Ansa news

(ANSA) - BELGRADE, FEB 2 - "Today, we filed a legal action before the European Court of Justice to challenge the REPowerEU regulation that prohibits Russian energy imports and request its annulment," Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó told X. "Our case is based on three key arguments. First, energy imports can only be prohibited through sanctions, which require unanimous agreement. This regulation was adopted as a trade policy measure. Second, the EU treaties make it clear that each Member…

(ANSA) - BELGRADE, FEB 2 - Miroslav Košuta, a Slovenian minority Italian poet and writer, passed away last night. Senator Tatjana Rojc (Democratic Party) announced that he would have turned 90 next March. Košuta was born in Santa Croce on the Karst Plateau, where he lived. He also worked as an Italian translator. On February 7, 2011, he received Slovenia's highest cultural award, the Prešeren Prize, for his literary work and contribution to the preservation of Slovenian language in Italy. (ANSA).

(ANSA) - BELGRADE, FEB 2 - Serbia and Kosovo are at odds again: the final results of Kosovo's December 28 general election have been certified, following a recount ordered due to electoral fraud. As in the past, Kosovo's Central Electoral Commission (CEC) disqualified the nine Serb minority candidates who supported the Srpska Lista party, infuriating Belgrade. The deadline for disqualified candidates to file appeals expired at 11:00 a.m. today, before the results are certified. If they are disqualified…

(ANSA) - BELGRADE, JAN 31 - Serbia's president signed controversial justice laws Friday, despite experts warning they would undermine judicial independence and Brussels saying they were "a step back" on the path to EU membership. Critics say the changes to laws give court presidents more power over judges and remove mechanisms meant to guarantee the independence of prosecutors. They also point out the changes come as prosecutors investigate several senior government and ruling party officials for…

(ANSA-AFP) - WARSAW, JAN 30 - Poland on Friday signed contracts worth over four billion dollars for "the most modern anti-drone system in Europe" to protect its eastern border, Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced. Poland, which lies on both NATO and the EU's eastern flank, has in recent years invested heavily to modernise its military following fears of a Russian threat. "This is a historic moment ... we are truly at an absolute turning point in the effective, high-performance defence of Poland's,…

(ANSA) - BELGRADE, JAN 30 - Truckers' unions in Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina have lifted their blockades at Schengen border crossings, after protesting for the fifth day in a row. Their counterparts in Montenegro and North Macedonia ended their protests last night. The lifting of blockades follows the European Commission's decision to present a new visa strategy, which will include a proposal to address the issue of professional truck drivers' stay restrictions in the Schengen area. T (ANSA).

(ANSA) - BELGRADE, JAN 30 - "Right now, we must pay close attention to the Western Balkans. We must consider that, while Ukraine is a candidate, there are also countries that have made progress" and "we must accelerate the Balkans' reunification with Europe," Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani stated on the sidelines of the EPP leaders' summit in Zagreb. "Minister Wadephul and I will be in Belgrade on April 1st, precisely to send a signal of Italy and Germany's great attention" and "to jointly…

(ANSA) - BELGRADE, JAN 30 - Eni's CEO, Claudio Descalzi, met with Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama in Tirana today, the company said. The discussions centred on Eni's activities in the country, with Descalzi focusing specifically on exploration activities, particularly gas and the Dumrea onshore permit, as well as energy transition initiatives. Rama and Descalzi also discussed renewable energy projects in Albania, which would be distributed to Italy via an interconnector. Eni returned to Albania…

(ANSA) - BELGRADE, JAN 30 - "We are aware of the concerns raised by Western Balkan transport operators. We are closely monitoring the situation and communicating with our partners in the region. A meeting between the Commission and the ambassadors of the six Western Balkan countries to the EU was held on Wednesday, and a follow-up meeting with the ministers of these affected countries is scheduled for next week," European Commission spokesperson Markus Lammert said during the press briefing. (ANSA).

