Balkan

The president-elect of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, announced on Tuesday the names of the proposed new European commissioners, including three women from Balkan EU member states.

The proposed names will now be put forward to the European Parliament for votes on their approval.

Brnabic first met with Czech President Milos Zeman and during the meeting, an agreement between the government of the Czech Republic and the government of the Republic of Serbia on regulating the old clearing debt of Serbia towards the Czech Republic was signed.

The agreement was signed by the finance ministers of Serbia and the Czech Republic, Sinisa Mali and Alena Schillerova.

Also, Haradinaj said, Kosovo has a tendency to be "a real champion" in their protection and promotion.

Saric was handed down the maximum sentence and remains in custody.

Saric was convicted as the organizer of the group that smuggled 5.7 tons of cocaine from South America to Western Europe during 2008 and 2009. His associates and other members of the group have also been found guilty, with sentences ranging from one to 15 years.

Eight members of this gang remain at large.

According to the broadcaster, "it is expected that they will be put at the disposal of the (future) Kosovo army."

The report recalled that the Kosovo government in July signed a contract to buy 51 such vehicles.

The handover ceremony at a Kosovo Security Forces (KSF) barrack was attended by high ranking local officials and those from the US embassy.

The Parliament of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) has ratified a deal with neighboring Greece signed last weekend to end a decades-long dispute over the Balkan country's name. 

According to reports, the goal of the document is to block Kosovo.

Eurobank will maintain its Balkan footprint in Bulgaria, Serbia and Cyprus after pulling out of Romania, its deputy CEO said on Tuesday, expecting the group's subsidiaries there to double their profitability over the next few years.

VIENNA - European Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn says the 2025 date for potential EU accession of some Balkan candidate countries is a realistic, but ambitious goal.

The president of the European Commission has said 2025 is a potential accession date for some candidates - that is realistic, albeit ambitious, Hahn said in an interview with Vienna-based Kurier daily.

Florian Bieber, a Balkan expert at the University of Graz, Austria, has compared the banned referendum on Catalonia's independence to "several Balkan cases."