European Council

Ljubljana – President Borut Pahor has received European Council President Charles Michel’s reply to his letter in which Pahor advocated giving Bosnia-Herzegovina EU candidate status without setting conditions. Pahor’s office said in Friday’s release that Michel underlined his firm commitment to the European path of Western Balkan countries.

The Central Council of the ruling Social Democratic Union /SDSM/ in the Republic of North Macedonia unanimously supported the French proposal to start negotiations for the country's EU membership.

Another evening of protests in Skopje against the French proposal to start negotiations for the Republic of North Macedonia for membership in the European Union. Tensions rose after about 30 hooded demonstrators began throwing bombs and hard objects at the parliament building and police officers. 47 police officers were injured and 11 protesters were detained.

Belgrade – President Borut Pahor has noted in an interview with Monday’s issue of the Serbian newspaper Politika that the EU not wanting or being unable to establish greater presence in the Western Balkans will have consequences. He said he will continue to work for the EU accession prospects of the Western Balkans and expressed understanding for Serbia.

Laid to Rest?

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, European Council President Charles Michel, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen arrive for a family photo following an EU-Western Balkans leaders' meeting in Brussels, Belgium, 23 June 2022. Photo: EPA-EFE/STEPHANIE LECOCQ

Here are the highlights of events related to the war in Ukraine over the past 24 hours:

Rocket attack on Odessa: At least 10 people have died

As a lecturer in Sarajevo, I sat through numerous MA thesis defences on Bosnia's European integration process. In the media, countless pundits and academics reinvented themselves as EU experts and made the lecture circuit, explaining the benefits of integration.

"The National Assembly today made a really responsible decision", said the resigned Prime Minister Kiril Petkov on the occasion of giving a mandate to lift the veto for EU negotiations with RNM.

From Brussels, where he is at the European Council, Petkov said that he should thank a lot of people who helped to achieve this result.

Here are the highlights of events related to the war in Ukraine over the past 24 hours:

The Council of the EU has approved Ukraine and Moldova receiving candidate status

Yesterday, the Council of the European Union approved Ukraine and Moldova receiving candidate status.

This was announced on Twitter by the President of the Council Charles Michel.

"Greece will recommend that 2033 be set as the deadline for completing the accession process in the Western Balkans", Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in Brussels.