Serbs remain at the barricades in northern Kosovo

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti has warned that Russia is fueling tensions between Kosovo and Serbia due to the retreat of its troops in Ukraine, the British newspaper "The Guardian" reported. Kurti said he was concerned that the tense situation could escalate in Vladimir Putin's favour, as Russian and Serbian forces held 104 joint military exercises in 2021.

Kurti added that he had agreed to give time to KFOR to remove the barricades, saying they won't last long. He described the barricades as a step towards dividing the country, which declared independence from Serbia in 2008.

Northern Kosovo remains blocked, and Kosovo Serbs are at the barricades in the municipalities of Zvečan, Zubin Potok and Leposavic, demanding the release of the arrested Serbs - former Kosovo police officers Dejan Pantic and Sladjan Trajkovic.

A Cypriot expedition to climb Antarctica’s highest peak Vinson

On December 25, a Cypriot expedition will start a climb of the highest peak of Antarctica - Vinson, with a height of 4,892 m, the CNA agency reported. The expedition is part of the national program "The flag of the Republic of Cyprus on the highest peaks in the world".

This is the first official Cypriot expedition to the Vinson Massif. It is the most distant among the highest peaks on the planet and the coldest.

Recently, the Cypriot expedition returned from a successful ascent of Mount Kilimanjaro – 5,895 m, which is the highest point in Africa.

At the head of the Cypriot national program is the Cypriot citizen Yevgeny Staroselski, who has raised the Cypriot flag on Everest – 8,848 m, Aconcagua – 6,962 m in South America, and Denali – 6,190 m in North America and on Elbrus in the Caucasus – 5,642 m. ‎

The political crisis puts Montenegro's European integration at risk

The EU may consider suspending negotiations with Montenegro if the country fails to create functioning institutions, Slovenian Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon said. At a press conference with her Austrian counterpart Alexander Schallenberg in Podgorica, she said that Montenegro risks losing the trust of Brussels. According to her, if Montenegro forms its new government based on the amended law on the president, the EU will question its cooperation with this government "created on the basis of a controversial law". Fayon stressed the need for the urgent creation of a Constitutional Court.

Montenegro has been in political crisis since August, when Dritan Abazovic's cabinet fell after he signed an agreement with the Serbian Orthodox Church that was contested by President Milo Dukanovic.‎

In 2022, Romania has attracted record foreign investments

Foreign direct investment in Romania has reached a record level of 11.3 billion euros for the first ten months of 2022, AGERPRES reported, citing a social media post by Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă. According to the assessment of the National Bank, the coming year will be the year with the largest foreign investments.‎

According to Nicolae Ciucă, these data show that "major investors see very clearly the long-term growth prospects of the Romanian economy and include Romania in the calculations related to the placement of capital". These investments "will create new jobs that are so necessary to raise everyone's standard of living," the prime minister said

Croatia is unhappy that it is not allowed on a mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina

Croatian President Zoran Milanovic said that the EU is behaving inadmissibly towards Zagreb, giving as an example the "insolent and scandalous letter" of the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, to Croatian Foreign Minister Gordan Grlic Radman. He did not reveal the contents of the letter, but emphasized that it referred to Croatia's request to participate in the ALTHEA mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Milanovic said he did not want to talk about it earlier so as not to jeopardize Croatia's entry into Schengen, which "puts an end to Croatian history" because "all thieves will be able to enter Croatia unsupervised and without border control".

The ALTHEA mission involves more than a thousand soldiers from 20 countries, including Bulgaria, but not Croatia, due to the blockade of Bosnian politicians and some European countries, explains BGNES.‎

Compiled by Ivo Ivanov

Edited by Miglena Ivanova