The Dispatch

Bulgarian parliament greenlights N Macedonia’s EU membership negotiation

Bulgaria's parliament gave the government the green light on Friday to approve a European Union membership negotiation framework for North Macedonia, in a move that may allow its northern neighbour…

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Albania’s PM slams Bulgaria on Western Balkan EU membership

Bulgaria's block on North Macedonia's progress to join the European Union is a "disgrace", Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama said as he arrived for a special Balkans summit with EU…

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Turkey says summit is not deadline for talks on Finland and Sweden’s NATO bids

Discussions between Turkey, Finland and Sweden about the Nordic countries' NATO membership will continue and an alliance summit in Madrid next week is not a deadline, Turkey said after talks in Brussels on Monday. Finland…

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Albanian PM: No EU membership talks soon

TIRANA — Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama said he doesn’t expect an EU summit next week to clear the way for his country to begin membership talks and placed the…

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Bulgarian foreign, energy ministers quit, deepening coalition crisis

SOFIA, June 13 (Reuters) - Bulgaria's foreign and energy ministers resigned on Monday after their party, the populist ITN, quit the governing coalition last week, compounding the Balkan country's political…

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Russians fleeing sanctions open 1,000 firms in Serbia

In just over three months since the start of the Ukrainian crisis, Russians have opened more than 1,000 businesses in Serbia, and the latest figures show that over 10 companies…

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Heavy flooding in Ankara leaves one dead

Heavy rainfall in Turkey’s capital on Saturday led to flooding that killed one person, authorities said. Search and rescue teams located the body of the 27-year-old man, who worked as…

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Turkey announces steps to shore up economy, prioritising inflation fight

ISTANBUL, June 10 (Reuters) - Turkey's Treasury said on Friday the fight against inflation remained the top priority in its macroeconomic policy after it and other state institutions announced measures to support…

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Bulgaria faces risk of political instability as PM loses majority

Bulgaria's prime minister pledged to lead a minority government on Wednesday as the populist ITN party quit the government over disagreements on budget spending and whether Bulgaria should back North…

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UPDATED: Ukraine dismisses Moscow’s assurances over grain shipments as ’empty words’

KYIV, June 8 (Reuters) - Ukraine on Wednesday dismissed as "empty words" assurances from Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov that Moscow will not use the situation to its advantage if Kyiv allows…

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Bosnian Serb leader Dodik says Ukraine war has delayed secession plan

Russia’s war on Ukraine has forced Bosnian Serb nationalists to postpone plans to pull the Republika Srpska (RS) region out of Bosnia-Herzegovina’s national institutions, a Serb member of the Bosnian…

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Albania to choose chief of defense as president

TIRANA, (Reuters) - Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama said that his party has picked the country's chief of defense to be the new president after failing to choose a consensus…

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Turkey’s trade deficit surges 157% in May

ISTANBUL, (Reuters) - Turkey's trade deficit jumped 157% year-on-year in May to $10.68 billion, the Trade Ministry said on Thursday, as soaring energy import costs continue to widen the shortfall. Russia's invasion of…

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Turkey wants to be called Türkiye

Turkey will be known as Türkiye at the United Nations from now on, after it agreed to a formal request from Ankara. Several international bodies will be asked to make…

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Croatia ready to join euro zone from 2023 – EU Commission

Croatia is ready to join the euro zone, the European Commission said on Wednesday, paving the way for the Balkan country to adopt the euro from the start of 2023…

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Turkey hikes natural gas prices, household prices up 30%

ISTANBUL, June 1 (Reuters) - Turkish state-owned energy importer BOTAS said on Wednesday it had raised natural gas prices for households, industry and and electricity production, with the price for households raised…

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Croatia ready to increase Adriatic oil pipeline capacity, Hungary says

Croatia is ready to increase the capacity of the Adriatic oil pipeline to supply Hungary and Slovakia with crude in case of any disruptions to imports from Russia via the…

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Turkey wants ‘concrete steps’ from Finland, Sweden for NATO bids

A chief adviser to Turkey's president told his U.S. counterpart that Turkey wanted "concrete steps" on the existence of what it calls "terrorist organisations" in Finland and Sweden before it…

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Israel warns against travel to Turkey citing Iran assassination

Israel on Monday warned its citizens against travel to Turkey, citing Iranian threats of revenge for the assassination last week of a Revolutionary Guards colonel. Teheran has blamed Israel for…

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Photo Story: Stormy weather over Skopje

Thunder and lightning is seen and heard in the sky over the city of Skopje, Republic of North Macedonia, during a storm on Saturday night. Photo: EPA-EFE/GEORGI LICOVSKI

