The leaders of some of the European Union’s biggest economies, including Germany’s Angela Merkel, will offer the western Balkan countries new incentives to join the world’s largest trading bloc and stabilize the continent’s most volatile region.
As Trump belittles NATO and sends conciliatory signs to the Kremlin, Russian President Vladimir Putin is stepping in. He has pledged to strengthen defense cooperation with Serbia, a traditional ally, donating six used MiG-29 fighter planes to the army. He also offered the country to join a trade agreement that would be incompatible with Serbia’s plan to join the European Union.
By Gordana Filipovic and Misha Savic - Nov 10, 2014
Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic rejected an appeal by his Albanian counterpart Edi Rama to recognize Kosovo’s independence in the first visit by an Albanian leader in almost seven decades.
Rama, the first Albanian senior official to visit Serbia since Cold War-era leader Enver Hoxha in 1947, said in Belgrade today Kosovo’s independence was an “unchangeable reality,” after he and Vucic agreed to join forces and clamp down on customs violations. His trip was delayed last month after a soccer brawl.
By Gordana Filipovic - Oct 8, 2014
The European Union said it is “crucial” for Serbia to work on normalizing relations with Kosovo and uphold the rule of law.
The biggest former Yugoslav republic should implement “in good faith” all agreements reached with Kosovo, its breakaway province, for the accession talks to “proceed smoothly,” the European Commission said in its annual progress report on countries aspiring to join the 28-member bloc.
Sep 12, 2014 - 13:02
Sept. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Kosovar Prime Minister Hashim Thaci is sticking to his ambition of leading the six-year-old country for a third term following inconclusive snap elections, extending a political deadlock in one of Europe’s poorest state.
By Boris Cerni and Misha Savic - Jun 8, 2014
Prime Minister Hashim Thaci won Kosovo’s second parliamentary elections since independence from Serbia, according to early results, with voters seeking higher living standards in one of Europe’s poorest states.
By Boris Cerni and Misha Savic - Jun 6, 2014
Kosovo will hold a general election June 8 as the former Serbian province tries to lift an economy dependent on foreign aid and mend ties with its northern neighbor so both can accelerate European Union accession.
By - Jun 1, 2014
The smokestacks at Kosovo’s oldest power station tower over decaying buildings and a tangle of rusty pipes, polluting the Balkan countryside and posing the first test of the World Bank’s pledge to avoid coal.