Yugoslavia

The town of Karlovac changed the name of a square dedicated to Yugoslav President Josip Broz Tito to honour 1990s war veterans, amid an ongoing dispute in Croatia about the former Communist leader’s legacy.

Reporting about the Western Balkans Summit in Trieste, German newspaper Die Welt writes that "the EU wants to create a new mini-Yugoslavia in the Balkans."

This is according to Croatia's Index website, that said the summit brought together "the countries of the Western Balkans, as well as the leaders of Germany, France and Italy, and Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic."

Reporting about the Western Balkans Summit in Trieste, German newspaper Die Welt writes that "the EU wants to create a new mini-Yugoslavia in the Balkans."

Italy warned Wednesday that the European Union must keep its doors open to eventual membership for Western Balkan countries or risk allowing Russia and other global powers to increase their influence in the region.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that the European Union is committed to bring the Western Balkans region "slowly but surely" to EU membership, reported BGNES.

"Political stability in the region means political stability for us as well. We know this from the past experience, "she said at the European Forum for the Western Balkans in the Italian city of Trieste.

Johannes Hahn, Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations has told Deutsche Welle that the EU would finance the construction of a railway linking Bulgaria and Macedonia, which is part of a Pan-European Corridor 8, stretching between the Bulgarian Black Sea coast and the Adriatic coast of Albania, quoted by BGNES.

The apartment of Dragana Peco, a Serbian journalist with the investigative network KRIK, was broken into on Friday, while she was out of the city.

The police took fingerprints from the scene, while KRIK announced that they would insist on the police conducting a thorough investigation.

Photo: Royal Central

In 1941, His Majesty King Peter II of Yugoslavia had to leave his kingdom, when Nazi Germany invaded; this was the start of 50 years of exile for the Serbian Royal Family. King Peter died in 1970 and never had the chance to return to Serbia.

Michael-Djordjevic

On Thursday, July 6, the Day of the Diaspora was held in the premises of the "Singidunum University" in Belgrade. Speakers spoke about current problems between the diaspora and motherland in front of about 200 people.

Milorad Dodik warned on Wednesday that Republika Srpska coud leave Bosnia and Herzegovina if the state Constitutional Court doesn't rule against the country's Independence Day and Statehood Day after already ruling the annual Day of Republika Srpska holiday unconstitutional.