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Erdogan says won’t let ‘terrorism-supporting’ countries enter NATO

ISTANBUL, May 29 (Reuters) - President Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey's talks last week with Finnish and Swedish delegations were not at the "expected level" and Ankara cannot say yes to "terrorism-supporting" countries…

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Serbia’s Vucic says agreed 3-year gas supply contract with Putin

BELGRADE, May 29 (Reuters) - Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Sunday he had agreed a new three-year gas supply contract in a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin. "I can…

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Turkey seeks concrete action from Sweden, Finland for NATO bids

ISTANBUL, May 27 (Reuters) - Turkey expects Sweden and Finland to take concrete action and halt what it says is their support for terrorist groups in order for Ankara to…

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Centrist MEPs irked at objections to North Macedonia’s EU accession process

The European Council's persistent lack of consensus on launching accession discussions with North Macedonia has come under fire by centrist MEPs of the Renew political grouping. The MEPs lamented that…

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Turkish tourism heats up, stoking hopes of economic recovery

ISTANBUL, May 23 (Reuters) - The number of foreigners arriving in Turkey last month more than tripled from a year earlier, data showed on Monday, reinforcing expectations that a rebound in the sector will…

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Erdogan sets conditions for Swedish, Finnish NATO membership in calls

ISTANBUL, May 21 (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, who has objected to Sweden and Finland joining NATO, held phone calls with the leaders of the two countries on Saturday and discussed…

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Turkey’s Erdogan to speak to Finland as NATO application row simmers

ISTANBUL, (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said he will speak to Finland on Saturday, while maintaining his opposition to Finnish and Swedish NATO membership bids over their history of hosting members of groups…

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US confident Turkey’s objections against Sweden, Finland can be overcome

U.S. President Joe Biden meets the leaders of Sweden and Finland on Thursday after the nations set aside their long-standing neutrality and moved to join the NATO alliance in response…

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Turkey has told allies it’s a ‘no’ to Sweden and Finland’s NATO bid – Erdogan

Turkey has told allies that it will reject Sweden and Finland's membership to NATO, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said in a video posted on his Twitter account on Thursday. Finland and…

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Bulgaria approves $1.1 bln plan to curb energy prices, help households

SOFIA, May 18 (Reuters) - Bulgaria's ruling coalition agreed on Wednesday a stimulus package worth 2 billion levs ($1.08 billion) to shield companies and low-income consumers from the surge in energy and…

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Erdogan says Swedish, Finnish delegations should not bother coming to Turkey

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday that Swedish and Finnish delegations should not bother coming to Ankara to convince it to approve their NATO bid. Sweden's government has formally…

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Bulgarian government approves plan to offset high energy prices

SOFIA, May 16 (Reuters) - Bulgaria on Monday approved a new stimulus package to shield companies from the surge in energy prices bolstered by the war in Ukraine, Prime Minister Kiril Petkov…

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Croatia adopts law to introduce euro as currency from Jan 2023

Croatia aims to become the 20th member of the euro zone in 2023 after its parliament adopted legislation on introducing the shared currency from Jan. 1, the state news agency…

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Photo Story: The Super Flower Blood Moon over Skopje

The Super Flower Blood Moon seen in the sky during the lunar eclipse over Skopje, Republic of North Macedonia, 16 May 2022. This eclipse has been given a lot of…

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Anti-abortion protest in Croatia

Anti-abortion activists have protested in Croatia amid a fierce debate about reproductive rights in the country. While abortion is legal in the strongly Catholic EU nation, rising religious pressure means…

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EXCLUSIVE-Turkey ‘not closing door’ to Sweden, Finland NATO entry, Erdogan advisor says

ISTANBUL, May 14 (Reuters) - Turkey has not shut the door to Sweden and Finland joining NATO but wants negotiations with the Nordic countries and a clampdown on what it sees as…

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Erdogan says Turkey not positive on Finland, Sweden joining NATO

ANKARA, May 13 (Reuters) - President Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday it was not possible for NATO-member Turkey to support plans by Sweden and Finland to join the pact, saying the Nordic countries…

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Kosovo hopes to join Council of Europe after Russia’s exit

PRISTINA, May 12 (Reuters) - Kosovo government said on Thursday it will apply for membership at the European rights watchdog the Council of Europe, seizing an opportunity after Russia quit…

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EPA’s Eye In The Sky: Karkamis, Turkey

A photo taken with a drone shows an aerial view of people attending the opening ceremony of the 'Third Garden' art installation by Italian artist Michelangelo Pistoletto, on the Turkey-Syria…

