Bosnia

European Commission to recommend EU membership talks with Bosnia, says EU’s Von der Leyen

The European Commission will recommend to the European Council to start accession negotiations with Bosnia and Herzegovina, EU's Ursula von der Leyen said on Monday during a speech in the European Parliament.…

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US fighter jets to fly over Bosnia in warning to ‘secessionist’ Serbs

SARAJEVO, Jan 8 (Reuters) - Two F-16 fighter jets will fly over Bosnia on Monday to underline U.S. support for its territorial integrity against "secessionist activity" by Serbs at odds…

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EU executive recommends initiation of accession talks with Moldova

European Union leaders should allow formal talks on Ukraine and Moldova’s accession to the bloc to start once both countries have finalised the necessary reforms, the European Commission has said.…

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Serb leader’s secession policy threatens Bosnia settlement, says peace envoy

The secessionist policy of Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik is a key challenge to the political settlement that ended Bosnia's 1992-1995 ethnic war, international peace envoy Christian Schmidt said in…

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Germany ends Bosnian Serb projects over secessionist moves

The German government has shut down four infrastructure projects in Bosnia's autonomous Serb Republic over the secessionist aims of its President Milorad Dodik, the German embassy in Bosnia said in…

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Serbia, Bosnia, Croatia fight African swine fever, ask for help

BELGRADE/SARAJEVO, (Reuters) - An outbreak of the African swine fever has forced pig breeders in Serbia, Bosnia and Croatia to cull thousands of pigs since June and is putting pressure…

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World Bank lends $50.8 mln to cut air pollution in Bosnian region

SARAJEVO (Reuters) - The World Bank has approved a 46.1 million euro ($50.8 million) loan to help Bosnia's autonomous Bosniak-Croat Federation tackle alarming air pollution and its health and economic…

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Slovenia’s PM urges Bosnia to embrace ‘historic’ moment for EU integration

Slovenia's Prime Minister Robert Golob on Monday urged Bosnia's leaders to embrace a "historic moment" created by the war in Ukraine and kick off reforms required by the European Union…

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EU expansion crucial for peace in Bosnia, says last President of Yugoslavia

Bosnia and Herzegovina gained European Union candidacy status last December, nearly two decades after the country stated its desire to join the bloc, but the question of eventual EU membership…

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Russia denounces EU for granting Bosnia candidacy status

SARAJEVO (Reuters) - Russia criticised the European Union for granting Bosnia a candidate status, saying on Friday it was part of a Western push to impose its policies on the…

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EU member states agree to give Bosnia EU candidate status -diplomats

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union general affairs ministers agreed on Tuesday that Bosnia should become a formal candidate to join the 27-nation EU in a recommendation that will have to…

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Moderate Bosniak candidate leads in race for presidency seat

Bosnia votes amid political crisis Moderate Bosniak leader set to win seat in presidency International peace overseer imposes changes to election law SARAJEVO, Oct 3 (Reuters) - Moderate Bosniak candidate Denis Becirevic is leading in…

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What is at stake in Bosnia’s general election?

SARAJEVO, Oct 2 (Reuters) - Bosnia is holding presidential and parliamentary elections on Sunday amid its since the end of the 1992-95 war. The polls opened at 7 a.m (0500…

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German troops back to Bosnia as fear of instability grows

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany has deployed troops with the European Union's peacekeeping mission in Bosnia for the first time in a decade as concerns mount instability from the Ukraine war…

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Spain’s PM backs EU candidacy for Bosnia

AP - Spain's prime minister on Saturday expressed support for Bosnia to become a candidate for European Union membership amid fears that uncertainty caused by the war in Ukraine could…

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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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EU considering sanctions on Bosnian Serbs if crisis worsens

The European Union should consider sanctions on Bosnia's autonomous Serb Republic (RS) and also withhold financial support if the Balkan country's crisis continues to worsen, according to an internal EU…

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Stop secessionist rhetoric or face sanctions, EU tells Bosnian Serb leaders

The Bosnian Serb leadership risks sanctions and a loss of aid should it continue to incite tensions among Bosnian communities with inflammatory rhetoric as used during the celebrations of its…

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Promise EU membership to Western Balkan countries to solve Bosnia impasse, German MEP proposes

Bosnia Herzegovina and other Western Balkan countries should be given a credible promise of EU membership, German MEP Reinhard Bütikofer said on Monday. The European Parliament is expected to discuss…

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Bosnia’s peace deal at risk of unravelling – envoy warns the U.N

The U.S.-sponsored peace deal that ended war in Bosnia in the 1990s is at risk of unravelling unless the international community takes measures to stop Serb separatists, a peace envoy warned in…

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Bosnia envoy urges EU to show the Balkans that Europe cares

Bosnia's international peace envoy has urged European Union leaders to send a message of encouragement to the six Balkan countries seeking membership of the bloc when they meet for a…

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EU no longer agrees on Balkan membership guarantee, diplomats say

The European Union, fearing a political backlash in member states, can no longer agree to give a guarantee of future membership to the six Balkan countries once promised a place in the club,…

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New peace envoy gets hostile reception from Bosnian Serb leaders

SARAJEVO (Reuters) - German politician Christian Schmidt took up the post of Bosnia's international peace overseer on Monday after a hostile reception by Bosnian Serb leaders who want the Office…

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UN court upholds genocide conviction against Bosnian Serb military leader Mladic

War crimes judges on Tuesday upheld a genocide conviction and life sentence against former Bosnian Serb military leader Ratko Mladic. In 2017, the Hague-based International Criminal Tribunal for the Former…