(ANSA) - BELGRADE, JAN 30 - Several bilingual Slovenian and Italian books, intended for the children and their parents participating in the 'Villaggio per Crescere ''activities in Trieste, were donated to the centre today during an event held at the centre, attended by the Slovenian Consul General in Trieste, Gregor Šuc. The Libero and Zora Polojaz Foundation contributed to the event, which also benefited from the participation of 'Nati per Leggere' volunteers. Šuc emphasised the importance of…

(ANSA) - BELGRADE, JAN 30 - According to Euronews BiH and Serbian news agency Beta, truckers' unions in Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina decided in a late-evening meeting to continue blocking freight traffic at Western Balkans border crossings to the Schengen area. This is despite the European Commission's announcement of openness yesterday, as well as the subsequent decision by North Macedonia and Montenegro's trade unions to lift their positions. As of midday today, the blockade, which is now partial,…

(ANSA) - BELGRADE, JAN 29 - "A military aggression" is underway against Ukraine, and the country is "fighting to defend the values on which the EU was founded: democracy and freedom. What does Ukraine represent to Europe today? It is a backbone, the foundation that supports Europe and stops this attack," Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boychenko said at a Central European Initiative-sponsored meeting in Trieste. "We are aware that without the EU's assistance, this work would not have been possible." This is…

(ANSA-AFP) - BRUSSELS, JAN 29 - EU foreign ministers on Thursday agreed to designate Iran's Revolutionary Guard a "terrorist organisation", after a deadly crackdown on mass protests, the bloc's top diplomat said. "Repression cannot go unanswered," foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas wrote on X. "Any regime that kills thousands of its own people is working toward its own demise." (ANSA-AFP).

(ANSA) - BELGRADE, JAN 29 - "We are aware of the problem. It is important to note that the EU has not introduced any new requirements for the Entry/Exit System (EES). In any case, with this new strategy, we will address this issue." This was stated by EU Commission Vice President Henna Virkkunen during a press conference in Brussels in response to a question about truck driver blockades in the Balkans. "Flexibility systems are already in place for cross-border workers because they always use the…

(ANSA) - BELGRADE, JAN 29 - In a context where "the wind is getting colder," Germany and Europe are "under pressure from many sides," but "pressure can also lead to many positive results and may be necessary," German Chancellor Friedrich Merz stated in a speech to the Bundestag this morning. The EU "is far from having expressed its full potential," he noted. "Europe has always grown under pressure, during crises," the Chancellor insisted. Merz believes that this requires "unity," a "policy capable…

(ANSA) - BELGRADE, JAN 28 - According to a public opinion poll commissioned by the news portal Siol, Slovenia's largest opposition party and ruling party remain the main players in the political arena, with 22.5% preferring the Democratic Party (SDS), down 1.4 percentage points from December, and 18.3% preferring the Freedom Movement, down 0.7 points, Slovenian news agency STA reported today. Slovenia will hold parliamentary elections on March 22. The coalition Social Democrats (SD) saw a one-point…

(ANSA) - BELGRADE, JAN 28 - The German government lowered its GDP growth forecast for 2026 to 1% in the autumn, down from 1.3% previously. The government expects 1.3% growth in 2027, up from 1.4% previously. "The reason for this slightly more cautious assessment is that the anticipated impetus from economic and financial policy measures has not materialised as quickly or to the extent we had hoped. However, the data now show that a clear recovery has occurred," said Economics Minister Katherina…

(ANSA-AFP) - BERLIN, JAN 28 - Germany's leading bank, Deutsche Bank, said Wednesday that prosecutors were carrying out an investigation at its offices, as German media reported an ongoing raid connected to suspected money laundering. "We can confirm that the Frankfurt prosecutors' office is carrying out measures at the premises of Deutsche Bank," a spokesman for the bank said, adding that it was "cooperating fully with prosecutors". (ANSA-AFP).

(ANSA-AFP) - BELGRADE, JAN 28 - Hundreds of truck drivers continued blocking freight border crossings across several Balkan countries for a third day on Wednesday, protesting EU rules limiting their time in the bloc. Dozens of goods checkpoints in Bosnia, Montenegro and North Macedonia have been blocked as part of a coordinated effort by trucking unions, while Serbian truckers have shut both Schengen entry and exit points, with lines of trucks seen near the crossings. At Bajakovo, Croatia's main…

(ANSA-AFP) - BUDAPEST, JAN 28 - Prosecutors filed charges Wednesday against Budapest's opposition mayor Gergely Karacsony, seeking to fine him for organising the city's Pride parade last June, which attracted record turnout despite an official ban. Organisers estimated more than 200,000 people took part, in a rebuke of Prime Minister Viktor Orban's years-long clampdown on LGBTQ rights in the name of "child protection". After the nationalist leader declared his intention to ban the celebration, his…

