Diplomatic Diary: Balkans to tighten border controls

09/03/2010

Western Balkan countries co-operate on border control to shut down smuggling routes. Also in diplomatic news: Sarajevo will host an EU-Western Balkans summit and Albania plans to open six new embassies.

Effective border control is crucial to fighting traffickers and ensuring safe travel. [Getty Images]

Interior ministers of Western Balkan countries adopted a joint declaration at a regional conference on border safety in Tirana on Friday (March 5th). The document says the countries will co-operate to guarantee the safe movement of people and goods and will fight corruption and smuggling. Participants at the forum asked the EU to grant visa-free travel to Albania and BiH as soon as possible.

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Slovenian Prime Minister Borut Pahor, his Croatian counterpart Jadranka Kosor and Serbian President Boris Tadic agreed on Friday (March 5th) to strengthen co-operation during a meeting in the Slovenian town of Ptuj. The Balkan officials focused on an upcoming conference of Western Balkan leaders scheduled for March 20th in Brdo, Slovenia. Tadic reiterated that Serbia will only participate if Kosovo is represented under the name "Kosovo-UNMIK".

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Slovak Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajcak said on Monday (March 8th) he is worried about the lack of progress in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Lajcak, a former High Representative, was on a visit to Sarajevo where he held talks with local politicians and current High Representative Valentin Inzko.

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The EU foreign ministers agreed at an informal meeting in Cordoba, Spain on Saturday (March 6th) to organise an EU-Western Balkans summit in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina in June. The initiative confirms the European perspective of the region -- that Western Balkans' stability is essential for EU candidacy.

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Zagreb will join the EU very soon, Croatian President Ivo Josipovic said after a meeting with European Parliament President Jerzy Buzek in Brussels, on Thursday (March 4th). Buzek said he is convinced Croatia will join the bloc. This was Josipovic's first visit abroad since taking office in February. He also met with EU President Herman van Rompuy and European Commission President Jose Barroso.

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Romanian President Traian Basescu and military officials visited the country's NATO troops in Afghanistan on Thursday (March 4th). The trip followed an explosion last week that killed one Romanian soldier and wounded another on a highway connecting Kandahar and Kabul. The visit was not announced in advance due to security reasons.

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The Albanian government announced the opening of six new embassies in Belgium, Slovakia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Qatar, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates. The country needs wider representation and has resources for it, Prime Minister Sali Berisha said at a cabinet meeting March 3rd. New diplomatic offices will open soon in Mexico, South Africa, Australia, Norway, Estonia and Pakistan.

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Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic has warned about a possible link between Serbia's EU candidacy and the Kosovo issue and said Belgrade should not be forced to choose between them. The statement followed talks between Jeremic and Hungarian counterpart Peter Balazs in Budapest on March 3rd. Balazs also expressed hope that the EU will not compel such a choice and stressed that the stabilisation of the Western Balkans should be an utmost goal.

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Ankara is ready to pull its troops out of Cyprus if an agreement is reached in the long-standing dispute between the Greek and Turkish communities on the island, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on March 2nd. Turkey must "make the transition from words to deeds", Cypriot government spokesperson Stefanos Stefanou said, recalling that Ankara has failed to respond to EU calls to open its ports and airports to Greek Cypriot vessels and airplanes.

(Various sources -- 02/03/10-09/03/10)