Renzi Cabinet

Matteo Renzi easily regained the leadership of his Democratic Party (PD) in primaries Sunday, but Italy's former prime minister faces a much harder task in his bid to return to power, writes Politico.

The political crisis in Macedonia has been discussed by Bulagrian President Rumen Radev, European Council President Donald Tusk and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini, BNR reported.

European Union foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini said on April 28 that accession talks with Turkey have not been halted and she still wants it to join, if Ankara can meet necessary conditions.

The United States and the European Union have condemned "in the strongest terms" Thursday's violence in the Macedonian Assembly.

"We condemn the violence in parliament in the strongest terms. It is not consistent with democracy and is not an acceptable way to resolve differences," the US embassy in Skopje said in a statement, adding:

Turkey's EU Minister Ömer Çelik has stated that developments that threaten global security necessitate a "reinforced relationship" between Ankara and Brussels. 

His statement came a day after the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) re-opened monitoring process on Turkey, and it also touched on his visits to Brussels and Strasbourg in the coming weeks. 

The top diplomats from Russia and the European Union struggled April 24 to overcome deep rifts that have plunged ties to a post-Cold War low despite calling for closer cooperation.

An Italian journalist who had been detained in Turkey while researching refugees near the Syrian border has been deported after two weeks in detention, diplomatic sources confirmed on April 24.

Gabriele Del Grande, 34, was deported from a repatriation center in the Aegean province of Muğla on the morning of April 24 after an investigation into him was completed, sources said.

Italian Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano has called his Turkish counterpart Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu to request the release of Italian journalist Gabriele Del Grande, who is currently in police detention in Hatay on the Syrian border. 

IllustrationPhoto: REUTERS/Francois Lenoir

The European Union has said that "political interference undermines the consolidation of good neighborly relations."

This was the organization's reaction to Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama saying that "a union" between Albania and Kosovo "cannot be ruled out" if EU membership prospects for the region fade.

Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic received on Wednesday Italian Ambassador Giuseppe Manzo, the government announced.

Manzo "congratulated him on winning the presidential elections and also conveyed congratulations from Italian President Sergio Mattarella and Prime Minister Paola Gentiloni."