Diplomatic Diary: EU president visits Bucharest
19/01/2010
EU head Herman van Rompuy met with Romania's leaders Monday. Also: Montenegro's Prime Minister Milo Dukanovic is in the United States.
 EU President Herman van Rompuy discussed several issues with Romanian President Traian Basescu. [Getty Images] |
EU President Herman van Rompuy arrived in Bucharest on Monday (January 18th) on his first visit to Romania. Van Rompuy met with President Traian Basescu to discuss the economic situation, next month's meeting of EU leaders in Bucharest, and the European Council's spring session. Van Rompuy also met with Prime Minister Emil Boc.
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Slovenian Prime Minister Borut Pahor voiced his country's support for Macedonia's EU and NATO integration, saying it would be in interest of the two organisations and the region. After talks with Macedonian counterpart Nikola Gruevski in Skopje on Sunday (January 17th), Pahor expressed Ljubljana's readiness to help resolve Macedonia's longstanding name dispute with Greece.
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Montenegrin Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic left on Tuesday (January 19th) for a three-day visit to the United States. Foreign Minister Milan Rocen and Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Igor Luksic accompanied him. Djukanovic is expected to hold talks with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Vice President Joe Biden.
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Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov and Greek counterpart George Papandreou opened a new border crossing between their countries Friday (January 15th). Papandreou said the opening at Zlatograd-Xanthi -- the fourth between the neighbours -- "will connect the Bulgarian ski resort of Pamporovo to the Greek beaches" to give "new perspectives of bilateral collaboration in trade and tourism". He added that it will also facilitate the travel of Bulgarians working in Greece during the summer holiday season.
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Former Bulgarian President Jelio Jelev was awarded on Friday (January 15th) Macedonia's highest state order, known as "September 8". Jelev, the Bulgarian head of state when Macedonia declared independence, was honoured for his work in garnering international recognition for the former Yugoslav republic. Macedonia has now celebrated 18 years of independence.
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Slovenia and Croatia are en route to settling the remaining issues standing in the way of full reconciliation, Slovenian President Danilo Turk said on Thursday (January 14th) after talks with visiting Croatian counterpart Stipe Mesic. Turk said that Slovenia supports Croatia's EU accession and that the two countries have good co-operation within NATO. Mesic said that the arbitration agreement regarding the border dispute between Zagreb and Ljubljana and the political will to resolve all open issues have eased tension and have led to a period in which bilateral co-operation could be promoted.
(Various sources -- 12/01/10-19/01/10)
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