Thu 24 Dec 2009
The Newsflash of the European Forum of Democracy and Solidarity is a bi-monthly news bulletin covering relevant political developments in Central, Eastern and South Eastern Europe, and the South Caucasus. We put main accent on political party news, while at the same time attention is being given to gender issues, minority and human rights, and the process of accession to the European Union.
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Wed 23 Dec 2009
The Newsflash of the European Forum of Democracy and Solidarity is a bi-monthly news bulletin covering relevant political developments in Central, Eastern and South Eastern Europe, and the South Caucasus. We put main accent on political party news, while at the same time attention is being given to gender issues, minority and human rights, and the process of accession to the European Union.
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Thu 17 Dec 2009
The European Forum for Democracy and Solidarity wishes you Happy Holidays and all the best in 2010. The European Forum will be closed until 4 January, so no new articles will be placed until that date.
Best regards,
European Forum for Democracy and Solidarity staff
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Wed 16 Dec 2009
On 13 and 14 November the European Forum for Democracy and Solidarity organised a mission to Banja Luka and a conference in Sarajevo with the topic: “Bosnia and Herzegovina, catching the EU train”. The events were supported by the Labour Party through Westminster Foundation for Democracy Funds.
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Tue 15 Dec 2009
The High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) yesterday extended the mandate of international judges working with war crimes sections of the Court of BiH and its Prosecution, for three years. Whereas they were due to leave by the end of 2009, Valentin Inzko said that the international personnel can stay until 30 December, 2012. Inzko changed the mandate for judges on corruption and organised crime cases, who will have a more advisory role.
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Mon 14 Dec 2009
On Saturday December 12th Presidential elections took place in Georgia’s break-away Abkhazia. The election was the first in Abkhazia since its self-proclaimed independence following Russia’s war with Georgia over South Ossetia in 2008. According to Sunday’s preliminary results the incumbent, Sergey Bagapsh, who has the tacit support of Moscow, was re-elected with 59.4% of the votes.
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Mon 14 Dec 2009
On 11 December Turkey’s Constitutional court decided to ban the only pro-Kurdish party in Parliament -the Democratic Society Party (DTP)- and to remove two of its members from politics for a period of five years based on their alleged links with militants from the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).
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Wed 9 Dec 2009
On December 9th it was announced that the government of the Russian Perm region decided to resign in connection with the recent fire in a major night club in the city of Perm, which has taken the lives of 125 people so far. The resigned include Perm Minister of Trade Marat Bimatov, Minister of Infrastructure Alexander Kudryavcev and Minister of Public Security Igor Orlov. The decision to resign was made so as to ensure an objective investigation into the causes of the fire as some public figures and state bodies have been connected to the ownership of the club, and thus its management (including fire safety). The new government will be formed after the investigation is concluded.
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Tue 8 Dec 2009
On 7 December it was announced that according to the final results, Romanian President Traian Basescu of the Democratic Liberal Party (PDL) narrowly won a re-election held on 6 December. However, the leftist opposition said it had proof of fraud and would contest the official result.
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Tue 8 Dec 2009
EU Foreign Affairs Ministers on Monday (7 December) removed restrictions against the Interim Trade Agreement with Serbia after the Netherlands put aside objections related to Belgrade's performance on war crimes probes. The move is good news for Belgrade on its EU accession track and comes just one week after the bloc's interior ministers decided to lift visa requirements for Serb citizens as of 19 December.
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Mon 7 Dec 2009
Last week (4 December) NATO has accepted Montenegro in its Membership Action Plan. The so-called MAP is an essential stepping stone towards full membership in the Alliance. However, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) failed to join the Plan because the country has not made enough progress in necessary reforms, NATO Foreign Ministers said. It will nevertheless become a MAP member, once the country fulfils all necessary conditions, the ministers said.
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Mon 7 Dec 2009
Moldova’s Parliament once again failed today to elect a new President for the country. The only Presidential candidate in the race, leader of Moldova’s Democratic Party (PDM) Marian Lupu, received 53 votes from the MEPs. To elect a head of state a candidate should receive at least 61 votes of the 101 deputies.
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Thu 3 Dec 2009
More than a year after its adoption by the government, Parliament approved the statute of Serbia's northern province of Vojvodina. The delay in ratification was due to objections both from members of the ruling coalition and the opposition, who felt the statute violated the constitution and gave too much authority to the northern Serbia province.
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Tue 1 Dec 2009
EU member states decided on Monday (December 1st ) to grant visa-free travel to nationals of Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia when entering the bloc’s Schengen area, as of 19 December. The date for lifting the visa requirements was brought forward from 1 January, 2010, as a good will gesture, so that nationals of the three countries will be able to travel freely during the winter festive season. The decision has been hotly anticipated, and all three countries have had to meet rigorous border and migration requirements.
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Tue 1 Dec 2009
The Newsflash of the European Forum of Democracy and Solidarity is a bi-monthly news bulletin covering relevant political developments in Central, Eastern and South Eastern Europe, and the South Caucasus. Read Newsflash 8 for the latest news.
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