Iraqi-Kurdish leader calls for independence vote
On 2 February, the president of Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region, Masoud Barzani, called for a nonbinding referendum on independence. He stated on his website: "The time has come and the situation is...
View ArticleUN blames Kosovo’s opposition violence for delayed agreements
On 3 February, in his latest report on Kosovo, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon showed his concern about the violent tactics of the opposition parties in Kosovo. These violence actions have resulted in...
View ArticleReferendum in Republika Srpska postponed
On 9 February president Milorad Dodik of the Bosnia and Herzegovina’s (BiH) mainly Serb entity, Republika Srpska (RS), postponed the planned referendum that would question the authority of the state...
View ArticleBosnia applies for EU membership
On 15 February Bosnia-Herzegovina (BiH) formally applied to join the EU, said EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini. The Bosnian PM Denis Zvidic announced on 10 February that his country was about...
View ArticleEU partially lifts sanctions against Belarus
On 15 February the European Council confirmed that sanctions against 170 Belarusians, including President Alexander Lukashenko, will not be extended. Sanctions included a list of visa bans and frozen...
View ArticleKosovo opposition sets ultimatum for resignation government
On 17 February the opposition held their biggest anti-governmental rally yet during the eight anniversary of Kosovo independence. They demand the government to resign and hold snap elections before 27...
View ArticleUkraine coalition party quits after confidence motion
On 17 February the Batkivshchyna party of Yulia Tymoshenko pulled out of the ruling coalition in Ukraine after Prime Minister Arseny Yatsenyuk survived a no-confidence vote in parliament just a day...
View ArticleEU and US urge to postpone planned elections in Macedonia
On 21 February EU and US diplomats said that Macedonia is not ready to hold parliamentary elections scheduled for 24 April 2016. In a joint letter to Macedonian interim Prime Minister Emil Dimitriev,...
View ArticleAssad sets parliamentary elections in Syria for April 13
On 22 February Syrian President Bashar al-Assad announced that parliamentary elections will be held on 13 April. The announcement came a couple of hours after US and Russia made a ceasefire plan for...
View ArticleAssembly elects Thaci as Kosovo’s president
On 26 February Kosovo’s parliament elected Foreign Minister Hashim Thaci and leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) as President. He gained 71 votes from 81 members that were present during the...
View ArticleUpdate Serbia: election date set for 24 April: opposition fails to unite
On 1 March Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic from the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) announced that early elections will be held most likely on 24 April. Both provincial and local elections will be held...
View ArticleTurkish opposition newspaper follows pro-government line after being seized...
On 4 March, a court ruled that Turkey’s largest newspaper Zaman should be run by a state administrator. Outside the building the police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse demonstrators...
View ArticleGovernment critic eligible for early release from prison
On 8 March it was announced that former Macedonian Interior Minister Ljube Boskoski, has become eligible for early release from prison on the basis of good behaviour. Boskoski was a government critic...
View ArticleEU-Turkey agreement ‘closes’ the Balkan refugee route: solution or...
The Balkan Route On 10 March the refugee route through the Balkan supposedly ceased to exist. While in many parts of the Balkan, memories of the war and seeking refuge lie on the surface, today it is...
View ArticleMacedonian elections under scrutiny
On 16 March it was announced that the political atmosphere in Macedonia is characterised by tensions and a lack of trust. Since PM Nikola Gruevski resigned on 15 January, the planning and supervision...
View ArticleUPDATE: Kurdish militant group TAK claims responsibility for Ankara attack
On 17 March, the Kurdish militant group Kurdistan Freedom Hawks (TAK) reportedly claimed responsibility for the car bomb attack in Ankara on Sunday saying it would attack security forces again. “On the...
View ArticleKazakh ruling party wins landslide, OSCE voices criticism
On 21 March preliminary figures showed President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s party Nur Otan won 82 percent of the vote in the snap parliamentary elections held on 20 March in Kazakhstan. In January...
View ArticleRussian court sentences Ukrainian pilot to 22 years in prison
On 22 March, a southern Russian court sentenced Ukrainian military pilot Nadia Savchenko to 22 years in prison, after finding her guilty in charges relating to the killing of two Russian journalist...
View ArticleUpdate: Ukrainian independent lawmakers provide possible solution for...
On March 30th, MPs in Ukraine said that several non-aligned Ukrainian lawmakers agreed to join Ukraine's biggest faction to help end a political crisis. "Talks are going on at the moment with several...
View ArticleUpcoming elections continue to split Montenegrin politics
Montenegro's political leaders are to resume talks on resolving the crisis that has kept the country at boiling point for more than a year. It’s the worst political conflict since it gained...
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