General Assembly elects Judge Mustapha El Baaj to serve as Mechanism Judge
On Tuesday, 15 January 2019, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) elected Judge Mustapha El Baaj of Morocco to the judicial roster of the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals…
Croatia-Israel fighter jet deal botched over U.S. objection
Croatian Defense Minister Damir Krsticevic announced here on Thursday that Israel could not sell U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets to his country as agreed, because Israel had failed to get approval…
Kustendorf Film Festival opens with unique selection of world auteur films
The Kustendorf International Film and Music Festival has opened in the tourist village of Drvengrad in western Serbia with homages to Polish film directors Roman Polanski and Krzysztof Kieslowski, as…
Can the Western Balkans be Sustainable without using Coal?
Among European capitals, Skopje in FYR Macedonia remains one of the lesser-known cities. Strenuous efforts to raise the city’s profile yielded fruit when the Lonely Planet travel guide recently recognised…
Serbia to impose stricter penal code with lifelong imprisonment: president
In the following month Serbia plans to initiate changes in its criminal policy in order to impose stricter sanctions against perpetrators of heaviest criminal acts such as multiple homicides and…
A ‘No-deal Brexit’ would hit South-eastern European Countries hardest
A departure of the United Kingdom from the European Union (EU) with no agreements on trade and investments – a no-deal Brexit – would hit south-eastern European countries hardest among…
UN peacekeeping chief calls for restraint over Belgrade-Pristina tension
UN Undersecretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix on Monday called for restraint from Belgrade and Pristina. "The recent developments in Kosovo have further deteriorated relations between Belgrade and Pristina, which…
Judge Yusuf Aksar elected for the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals
On Friday, 21 December 2018, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) elected Judge Yusuf Aksar of Turkey to the judicial roster of the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (Mechanism).…
European Commission notified WTO on Investigation of certain Steel Products
The European Commission has notified the World Trade Organisation (WTO) of its findings in the safeguard investigation on certain steel products. Based on these, the Commission intends to impose definitive measures to…
Heavy snow in NW Turkey causes flight delays, cancellations in Istanbul
Heavy snowfall in northwestern Turkey have caused flight delays and cancellations in Istanbul on Monday. In a warning issued on its website, Turkish Airlines, the national flag carrier, called on…
Serbia’s economy sees 4.4 pct growth in 2018
The economy of Serbia saw 4.4 percent growth this year compared to 2017, the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia (SORS) said Friday, highlighting growth in living standard, agricultural…
Modric, Perkovic win Croatian sports awards
The best football player in the world Luka Modric got his first Croatian Sportsman of the Year award and discus thrower Sandra Perkovic won her seventh Croatian Sportswoman of the…
Croatia adopts plan to increases quota for foreign workers in 2019
The Croatian government decided on Thursday to issue 65,100 work permits for foreign nationals in 2019 in an effort to tackle labor shortage in industries of construction, tourism, and hospitality.…
Representatives of WB Countries discussed the new Regional Roaming Agreement
Representatives of the economies from the Western Balkans (WB) gathered in Brussels today to discuss on the new Regional Roaming Agreement (RRA), at the meeting of the Western Balkans Roaming…
Commission discussed the Fulfillment of the Visa Liberalization Benchmarks by the Western Balkan Countries
The Commission is today reporting on its assessment of the fulfillment of the visa liberalization benchmarks by the Western Balkan countries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the former Yugoslav Republic of…
Today is International Migrants Day
On the occasion of International Migrants Day on 18 December, the European Commission and the High Representative made the following statement: “The history of humankind is a history of migration.…
UN chief concerned about Kosovo decision to form army
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres "has taken note with concern" of the adoption by the Kosovo parliament of three draft laws aimed at strengthening the role and capacity of the Kosovo…
Statement by the EU on the Kosovo Security Force
The Kosovo Assembly adopted today a legislation on the Kosovo Security Force. Like NATO, the European Union continues to share the view that the mandate of the KSF should only be…
World Debt Hits Record 184 Trillion Dollars
Today, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) updated its publicly available Global Debt Database (GDD) – a comprehensive dataset covering public and private debt for virtually the entire world (190 countries)…
The entire Western Balkans suffers from Air Pollution
Among European capitals, Skopje in FYR Macedonia remains one of the lesser-known cities. Strenuous efforts to raise the city’s profile yielded fruit when the Lonely Planet travel guide recently recognised…
Luka Modric: the new winner of Ballon d’Or
Croatian star Luka Modric won his first Ballon d'Or here on Monday, putting an end to the decade-long dominance of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. It was truly a fruitful…
Jews around the World welcomed Hanukkah
Jews around the world welcome Hanukkah on December 2nd, one of the largest Jewish holidays during the year. At the time of the holiday, the believers remember the times from…
Hahn to visit Kosovo on Monday for Newly Imposed Tariffs
European Commissioner for Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations, Johannes Hahn, is expected to visit Kosovo on 3 December when he will meet senior state officials of Kosovo. The main focus…
Croatian gov’t increases Minimum Wage
Croatian government announced on Friday to raise a minimum monthly net wage in the country from 2,751 kuna (about 420 U.S. dollars) to 3,000 kuna (about 460 U.S. dollars). The…
Serbia, Egypt agree to boost Bilateral Ties
Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic Wednesday held a meeting with visiting Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Hassan Shoukry and both agreed that economic cooperation between the two countries should be advanced…
