan country for a debate on future ties.
Serbia should end its claim to all of Kosovo and seek to regain control of the northern part of the breakaway province where Serbs are in the majority, Deputy Premier Ivica Dacic said in an opinion piece published by Vecernje Novosti on Monday.