Croatia

Croatian President Stipe Mesic opened talks Friday on naming a woman as prime minister for the first time in the Balkan state, following the unexpected resignation of Ivo Sanader, AFP reports.
Mesic held discussions with parties representing minorities and was later to meet with the Croatian Democratic Union, or HDZ, which has proposed he appoint Jadranka Kosor as Sanader's successor.
The president told national radio earlier he would name Kosor as prime minister-designate once she proves that she has a majority in the 153-seat parliament.

Croatian President Stjepan Mesić says he doesn't know what decision will be reached regarding the lawsuit his country has filed against Serbia for genocide.

But he added that he "does know that a debate has been opened on the issue and that both sides are taking part in it".

“A debate is under way on the issue, but we still do not know what the decision will be. Both sides are taking part in these talks, delegations are being exchanged at all levels, and we will see what will happen in the end,” Mesić said in an interview for the Belgrade daily Večernje Novosti, published on Monday.

After the postponement of yesterday’s meeting of Slovenian and Croatian delegations in Brussels, the EU has called on the 2 countries to work constructively.

The meeting between EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn with the two countries’ foreign ministers, which had been scheduled for yesterday, was canceled after Zagreb failed to respond to Rehn’s latest proposal to resolve the ongoing border dispute. Rehn added that he was still waiting for Croatia’s reply.