Socialist Party

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama (left) and Socialist Party secretary-general Damian Gjiknuri. Photo: LSA

The opposition claims that the scheme would allow criminal to launder proceeds of illegal activities, in a country where money-laundering and organised crime are a serious concern.

The Special Prosecution Against Organised Crime and Corruption said on Tuesday that two investigations of President Ilir Meta have begun after former MP Halit Valteri issued two criminal complaints accusing him of abuses related to lobbying contracts with US firms.

Albanian police on Wednesday seized 45.5 kg of cocaine found in a container in the Port of Durres during a police operation codenamed "Transit".

The company's administrator and a customs agent contracted by the company were detained on charges of trafficking in narcotics.

Socialist Party MPs said on Thursday that an opposition request to investigate controversial strategic investments in the country's coastal areas should be rejected on a technicality, arguing that supporting signatures wasn't collected in a proper way.

The last chance for Albania's main opposition Democratic Party to propose names for the new President - who must be elected in June - expired on Sunday, when it failed to do so, in the third round of the election.

The date for a fourth session is yet to be decided. Democratic Party parliamentarians did not show up to vote in the parliament.

Surprise talks between Serbian opposition politician Dragan Djilas and President Aleksandar Vucic concerning an inconclusive election in the capital, Belgrade, has triggered anger and suspicion within the ranks of the country's opposition.

The United States sanctioned seven people in politics, media and justice in the Balkans on Monday, calling them a "serious threat to regional stability" and the cause of democracy.

Spain has criminalised the harassment or intimidation of women going for an abortion under new legislation approved on Wednesday by the Senate.

The move, which involved changes to the penal code, means anti-abortion activists who try and convince women not to terminate their pregnancies could face up to a year behind bars.

Elections in Hungary and Serbia stimulate tensions

National elections were held on April 3 in both Hungary and Serbia. In Serbia, the parliamentary election coincided with presidential and local elections in 12 municipalities, including the capital, Belgrade.

Ljubljana/Belgrade – The only news after the presidential and general elections in Serbia was the result of opposition parties, while everything else had been known in advance, as all mechanism for election victory had been in the hands of Aleksandar Vučić, Borut Šuklje, a former Slovenian diplomat and an expert on the Balkans, told the STA on Monday.