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Bulgaria says will veto EU oil sanctions on Russia if it does not get derogation

Bulgaria will not support European Union's new set of sanctions against Russia if the Balkan country does not get a derogation from the proposed ban on buying Russian oil, Deputy Prime Minister…

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Turkey’s inflation surges to 70%, putting Erdogan in bind

ISTANBUL, May 5 (Reuters) - Turkey's annual inflation jumped to a two-decade high of 69.97% in April, according to data on Thursday, fuelled by the Russia-Ukraine conflict and rising energy and commodity…

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Bosnia calls October 2 election

SARAJEVO, May 4 (Reuters) - Bosnia will hold presidential and parliamentary elections on Oct. 2, the electoral commission said on Wednesday, although rival ethnic leaders have failed to agree on…

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Turkish police detain dozens in May Day demonstrations

ISTANBUL, May 1 (Reuters) - Turkish riot police detained dozens of protesters trying to reach Istanbul's main Taksim Square for May Day demonstrations against economic hardship caused by raging inflation.…

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Turkey’s tourism revenues surge 122% in Q1

ISTANBUL, April 29 (Reuters) - Turkey's tourism revenues jumped 122.4% from a year earlier to $5.45 billion in the first quarter, data from the Turkish Statistical Institute showed on Friday. It said…

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Montenegro approves new minority government focused on joining EU

Montenegro's parliament approved a new government, comprising moderate parties that are both pro-European and pro-Serb, led by Prime Minister Dritan Abazovic, who said its key goal will be to unblock…

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Greece, Turkey trade barbs over Aegean airspace incursions

ATHENS/ANKARA, (Reuters) - Greece accused its neighbour Turkey of undermining NATO unity by violating its airspace with fighter jets, prompting an angry Turkish response that blamed Athens for "provocative" violations…

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Erdogan visits Saudi Arabia hoping for new era in ties

ANKARA/RIYADH (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan arrived in Saudi Arabia on Thursday in the first high-level visit in years which he hopes will herald a new era of relations…

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Russian parliament speaker says: cut off the gas to other ‘unfriendly’ countries

April 27 (Reuters) - Russia's top lawmaker on Wednesday said gas giant Gazprom had made the right decision in fully suspending gas supplies to Bulgaria and Poland and said Moscow should do…

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One killed, several injured in Bosnia quake

SARAJEVO, April 23 (Reuters) - One person was killed and several injured after a magnitude 5.6 quake hit southern Bosnia on Friday night followed by a series of smaller aftershocks,…

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Photo Story: Easter preparations in Belgrade, Serbia

A woman picks hand decorated Easter eggs at a farmers market in Belgrade, Serbia, 22 April 2022. The Orthodox Christian world will celebrate Easter Day on 24 April, according to…

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Serbia restricts exports of grains and cooking oil

SARAJEVO, April 20 (Reuters) - Serbian government said on Wednesday it has restricted the quantities of wheat, corn, flour and cooking oil slated for export to confront risks of market disturbances caused…

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Balkans turns to coal as energy crisis trumps climate commitments

Balkan nations in southeast Europe are turning to coal as they try to tackle a global surge in energy prices, raising fears among environmentalists that countries are rowing back on…

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Serbia accuses Ukraine and unnamed EU country of Air Serbia bomb hoaxes

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic accused Ukraine and an unidentified EU country of being behind a series of hoax bomb threats against Air Serbia planes. Since Russia launched its invasion of…

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Turkey says its warplanes hit Kurdish militant targets in northern Iraq

Turkish warplanes, helicopters and drones hit Kurdish militant targets in northern Iraq in an air and land operation that targeted facilities ranging from camps to ammunition stores, Turkey's defence ministry…

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Soaring costs put Turkey’s energy importer under pressure to hike prices

ANKARA, (Reuters) - Soaring world energy costs are piling pressure on Turkey's state energy importer BOTAS to further hike prices as it falls deeper into the red, even as manufacturers complain that…

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Bulgaria bans Russian-flagged ships from entering its Black Sea ports

Bulgaria has banned Russian-flagged ships from entering its Black Sea ports as part of expanded EU sanctions, the country’s Maritime Administration announced on its website on Sunday. “All vessels registered…

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Photo Story: Giant Easter Egg in Travnik, Bosnia and Herzegovina

People walk past a giant Easter egg placed in the central square of Travnik, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The 2.64-meter-tall Easter egg was painted by several Bosnian artists. Via EPA-EFE/FEHIM DEMIR

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