KOSOVO BARRED
Egypt has prevented Kosovo from taking part in the Organisation of the Islamic Conferences second ministerial conference on women because of political reasons. An official from the Albanian embassy in Cairo, Ilir Hoxha, had earlier confirmed that the Organisation of the Islamic Conference had allowed Kosovos participation in the meeting after receiving a request from the Albanian embassy in Riyadh in Saudi Arabia, Balkan Insight reported on November 24.
EULEX
The European Unions foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, has confirmed that the blocs law-and-order mission to Kosovo, EULEX, will be launched on December 2. Solana confirmed that he had spoken on November 24 to EULEX chief Yves de Kermabon, who reassured him that preparations for EULEX were going well.
ABUSE OF POWER
Albanias foreign minister Lulzim Basha has been charged with abuse of power over alleged irregularities and misuse of public funds in the construction of the Albania-Kosovo highway, Balkan Insight reported on November 25.
FOREIGN LANGUAGES
Pupils in the European Union are learning foreign languages at a younger age, even as young as three, while English is learnt by 90 per cent of all European pupils at some stage of their compulsory education, according to a study by the Eurydice Network released on November 21.
HELPING HAND
Members of the European Parliament voted on November 20 in support of a proposal by the European Commission to increase the ceiling for financial assistance to EU states which do not use the euro and are facing balance of payments difficulties, from 12 billion euro to 25 billion euro.
BORDER POINT
Six new border points between Bulgaria and Greece are scheduled to be opened by 2012, Bulgarian Deputy Regional Development Minister Dimcho Mihalevski said.
