Migrants hold several protests in Greece

Migrants organized several demonstrations in Greece against the delay of the asylum procedures, promised in the agreement between Turkey and the EU. Nearly 500 migrants shouted Open The Borders at a remonstration in Thessaloniki. Protests were also held on Lesbos and Chios islands and dozens of migrants from a migrant camp near the Macedonia-Greece border blocked for nearly 30 minutes the motorway connecting the two countries. Nearly 60,000 migrants remained blocked in Greece after the two countries closed their borders for migrants in the beginning of 2016. According to the agreement between Turkey and the EU, the migrants who arrived in Greece after March 20 can be deported back to Turkey.

Serbia does not support referendum of Bosnian Serbs

Serbia’s President Tomislav Nikolic and Premier Akeksandar Vucic do not support the holding of the announced referendum about the official holiday of Republika Srpska. However, they would not want to influence in any way a change in political attitudes of legitimately elected politicians in that entity. In a joint statement sent to media after their meeting with representatives of Bosnian Serbs, President Nikolic and Premier Vucic pointed out that Serbia was respecting the territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the integrity of the entity of Republika Srpska. The President of Republika Srpska Milorad Dodik said that he would not abandon the idea of the referendum where the citizens of Republika Srpska should answer whether the holiday of their country should be celebrated on January 9- the date when in 1992 Bosnian leadership declared independent Serb Republic.

New party in Turkey to restore lands of Ottoman ancestors

A new Ottoman party was established in Turkey with the purpose to build a Turkish-Islamic Union and restore the territories of their ancestors. The new party was registered after a careful verification by the Constitution Court. It became the 91th political organization in Turkey which fulfilled the requirement to have at least 30 founders. “Those who partitioned our territories and broke us up will see a re-born land of our ancestors which will be named Turkish Islamic Union. Everything will be done in the name and for the benefit of the Islamic world”, the leader of the new party Ibrahim Uniye said.

Pristina withdraws draft law on ratification of border demarcation agreement with Montenegro

Kosovo’s cabinet has withdrawn from Parliament the draft law on the ratification of a border demarcation agreement with Montenegro, because the MPs from the Serb List coalition were absent from the National Assembly. The agreement for demarcation of the borders between Kosovo and Montenogro was signed in August 2015 in Vienna. It caused political tension in Kosovo in the past 10 months. According to opposition parties, the demarcation reduces the territory of Kosovo with nearly 8,000 hectares.

 Brussels welcomes agreement for early elections in Macedonia

The High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini and the EU Commissioner for Enlargement  and European Neighborhood Policy Johannes Hahn welcomed in a joint statement the agreement in Skopje between the leaders of the four biggest political parties in Macedonia about early Parliamentary elections on December 11 this year. Mogherini and Hahn called on all political parties to make prompt efforts to fulfill the rest of the political agreement, including the urgent reform priorities.

Albania adopts important law which would allow negotiations with EU

Albania’s Parliament adopted a legislation aimed at verifying the personal and professional past of the magistrates and the prosecutors. The law is part of the new judicial reform and a prerequisite for future negotiations with the EU. It was written with the help of experts from the EU and the USA and was approved by the Venice Commission and the Council of Europe. The judicial system of that country will be restructured, in order to guarantee that the judges and the prosecutors would not depend on politics and to prevent bribery.

4.000 migrants accommodated in Serbian migrant centers

The number of migrants in Serbia will not exceed 6,000 people next winter. Currently, there are a total of 4,000 migrants on Serbian territory. The authorities are currently expanding the capacity of the migrant centers, in order to provide enough space for migrants. Serbia tackled the migrant crisis with five migrant centers last year. Meanwhile, it opened transit centers as well.

Written by: Radoslav Dikov 

English version: Kostadin Atanasov