Spain and Italy don't consider 2010 as lost year for Bosnia and Herzegovina

12.03.2010 @ 09:18 CET

The Spanish EU presidency, strongly supported by Italy, wants to organise a new round of the so-called "Butmir process" next month. With the forthcoming October elections in mind, the underlying theme is: "We should not assume that 2010 is already a lost year for achieving positive changes in Bosnia and Herzegovina."

Let's be friends, Sofia says to Skopje

12.03.2010 @ 09:15 CET

Bulgaria and Macedonia are edging towards a sounder basis for their sometimes acrimonious relationship. Sofia has proposed signing a treaty on good neighbourly relations, which would include cooperation in the fields of energy, economy and infrastructure, but also on minority and hate speech issues that have often poisoned bilateral politics .

Polish embassy dispute heading for climax

13.03.2010 @ 09:44 CET

Silvio Berlusconi's former spokesman and the Serbian government are embroiled in a bizarre dispute over a villa in Warsaw which could come to a nasty climax on Monday, days ahead of a state visit by Serbia's Boris Tadic to Poland.

Bulgaria's ruling party launches bid to oust president

11.03.2010 @ 10:29 CET

The future of Bulgaria's leftist President Georgi Parvanov is hanging in the balance after the party of centre right Prime Minister Boiko Borisov launched a bid to oust him, a year and a half ahead of the next presidential elections.

No need for new commitments on enlargement, say Madrid and Rome

10.03.2010 @ 10:02 CET

Spain and Italy, co-sponsors of a Western Balkans conference this spring, have set modest targets for the meeting, according to a diplomatic paper obtained by waz.euobserver.

Bulgaria to hunt for tax dodgers in Swiss bank database

11.03.2010 @ 09:53 CET

Tax authorities in Sofia are planning to look into the Swiss bank accounts of an unspecified number of Bulgarians whom they suspect of tax evasion, an official said.

Record fine for Hungarian vitamin producer

10.03.2010 @ 09:54 CET

A vitamin manufacturer reported by Hungarian media to have close ties with the Scientology movement has been punished by the Hungarian competition authority with a fine of €368,500.

Croatia launches new foreign policy drive

09.03.2010 @ 12:36 CET

Croatia has committed itself to a new kind of activity. With unknown vigour, the country's leadership has thrown itself into foreign policy.

The EU tests its 'soft power' in Haiti

05.03.2010 @ 09:25 CET

In front of the Port-au-Prince city cemetery hangs a placard: "No more room for dead. All places are occupied." Behind it, the fresh surface of a recently-dug mass grave can be seen with a human leg bone rolling around on top among rags of clothes.

Macedonian grapples with fortune-teller problem

08.03.2010 @ 09:12 CET

TV healers and fortune-tellers are flourishing in Macedonia where the percentage of superstitious citizens in on the rise. Psychologists and Sociologists warn that this is because of a social stigma attached to seeing a psychiatrist or a psychology for help with everyday problems, such as coping with poverty and unemployment.

Cautious Belgium against hasty enlargement

09.03.2010 @ 08:47 CET

After three enlargement-friendly EU presidencies in a row - the Czech Republic, Sweden and now Spain - Belgium's EU leadership in the second half of the year will be "strict and fair, without making promises," the country's state secretary for European affairs, Olivier Chastel, has said.

Change of Dutch government set to delay Serbia's EU bid

04.03.2010 @ 08:36 CET

Early elections in the Netherlands could delay the processing of Serbia's application for EU membership, according to a senior Dutch politician.

Visa-free travel brings Balkan asylum seekers to Belgium

03.03.2010 @ 09:16 CET

A wave of asylum seekers not seen since the end of the post-Yugoslav conflicts has arrived in Belgium from Serbia and Macedonia, alarming the authorities.

Far-right party gains in Hungary

05.03.2010 @ 09:32 CET

With just over a month before general elections in Hungary, popular interest in taking part in the vote is on the rise. The far-right Jobbik party seems to be profiting most,but the conservative opposition party, Fidesz, remains favorite to form the next government.

Bulgaria and Romania keen for Croatia to face EU scrutiny

03.03.2010 @ 09:54 CET

Bulgaria and Romania, according to diplomatic sources in Brussels, have unofficially said they want Croatia put under the same type of EU control mechanism as the one imposed on them when it joins the union.