Montenegro

The European Commission on Wednesday recommended to the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament that Kosovo should be transferred to the visa-free list for short stays in the Schengen zone.

It said that Kosovo has fulfilled the requirements of its visa liberalisation roadmap.

The European Commission has proposed to lift visa requirements for citizens of Kosovo for short-term travel to the EU's passport-free Schengen zone.

The proposal was made to the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament on together with the Commission's confirmation that Kosovo has fulfilled the requirements of its visa liberalisation roadmap.

Montenegrin lawmakers on Wednesday  will meet to approve a new cabinet after the ruling and opposition parties agreed on forming a transitional government to organize parliamentary elections by the end of this year.

It is expected that MPs at the same session will adopt a special law to legally define the implementation of the agreement and how state resources can be used.

Turkey's first electric car, the Pehlivan Elektrak developed by Trakya University, has returned to the country after a two-week trip around the Balkan Peninsula. 

The fiber carbon car visited Greece, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Albania, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina during the 14-day tour. 

Montenegrin President Filip Vujanovic has been accused of abusing his authority and the law on pardons - and the prominent human rights watchdog, the Civic Alliance, on Thursday called for his resignation.

Media outlets in Bulgaria are partly free along with most countries in Southern and Southeast Europe, the 2016 Freedom of the Press report shows.

BELGRADE - Vassily Likhachov, a member of Russia's Central Election Commission (CEC) who led a CEC observation delegation at Sunday's early parliamentary election in Serbia has said that Russia should adopt a special position regarding Serbia as the West were trying to keep the country far away from Russia.
   

Bulgaria's environment has deteriorated in terms of democracy and governance over the past year, lagging behind Romania and remaining last in the EU, an annual index comparing EU members and accession countries shows.

A new report by the US-based watchdog Freedom House, published on Wednesday, raises fresh concerns about the state of the media in the Balkans.

The report says media freedom is declining in the Balkans generally, where the press is described as only as "Partly Free", while media in Macedonia are described as "Not Free".

The head of Russian Central Electoral Commission's delegation in Serbian elections says it is important for his country "to take a special approach to Serbia."