Albania
Joint parliamentary session held with Kosovo representatives to mark 110 years of Albanian independence, President Begaj met Pope Francis, and five public employees charged with negligence over Iran-related cyberattacks. Assembly Speaker Lindita Nikolla stated, “Better cooperation between the two countries contributes to the progress of the Albanian community in the Balkans and makes the region and Europe more stable.” Prosecutors stated that the IT officials failed to check and update the system’s security with the most recent antivirus software.
Bosnia-Herzegovina
EU candidate status is possible in December, the Bosniak-Croat Federation politicians signed a coalition agreement, and US Ambassador Michael Murphy announced new aid to Armed Forces. The EU’s Enlargement Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi “wants to see clear results it can report to the Council of the EU that is meeting in December.” HDZ’s leader Covic signed the agreement with a coalition of eight other political parties led by the Social Democratic Party. The US would allocate an additional 8.7 million euros ($9.1 million).
Croatia
Prime Minister Plenkovic thanked Slovenian President Pahor for supporting Euro Zone and Schengen bids, President Milanovic criticized the EU energy policy, and the Parliament Speaker Jandrokovic commented on the country’s role in the EU Mission for Assistance to Ukraine and the Training of Ukrainian Soldiers. Pahor stated that he “always tried to encourage a positive atmosphere in bilateral relations.” Milanovic said that now the EU will buy gas from the USA “at three times the price.” Jandrokovic noted,” “We are not the only country. 16 or 17 countries have already come forward. So don’t misinform the public.”
Kosovo
EU Council agreed on visa liberalization, the Government appointed Nenad Rasic as Minister for Communities and Return, and the Serb List accused Prime Minister Kurti of violating the Constitution. The Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky stated, “Today, we have taken an important step towards visa-free travel for Kosovo, and we now hope to reach an agreement with the European Parliament swiftly to make this promise a reality.” The leader of the European Movement of Kosovo Serbs, Rada Trajkovic, will serve as Rasic’s advisor. The Serb List stated that “Article 96, paragraph 5 of the Constitution, which states that to appoint a minister from of the Serb community, who is not a deputy, consent must be sought from the majority of Serb deputies, which Albin Kurti has not done, nor does Rasic have the support of our deputies.”
Montenegro
Parliament Members agreed to postpone voting for new Constitutional Court judges to December, President Djukanovic asked for interim Parliamentary elections, and Minister of European Affairs Jovana Marovic resigned. Democratic Party of Socialists’ Danijel Zivkovic stated that he expects to reach an agreement by December 12th. Djukanovic said, “The Government has lost confidence, the opportunity to elect a third one was missed, the constitutional deadline was missed, we should return the mandate to the citizens and go to interim parliamentary elections.” Marovic blamed all political parties for jeopardizing the country’s EU accession path.
North Macedonia
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier urged the Government to acknowledge the ethnic Bulgarian minority presence, Prime Minister Kovacevski announced that progressive taxation is abolished and no new taxes are foreseen, and Macedonian Language Centre opened in Greece. Steinmeier said the constitutional amendment is “an important decision” as it would ensure EU progress. Kovacevski noted that the personal income tax remains at 10 percent, and interest on savings deposit deposits will not be taxed. The center’s opening comes after the two countries signed the “Prespa” agreement in June 2018.
Serbia
Aleksandar Vulin is about to become a new Security Intelligence Agency Director, President Vucic would boycott the EU summit with Western Balkan leaders, and Vucic called Nenad Rasic and Rada Trajkovic “the worst Serbian scum.” Vulin is considered to be “Moscow’s man.” Vucic has been outraged by the Progressive Democratic Party’s leader Nenad Rasic’s appointment in Kosovo Government. Vucic noted, “I didn’t regret a single word. I mean everything I said about Kurti and Trajkovic and Rasic.”