(ANSA) - BELGRADE, JAN 28 - According to Tanjug, the Serbian government has formed an operational team to coordinate the implementation of all commitments made by Serbia on the path to EU integration as soon as possible. Danijel Apostolović, head of the Serbian Mission to the EU, will lead a team of 10 state officials, including several ministers, as per yesterday's official gazette announcement. Serbia's Minister for European Integration, Finance Minister Siniša Mali, Justice Minister Nenad Vujić,…

(ANSA) - BELGRADE, JAN 27 - Hristijan Mickoski, Prime Minister of North Macedonia, said he expects the European Union to resolve the issue affecting Macedonian truckers, who have been blocking border crossings with the Schengen area since yesterday, along with their counterparts from other non-EU Western Balkan countries. The prime minister announced yesterday that he had requested a phone conversation with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to discuss changes to the new rules on…

(ANSA) - BELGRADE, JAN 27 - "Our historical responsibility remains: anti-Semitism has no place in Germany," wrote Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz on social media X. He added, "We remember the systematic extermination of Jews today, Holocaust Remembrance Day, as we do every day. Something like this must never happen again." (ANSA).

(ANSA) - BELGRADE, JAN 27 - Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico has announced that the country will not participate in Donald Trump's proposed Peace Board. Parallel international organisations, in his opinion, should not be established; instead, existing ones, such as the United Nations, should be reformated, according to the Czech website Seznam.cz. "It is necessary to reform existing international institutions, such as the United Nations, rather than abolish them. We are not in favour of establishing…

(ANSA) - BELGRADE, JAN 27 - The European Commission has allocated €171 million in aid to Western Balkan partner countries to support infrastructure development and private sector growth. According to the Commission, the funding package includes today's approved investment and technical assistance projects, demonstrating the EU's commitment to long-term growth and regional connectivity in the Western Balkans. €91.8 million is specifically designated for infrastructure projects in Bosnia and Herzegovina,…

(ANSA) - BELGRADE, JAN 27 - The Western European car market is down 16% from pre-crisis levels (2019), while the rest of the world has long reached and surpassed this level. The Promotor Research Centre emphasises this, attributing the delay to the EU's energy transition policy in the automotive sector, "carried out with measures unrivalled anywhere else in the world and which, in terms of environmental protection, have so far produced modest results." Electric vehicles sold in 2025 totalled 2,585,187…

(ANSA-AFP) - HAMBURG, JAN 26 - A group of northern European nations vowed Monday to build up climate-friendly wind power in the North Sea to achieve greater energy independence from Russia and other foreign suppliers. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz was hosting a summit in the port-city of Hamburg as Europe faces a hostile Russia but also worries about the future strength of transatlantic ties and US designs on Greenland. Aiming to make Europe more resilient in an uncertain world, the group of…

(ANSA) - BELGRADE, JAN 26 - A fire at a biscuit and food products factory near the city of Trikala in central Greece has killed three people and left two others missing, according to Ekathimerini. A fire broke out around 4 a.m. The Violanta factory is located on the Trikala-Karditsa national road. The cause of the fire was not immediately determined. According to state broadcaster ERT, the factory was operating on 24-hour shifts at the time of the incident. Local media reported that a loud explosion…

(ANSA) - BELGRADE, JAN 26 - Trucking associations from non-EU Western Balkan countries have banded together to wage war on Europe and the new digital border control system (EES), which went into effect last October and is said to penalise their work. They are threatening to blockade the main border crossings with the EU and the Schengen area beginning today at noon. The protest will last one week. Transport associations in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia claim that…

(ANSA) - BELGRADE, JAN 26 - Italy, with the support of Romania and Slovakia, has asked the European Commission to develop a "extraordinary European plan for the dairy sector" to address the sector's "systemic" crises. The discussion, initiated by Agriculture Minister Francesco Lollobrigida and supported by his counterparts in Bratislava and Bucharest, will take place among the "miscellaneous" items at the EU Agrifish Council, which is currently underway in Brussels. In essence, the ministers are…