Latest News from Albania
North Macedonia Trails Balkan Peers on LGBT Tourist Safety
Serbia ranks as the safest destination for LGBT tourists and North Macedonia as the worst among Balkan states featured on a list of 150 most-visited countries published by travel bloggers Asher and Lyric Fergusson.
Response to Edi Rama: He is the president of a country called Albania
Maloku commented on a meeting that took place on Sunday between Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and North Macedonia Prime Minister Zoran Zaev in Ohrid. For him, it was a play that posed no danger to Kosovo, but it was meaningless until the participating countries recognize Kosovo.
North Macedonia willing to undergo ‘more thorough’ EU accession process, Pendarovski says
Membership of the European Union remains the "strategic goal" of North Macedonia, the president of the Balkan state said Tuesday, adding that the country is willing to undergo a more "thorough accession process."
Harness the Outrage Triggered by Macron’s Enlargement Veto
Macron's 'Non' triggered a deluge of analyses and op-eds explaining how the French position would undermine the successes of North Macedonia and Albania, that it dealt huge damage to EU credibility in the Western Balkans and cast a shadow over the region's European perspective, supposedly set in stone in Thessaloniki 16 years ago.
North Macedonia President Talks EU Enlargement with Macron
Stevo Pendarovski, who is attending the Paris Peace Forum, will have a meeting later on Tuesday with Emmanuel Macron, whose opposition last month at the European Council dashed North Macedonia's hopes of a start date for EU accession negotiations.
Montenegro Rejects Balkan ‘Mini Schengen’ Proposal
Montenegro's economy minister Dragica Sekulic said on Monday that joining the 'mini Schengen' initiative for Balkan states proposed by Albania, North Macedonia and Serbia would be a waste of energy because her country has already "opened its borders" and lifted trade barriers to its neighbours.
"Free flow of goods, services and people more important than withdrawing recognition"
Vucic said in Paris last night that the initiative to remove barriers to the free movement of goods, services, capital and people between Serbia, North Macedonia and Albania is more significant than withdrawing Kosovo's recognition.
Ohrid Agreement: Open borders, labor and student exchange, travel with ID cards only
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, reached the agreement on how the so-called "mini Schengen" will look like with Zoran Zaev and Edi Rama, the prime ministers of North Macedonia and Albania.
The Game of Envoys: Are the EU and the US Taking the Western Balkans more Seriously?
BELGRADE - There seems to be an inflation of special envoys or special representatives for the Western Balkans, after the Western actors designated or announced the designation of several such officials.
Matthew Palmer: "Mini Schengen has US support" VIDEO
"The European perspective of the Western Balkans, which has been the basis of US engagement in the region for more than 20 years, has not changed and will not change", Matthew Palmer, US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State and US Special Representative for the Western Balkans said.
PM Borissov: Reconciliation and Regional Cooperation Are Key to European Integration of the Western Balkans
Reconciliation, regional cooperation and maintaining good neighbourly relations are key factors for the European integration of the Western Balkans, Prime Minister Boyko Borissov said in his speech at the leaders meeting within the Strategic Dialogue for the Western Balkans, hosted by the World Economic Forum in Geneva, the government press office reported.
Bosnia Demands Explanation for Macron’s ‘Time-Bomb’ Remark
A member of Bosnia's state presidency said he would summon the French ambassador seeking an explanation, after French President Emmanuel Macron in an interview called Bosnia a "ticking time bomb" in the Balkans.
Week in Review: Testing Realities and Hot Potatoes
Self-Harm
Was the European Council's decision not to open accession negotiations with the EU an act of historic self-harm? This is the argument made in one comment piece for Balkan Insight, originally published as part of BIRN's Western Balkans Stability Monitor.
Bulgaria and Luxembourg to Work Together to Support European Integration of the Republic of Northern Macedonia and Albania
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ekaterina Zaharieva and Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Affairs and Minister of Immigration and Asylum Jean Asselborn agreed on Bulgaria and Luxembourg to work together on the European perspective of the Western Balkan countries after the lack of a decision for the start of the negotiations with the Republic Northern Macedonia and A
Johannes Hahn had no answer to one question
In his report to the European Parliament on the Western Balkans, the Commissioner for Accession Negotiations, Johannes Hahn, said that the prospect of EU accession was the biggest impetus for reforms and processes in the region, and when it came to Serbia, he said that the idea of an agreement with Kosovo would only make sense if there is a prospect of joining the EU.