Today is D-Day for EU ministers to agree a way to spread some of the responsibility for refugees around member states, but talks were still fraught last night in a row that threatens the union’s viability and could open the way for Germany to take fewer migrants.

The discovery of a lorry containing the corpses of over 70 refugees on an Austrian motorway has given added impetus to a key summit on migration in Vienna.

European Union leaders formally made Serbia a candidate for membership in the bloc tonight, in a remarkable turnaround for a country considered a pariah just over a decade ago.

A LABOUR backbencher has expressed concern over Ireland’s ability to successfully lead the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) given the financial constraints and crises closer to home.

European Union leaders have decided that Croatia will become a member of the bloc in two years, making it the first new member since 2007.

Ratko Mladic could be on his way to face a war-crimes tribunal in The Hague as early as Monday, possibly joining his former ally Radovan Karadzic on trial for some of the worst horrors of the Balkan wars.

The capture of Ratko Mladic was hailed this afternoon as a boost for Serbia, for Europe and for the country’s hopes of joining the European Union (EU).

EU ministers look set to endorse Montenegro as a candidate for membership in the next round of enlargement.

Serbia’s foreign minister has said that the upcoming ruling by the International Court of Justice on the legality of Kosovo’s declaration of independence will create “an unprecedented opportunity” for compromise between rival Serbs and ethnic Albanians.

THE PM Group has beaten off stiff competition to win €10 million in EU-funded consultancy projects in the Balkans.

The United Nations Security Council gave the go-ahead today for the deployment of a European Union mission throughout Kosovo under the international organisation’s umbrella.

The head of human rights watchdog the Council of Europe today hailed the arrest of former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic as “wonderful news”.

Ireland will recognise an independent Kosovo as the world’s newest country, Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern declared today.

The European Union was quick to congratulate pro-Western Boris Tadic after he won Serbia’s presidential election, beating an ultranationalist ally of former President Slobodan Milosevic by a narrow margin.

Pro-Western incumbent Boris Tadic won Serbia's presidential election today, beating an ultranationalist ally of former President Slobodan Milosevic by a narrow margin.

Slovenia, the former Yugoslav country of 2 million, took over the European Union presidency today, becoming the face and the voice of the 27-nation bloc of 500 million people for the next six months.

Serbia’s foreign minister is proposing an eight-point agenda for new talks on Kosovo that would be unlimited in time and without independence for the Serbian province as the pre-determined outcome.

EU leaders today put aside questions over what to do with their embattled constitution for at least two more years, opting instead to focus on promoting Europe to their citizens by pressing ahead with economic reforms and a common immigration policy.

EU FOREIGN ministers raised the bar on the former Yugoslavia states and Albania joining the bloc over the weekend, but reaffirmed that the ultimate goal was membership.

Austria assumed the presidency of the European Union today with a pledge to make the 25-nation bloc “more tangible to our citizens”.

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern will today pay a one-day visit to Hungary to promote trade links with the new EU member state.

The Minister for European Affairs, Noel Treacy, is flying out to Bosnia this evening to represent the Government at a ceremony to mark the 10th anniversary of the Srebrenica massacre.

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern met with the President of Serbia and Montenegro Svetozar Marovic this evening.

The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Brian Cowen, is to make a four-day visit to the Western Balkans, as part of the preparations for Ireland's EU Presidency in the first half of 2004.