Latest News from Albania
Hot and Combustible
The Agony of Choice
Croatia's presidential election is not due before the second half of December, but the field of (self-declared) candidates is already getting crowded. Aside from the obvious, incumbent Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, former Croatian Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic has also decided to throw his hat into the ring.
Albania Opposition Activists Battle Police Over Election Centres
Protesters faced off police in a dozen towns across Albania on Wednesday, as opposition-run municipalities demanded that the Central Election Commission, CEC, vacate municipal properties planned for use as polling stations in hotly disputed local elections, which the opposition is boycotting.
Cyprus’ implied threat of veto key in EU Council decisions on Turkey
The EU General Affairs Council's harsh warning to Ankara and its decision to ask the European Commission to review possible sanctions against Turkey in response to its violation of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of the Republic of Cyprus was in part shaped by the implied threat by Cyprus' Foreign Minister Nikos Christodoulidis that he would not sign on to the Council's conclusions on EU enla
Tensions Rise in Albania Ahead of Disputed Elections
Bajram Curri. Photo: Wikimedia/Albinfo
Opposition supporters attacked and destroyed election material in the town of Bajram Curri, in north Albania on Tuesday, ahead of a hotly disputed local election due on June 30, which the opposition is boycotting and the President has tried to call off.
UK Drug Gangs Recruit in Albania’s Remote North
Speaking in April last year, Britain's ambassador to Albania, Duncan Norman, said "60 to 70 per cent" of 726 Albanian inmates at that time in Britain were from these three northern counties.
Deeply impoverished, the region has become a rich recruitment ground for the Albanian crime gangs that now dominate the cocaine market in Britain.
EU delays decision on membership talks with Albania, North Macedonia
European Union governments failed on Tuesday to make good on a promise to open membership talks with North Macedonia and Albania, which face further delays to their hopes of joining the bloc due to resistance from northern Europe.
Albanian PM Vows to Sue over Leaked Tapes ‘Blackmail’
Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama claimed on Monday that he is being blackmailed by the publication of prosecution-intercepted conversations that are alleged to highlight widespread violations by scores of Socialist Party officials during local elections in the Dibra municipality in 2016.
Dr. Boyko Takov, Executive Director of BSMEPA: „There is a lot of Ways to Find Resource, more Important is to Use it Properly“
It is very important to find a way of not only absorb but also use properly the existing resource. „Now we have to sow what will be harvested in time." With these words, the Executive Director of Bulgarian Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Promotion Agency. Dr.
Balkan Hopefuls Await European Council Decision on Talks
As the European Council of Ministers is set to convene on Tuesday in Luxembourg, North Macedonia and Albania fear they will not get what they hoped for - a date for a start to their EU accession talks.
EU at odds over Albania, North Macedonia joining; Cyprus threatens veto over Turkey
European Union states were at loggerheads on Monday over starting talks with Albania and North Macedonia to enter the bloc, while Cyprus threatened to veto any agreement on future enlargement unless the EU toughens its line on Turkish drilling.
Chief Architect of Warsaw Comes to Sofia for "Talks About the City"
Chief Architect of Warsaw, Poland Marlena Happach arrives in Sofia to participate in the fourth event of "Talks about the city", Sofia Municipality announced.
The organizer and host of the event is the Department of Architecture and Urban Planning.
The event is on Thursday 20th of June at 6 pm at the Military Club and the theme is "Walking City".
Mogherini urges EU to open accession talks with North Macedonia, Albania
European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini has urged European leaders, meeting at a summit in Brussels this week, to open accession negotiations with North Macedonia and Albania.
Unpunished Crimes Lie Behind Albania’s Present Crisis
The crisis of democracy in Albania these days should be seen also as part of the same serious crisis taking place in Europe and worldwide. In Albania, a still fragile democracy, the global crisis of democracy is perhaps reflected in its sorest consequences.
New book details EU’s top-secret Grexit, humanitarian disaster plan filed in 2012
A top-secret Grexit plan designed by the ECB, the EU and its financial mechanisms has been detailed in a new book entitled The Last Bluff and authored by Eleni Varvitsiots, the Brussels correspondent of the Athens daily Kathimerini Eleni Varvitsioti and Bloomberg's Viktoria Dendrinou.
Drug ring member arrested in Grevena
Greek police in the northern city of Grevena said Friday they had detained a member of a network that has been trafficking huge quantities of drugs into Greece from Albania.
The suspect, a 32-year-old foreign national, was arrested on charges of hiding 271 kilos of hashish in a shed in a village near Grevena.