Romania and Bulgaria are likely to emerge from Thursday’s summit of interior ministers in Brussels still barred from the border-free Schengen travel zone.  Dutch and Finnish officials oppose extending membership to two recent European Union (EU) members due to what they say are persisting concerns over organized crime and corruption.

A man convicted of plotting the 2003 assassination of pro-Western Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic told investigators that a number of high profile officials knew about the plan in advance.

A total of 46 countries affirmed their commitment Tuesday to governmental transparency at the Open Government Partnership (OGP) launch at Google’s offices in New York City. The OGP is an international initiative to promote global transparency first conceived by US President Barack Obama a year ago.

Prosecutors announced Monday that former Croatian deputy prime minister Damir Polancec was cleared of charges that he was involved in selling a national oil and gas company to a Hungarian firm.

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi arrived in a Milan court Monday for the resumption of one of four trials against him.

Corruption is costing Croatia 0 to 11 billion Kuna ($1.85-$2.1 billion) annually, President Ivo Josipovic said yesterday.

A one time chief of staff to ousted Kyrgyz president Kurmanbak Bakiev died as a result of murder, not a car accident as was originally determined, state police announced on Wednesday.

Bulgarians who witness voter intimidation, ballot fraud, campaign irregularities, so-called “voter tourism” and vote buying before and during the October 23 presidential elections can now file reports online becoming part of an interactive map at http://fairelections.eu

A Russian national convicted of conspiring to sell drugs was sentenced Wednesday to 20 years in U.S. prison.

Cargo plane pilot Konstantin Yaroshenko, was arrested in Liberia with seven others in 2010 during  a joint sting operation conducted by American special agents and Liberian authorities dubbed "Operation Relentless." The seven were taken into custody when officials uncovered 4,000 kilos (8,800 pounds) of cocaine, an estimated value of $100 million.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) unveiled a new web portal on Thursday to facilitate asset recovery of corrupt despots and businessmen.  TRACK (Tools and Resources for Anti-Corruption Knowledge) features a database of anti-corruption legislation from 175 countries in addition to resources for practitioners.