Analysis: increasing Importance of EU Exports for Job Opportunities in Europe and Beyond
Two new studies published today by the European Commission highlight the increasing importance of EU exports for job opportunities in Europe and beyond. EU exports to the world are more…
Mayors of Kosovo’s Serb municipalities resign to protest over 100-pct tariffs
Serb-majority municipalities in Kosovo decided on Tuesday to quit all communication with authorities in Pristina in the light of new tariffs, which they see as a "breach of human and…
International Day for the elimination of Violence against Women marked
November 25th is the international day for the elimination of violence against women. Violence against women and girls is a serious human rights violation. Today, on the International Day for…
Serbia signs 100 mln-euro Deal with EIB to boost Water Infrastructure
Serbia signed a financial agreement worth 100 million euros (around 114 million U.S. dollars) with the European Investment Bank (EIB) here Friday on investments in river transport infrastructure, in order…
Serbia invests in Science and Technology Incubators to boost Research
Construction of another Science and Technology Park started in Serbia on Friday in the southern city of Nis, with an aim to support scientific research, as well as startup and…
Serbia, Denmark eye closer Economic Ties despite Difference on Kosovo
Serbia and Denmark aimed to expand bilateral relations through more economic cooperation, foreign ministers of the two countries told a press conference after their meeting here on Tuesday. They, however,…
Croatian business tycoon released after paying million-dollar bail
Former owner of Croatia's food and retail group Agrokor Ivica Todoric was released from prison here on Tuesday after paying a bail of 7.5 million kuna (1.15 million U.S. dollars).…
Croatia, Qatar vow closer Ties
Leaders of Croatia and Qatar expressed hopes to enhance economic cooperation here on Monday as Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani met with Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic at…
Croatian gov’t accepts UN migration agreement
The Croatian government said here on Friday that the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM) is acceptable to Croatia and that the Interior Minister will represent the…
Commission released Results of a New Study on the Public Knowledge on Antibiotics
The Commission released the results of a new Eurobarometer study on the public knowledge on antibiotics and overall trends in their use ahead of the 11th European Antibiotic Awareness Day.…
“Chinese artificial sun” pushes past 100 million degrees
The experimental advanced superconducting tokamak (EAST), or the "Chinese artificial sun," achieved an electron temperature of over 100 million degrees in its core plasma, a key step towards the test…
Tusk says EU to hold Brexit summit on Nov. 25 to finalize agreement
A European Council meeting is expected on Nov. 25 in order to "finalize and formalize the Brexit agreement," European Council President Donald Tusk told reporters Thursday. Brexit is a lose-lose…
Croatia expects steady Growth, lower Taxes in 2019
The Croatian government on Friday sent to the parliament a revision of this year's state budget as well as budget proposal for 2019, expecting steady growth and lower taxes next…
Croatian Court extends Investigative Custody for Business Tycoon
Ivica Todoric, the founder and former owner of Croatia's food and retail group Agrokor, will remain in investigative custody, Zagreb County Court ruled on Thursday. The judge rejected Todoric's lawyers…
Former boss of Croatia’s Agrokor extradited from Britain
Ivica Todoric, the former owner of Croatia's biggest private company Agrokor, was extradited from Britain on Wednesday night to Croatia and sent to a jail immediately after the plane landed…
Croatian president cancels plan to attend UN conference on migrants
Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic confirmed on Monday that she had changed her position and decided not to attend the intergovernmental conference to adopt the UN Global Compact for Migration (GCM)…
Mr. Geir O. Pedersen of Norway appointed as Special Envoy for Syria
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced today the appointment of Geir O. Pedersen of Norway as his Special Envoy for Syria. The Secretary-General takes this opportunity to reiterate his deepest…
EU to support Turkish Stream extension to Bulgaria, CEEC region
Central and Eastern European Countries (CEEC) see the extension of the Turkish Stream to Bulgaria as a key opportunity for gas diversification and demand from the European Union (EU) to…
113 illegal migrants intercepted in Croatia
Croatian police announced on Friday that they had intercepted 113 illegal migrants hidden in a truck near Senj on the upper Adriatic coast Thursday. The State's Attorney Office in Rijeka…
Businessman Ivica Todoric to have fair trial in Croatia: minister
ZAGREB, Oct. 25 (Xinhua) -- Croatian Minister of Justice welcomed the decision by the high court in London on Thursday to extradite Ivica Todoric back to Croatia where he is…
Erdogan says Khashoggi’s murder premeditated, demands trial of Saudi suspects in Turkey
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Tuesday that missing Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was the victim of a premeditated "brutal murder," while demanding that the Saudi suspects be tried in…
Former Croatian PM Sanader convicted of war profiteering
Former Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader was sentenced on Monday to 2.5 years in prison for war profiteering and ordered to return to the state budget 3.6 million Croatian kuna…
Croatian shipyard workers stage another strike over salaries
Workers from the Uljanik shipyard in Croatia's coastal city Pula started a strike on Monday morning due to unpaid salaries for September, Croatian national television reported. Around 1,500 workers protested…
Serbia opposes establishment of Kosovo army: president
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic on Friday told visiting U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state Matthew Palmer that his country was opposed to the establishment of the Kosovo army. Vucic and…
Croatian civic initiatives fail to become referendum
Civic initiatives that were launched to change the national election law and repeal the Istanbul Convention failed to collect enough signatures to call referendums about the issues, Croatian Administration Minister…
