The Western Balkans countries need almost two centuries to reach an average income in the European Union member states if they progress at such a low growth rate, EBRD Director for the region Zsuzsanna Hargittai said on Wednesday, the Beta news agency reported.
The prosecutor of a UN war crimes tribunal told N1 on Wednesday that his report on the level of cooperation between the countries of the region and the tribunal is mainly negative.
Serge Brammertz, chief prosecutor at the Residual Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals, is on a three-day visit to Belgrade during which he has had meetings with the Serbian justice minister, state prosecutor and chief war crimes prosecutor.
On World Press Freedom Day, we celebrate the essential role of a free press not only as a conveyor of reliable and accurate news but as a pillar of democracy, Federica Mogherini, the EU High Representative, said on Thursday.
The UN General Assembly declared May 3 to be World Press Freedom Day to raise awareness of the importance of freedom of the press and remind governments of their duty to respect and uphold the right to freedom of expression stipulated under Article 19 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Journalist and sociologist Zoran Panovic told N1, referring to yesterday's Brussels summit, that it turned out pompous, and hollow - with a lot of phrases. Obviously, the pressure was there, Panovic said.
Vienna based daily Der Standard argues that the goal of the upcoming regional conference in Berlin on the Western Balkans is to "bury" a plan on the exchange of territory, the portal B92 reports.
"The Chancellor intends to suggest that North of Kosovo receive a special status - this is also based and in the idea of the Community of Serbian Municipalities, which formation was agreed by the Brussels Agreement, but it has not been applied so far," reported Standard.
The European Union has minimised the impact China has on the Balkans, the bloc’s Commissioner for Enlargement Johannes Hahn has said on Tuesday, adding he is worried about the level of loans for infrastructural projects those countries take from Beijing, the Beta news agency reported.
In an interview with Financial Times, Hahn said such loans increased the risk for those countries in the long run.
According to him, the EU would have been a more fair partner.
‘Balkan spring’ activists say EU backs autocrats who promise stability but erode rule of law
Thousands of people rallied in Serbia and Montenegro at the weekend, as anger around the region over threats to the rule of law and the EU’s alleged acceptance of autocratic leaders fueled talk of a pro-democracy “Balkan spring”.
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France must focus on the Western Balkans which have become “a diplomatic dead end”, French European Affairs Minister Nathalie Loiseau said, the Belgrade-based Beta news agency reported.
She told the French daily newspaper La Croix that the European Union has not engaged itself sufficiently in reinforcing the peace in the reigon. “Things can either go in a good direction or in a bad one” but there can be no status quo, she said.
The US intelligence service CIA, and the agency Stratfor, have predicted big changes on European soil, Belgrade-based daily Vecernje Novosti is reporting.