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Bosnia coach tests COVID-19 positive ahead of France clash

Bosnia and Herzegovina coach Ivaylo Petev has tested positive for COVID-19 ahead of the side's 2022 World Cup qualifier at home against France on Wednesday, the Balkan nation's football federation…

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Russia warns it will ‘have to react’ if Bosnia moves to join NATO

Russia will react if Bosnia takes steps towards joining NATO because Moscow would perceive this as a hostile act, the Russian embassy in Bosnia said in a statement. Bosnia has…

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Migrants stranded in freezing Bosnian winter plea for help

Hundreds of migrants are taking shelter in abandoned buildings in and around the northwestern Bosnian town of Bihac, wrapping up as best they can against the snow and freezing weather…

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EU allocates additional €3.5 million to support vulnerable refugees and migrants

The European Commission has announced today an additional €3.5 million in humanitarian aid to help vulnerable refugees and migrants in Bosnia and Herzegovina facing a humanitarian disaster. More than 1,700 refugees and…

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Croatia, Bosnia and Slovenia report record daily cases

Croatia reported its biggest rise in daily new COVID-19 infections on Thursday with 1,563 cases, nearly half of which were in its capital Zagreb, where they more than doubled. Zagreb…

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Migrants hoping to reach EU stranded in Bosnia

Hundreds of migrants hoping to reach the European Union are sheltering in forests and ruined former factory buildings near Bosnia’s border with Croatia, with the cold setting in and conditions…

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Coronavirus cuts Bosnian tourism by 70.6% in first half of 2020

Bosnia's tourism sector shrank by 70.6% year-on-year in the first six months of 2020 due to the coronavirus crisis, data from its state statistics agency showed on Monday. Before the…

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Bosnian Serbs ask Vucic to tie their region’s independence to Kosovo talks

As Western diplomats try to revive stalled talks on normalising ties between Serbia and Kosovo, Bosnian Serb leaders this week put pressure on Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic to include the…

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25th anniversary of the Srebrenica Massacre

A quarter of a century ago, the world witnessed the worst mass murder on European soil since World War II. Some 7,000-8,000 Bosnians were slaughtered and 20,000 civilians were forcibly…

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Bosnia to re-open borders with neighbouring countries on June 1

Bosnia will re-open borders closed by the coronavirus pandemic with neighbouring Croatia, Montenegro and Serbia on June 1 and lift restrictions for commercial flights, Prime Minister Zoran Tegeltija said on Thursday. Business…

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CoVid-19 – Bosnia registers its first death

A Bosnian man became the first to die of the coronavirus in the Balkan country, the manager of a hospital in the northwestern town of Bihac has said. Bosnia has declared a nationwide state…

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Slovenia to close border with Italy, Bosnia bars entry from coronavirus-hit countries

Slovenia plans to close its border with Italy for non-commercial traffic to prevent the spread of coronavirus, Prime Minister Marjan Sarec said. He did not say when the decision would…

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EPA’s Eye in the Sky: Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina

A general view of fog surrounding of the city of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Photo: EPA-EFE/FEHIM DEMIR

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International community urged to deliver on promise for better future for Bosnia and Herzegovina

Current trends and public pronouncements by some political leaders in Bosnia and Herzegovina indicate an effort to roll back reforms implemented since the end of the Balkan wars two decades…

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Earthquake of 4.7 magnitude shakes Bosnia

An earthquake of the 4.7 magnitude has shaken the Balkan country, damaging some buildings and rattling residents but causing no victims. The earthquake’s epicentre on Saturday afternoon was near the…

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Additional €2 million in humanitarian aid from the EU for refugees and migrants in Bosnia

With winter approaching and thousands of migrants and refugees in Bosnia and Herzegovina living outside of adequate facilities, the European Commission has today announced an additional €2 million in humanitarian…

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UN orders Bosnia to compensate woman raped by soldier during war

Campaigners said the complaint by the Bosnian Muslim woman, who was raped by a Bosnian Serb soldier in 1993, could serve as a precedent, allowing sexual violence victims to demand…

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Dutch Supreme Court rules Netherlands partially responsible for Srebrenica deaths

The Dutch Supreme Court ruled on Friday that the Netherlands is partially responsible for the July 1995 deaths of 300 Muslims in Srebrenica. Relatives of the victims first sued the…

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On this day…

These are the salient milestones in history taking place on this day... In 1533 Pope Clement VII excommunicates England's King Henry VIII. In 1944 Franklin Roosevelt announces that he will…

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Photo Story: The 24th anniversary of the Srebrenica massacre

A Bosnian Muslim woman cries during the funeral of 33 newly-identified Bosnian Muslims at the Potocari Memorial Center, Srebrenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 11 July 2019. The burial was part of…

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Karadzic appeals life sentence

Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic on Thursday filed an appeal against a UN court's decision to increase his sentence to life in jail for war crimes, court documents said.…

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Election Watch – Bosnia-Herzegovina

People are voting in Bosnia-Herzegovina following an election campaign that observers say remained entrenched along ethnic lines. A total of five presidents and 14 prime ministers must be elected in the…

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Friday Morning Briefing

Good morning, Your Morning Briefing for today follows. Both the Times and The Malta Independent refer to the S&P credit rating on the banking system. Respected credit ratings agency Standard and Poors has…

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3 workers die in hydroelectric power plant accident in Bosnia

ABC News quotes AP news agency in reporting Bosnian authorities confirming about an accident at a hydroelectric power plant has killed three workers from the state power company. A police spokesman,…

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