EU-brokered dialogue between Serbia and Kosovo resumed

A meeting between Serbian President Alexander Vucic and Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti has taken place in Brussels. EU Special Representative for the Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue Miroslav Lajčák said the meeting was not easy. The two leaders had a very frank and direct exchange of views on the expectations of each of them from the dialogue. What is important for the EU is that they both confirmed that there is no other way forward but to normalize relations between Kosovo and Serbia, Lajčák said.

After the meeting Vucic commented that the Albanian delegation did not want to fulfill its obligations but wanted to know immediately when Serbia would recognize Kosovo's independence. Kurti pointed out that they had several proposals, as three of them were rejected and one did not receive a response. Pristina has called for signing a declaration with Belgrade that would guarantee that the two sides would not to attack each other. The next meeting will take place before the summer vacation - most likely on July 25, BGNES has reported.

Greek-Turkish summit meeting

At a meeting in Brussels, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan agreed that despite the greatly different positions of the two countries on various issues, the tensions of 2020 should not be repeated in 2021. This was stated by Greek government spokesperson, Aristotelia Peloni. Mitsotakis and Erdogan described as positive the fact that they had direct contact and that all existing communication channels were active. The leaders also approved the agenda containing 25 items on which the deputy ministers of the two countries are working on. It remains to be seen in practice whether this mood would be a significant step in improvement of relations, Peloni said.

Podgorica denies information about plans to sell state property to ease debt

Montenegrin authorities say they have no plans to sell state property in order to ease the country's debt burden, the Dan newspaper has reported. The news came after Reuters quoted unnamed senior EU officials saying that the small Balkan country was preparing to sell assets. According to the agency, the plan was backed by creditors from France, Germany and Italy and aimed at reducing financial dependence on Chinese debt. Finance Minister Milojko Spajic has told Reuters in a recent interview that the government wants to make a strategic review of assets that could eventually lead to sales. He also pointed out that Montenegro's public finances were stable. In 2014, the country with a population of 628,000, took a loan of 944 million USD from China.

Dispute between Athens and Skopje over acronym on football shirts

On the occasion of the participation of North Macedonia in the UEFA European Championship, in a letter to his counterpart Bujar Osmani, Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias demanded full and consistent implementation of the Prespa Agreement. Dendias has urged Skopje to use another acronym that corresponds to its official name such as "NM" (North Macedonia) or "RNM" (Republic of North Macedonia), instead of "MKD", Greek diplomatic sources said. Dendias also called for changing the acronym of the country’s football federation (FFM), which appeared on the shirts of the footballers. Osmani has replied that the country's football federation is an independent and non-profit organisation that does not receive money from the state and therefore it has no obligation to adjust under the Prespa Agreement.

Romania's government faces vote of no confidence

Romania’s Social Democratic Party (PSD), the country’s biggest opposition party, has been preparing a no-confidence motion against the government, according to the Romania Insider website. The proposal for the vote will be submitted to the parliament after June 21, chairman of the opposition Marcel Ciolacu said. The decision came after Prime Minister Florin Cîțu proposed for discussion the National Sustainability Plan, which Bucharest will present to the European Commission. The Alliance for Romanian Unity announced support for the vote. The opposition says that the ideas of the government will not lead to positive results for the economy. It is pointed out that the country is sustained by huge loans. PSD are ready to nominate Alexandru Rafila, Romania's representative to the World Health Organization, for prime minister. The possibility of forming a minority government was also being considered, Ciolacu said.

Compiled by: Ivo Ivanov

English: Alexander Markov