Serbia

Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov has refused to attend an informal meeting of leaders from several countries scheduled for January in Prizren. Albanian language newspapers in Priština write today that the “informal summit, planned to be held on January 7 and 8 in Prizren, is organized by Kosovo President Fatmir Sejdiu”.

Serbia is to submit its formal application to join the European Union today, but the largest republic of the former Yugoslavia faces a tough fight to join the 27-member bloc. Even its own parliament is split on the issue with delaying tactics employed by nationalist MPs. Eventually Serbia’s president and …

Serbian President Boris Tadić is to visit Kragujevac and Kragujevac-based carmaker Zastava on Monday, his press office announced. According to an annex to the agreement between Serbia and Fiat, the Italian automobile manufacturer will take over Zastava by the end of 2009, the statement issued in Turin, where Tadić was …

Once Serbia becomes a candidate for European Union membership, it will receive EUR 250mn from the European IPA funds. Economic analyst Goran Nikolić said that Serbia is currently using two installments from the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA) funds worth EUR 200mn, and that once it becomes a candidate for …

Serbian President Boris Tadic travels to Stockholm on Tuesday to officially submit Serbia’s application for EU candidacy. The decision came after Tadic and the country’s Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic signed a request on Saturday night, in the name of the government, for EU candidacy.

Serbia’s Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremić said Thursday that Serbia has “never moved faster towards the EU than in 2009”. Speaking during a humanitarian New Year’s reception organized by the Foreign Ministry, he reiterated that EU membership was one of the Serbian government’s priorities.

In the first minutes of December 19 2009, 50 citizens of Serbia will be the first to travel to the European Union without visas in their passports in a flight from Belgrade to Brussels. This group of Serbian citizens, who were selected through the “Europe for everyone” open competition and …

Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs Franco Frattini says the time has come for Serbia to submit its application for European Union membership. Frattini said that Serbia should submit its candidacy appplication with the EU “before Christmas.”

Serbian Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic announced that negotiations with Russia over some USD 200 million credit needed for the budget deficit have been finalized.

The District Court in Priština released three Serbs from the municipality of Novo Brdo from custody on Wednesday. Slobodan and Srećko Martinović and Svetlana Stojanović were arrested on September 24 and accused of committing war crimes. The charges against them state that the three “from April 17 until April 22, …