Serbia

Serbs start repairing homes in Mitrovica

PRISTINA, Kosovo Serbs in a northern Mitrovica neighbourhood started rebuilding five houses Wednesday (May 13th), closely monitored by EULEX officials. The situation seems to be calm, in contrast to periods over the past two weeks, when Serbs had protested repairs to homes owned by ethnic Albanians situated in the Serb …

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EU: Belgrade and Pristina Must Make Amends

Pieter Feith, the EU’s Special Envoy to Kosovo, says neither Belgrade nor Pristina will be able to realise their EU dreams unless they mend relations. “I’m not saying that Belgrade needs to recognise Kosovo’s independence, but there has to exist at least minimal cooperation between the two sides on issues …

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EU Wants Passport Guarantees from Serbia

The European Commission has expressed concern about the way Serbia issues its identification documents, and is concerned that passports could be given out to “all and sundry”, the Blic newspaper reports. The paper says that as a further guarantee for visa liberalisation, Brussels wants Serbia’s passport issuance system to become …

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Serbia: SNS Calls for New Elections

The right wing Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) launched a campaign for early parliamentary elections at a rally held in Nis Wednesday, calling it “Serbia’s Future Begins Today”. The SNS at the rally claimed it was going to stand for getting tougher on crime and corruption, promote decentralisation of government, and …

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ICG highlights problems of Kosovo Serbs

PRISTINA, Kosovo Integrating the Serb minority remains the chief challenge facing Kosovo more than a year after Pristina declared its independence, the International Crisis Group (ICG) said in a report Tuesday (May 12th). According to the document, Belgrade has channelled substantial funds into Serb municipalities, but with limited results. Parallel …

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Serbia, Gazprom to Sign South Stream Deal

Serbia’s state owned gas company will on Friday sign an agreement with Russian gas giant Gazprom for the construction of a part of the South Stream gas pipeline that will go through Serbia. General Director of Srbijagas Dusan Bajatovic said he will sign the agreement with the president of Gazprom …

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Djelic: economic crisis won’t stall Serbia’s EU bid

BELGRADE, Serbia The economic crisis will not affect Serbia’s EU accession process, Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration Bozidar Djelic said on Saturday (May 9th). While acknowledging that the financial crisis has an impact, he noted that several EU officials — including Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn — have made clear …

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Serbs Reach Deal to End Kosovo Violence

Serbs have ended weeks of protests in northern Kosovo after reaching an agreement with the UN Mission to the country, UNMIK, Serbian media report. According to Tanjug news agency, Serbs in the north of the divided town of Mitrovica stated that they reached an agreement with the international community representatives …

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Up to 20 Injured in Kosovo Serb Clashes

Up to twenty people were injured Sunday in clashes between Kosovo’s police and Serbs, sparked by electricity cuts. The protests began at the eastern village of Gjilan/Gnjilane, when police say protesters gathered and blocked the Gjilane/Gnjilane-Bujanovac road. Kosovo Police said that ten policemen were injured as around 300 Serbs threw …

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Kosovo asks Interpol to dismiss Serbian arrest warrants

PRISTINA, Kosovo Interior Minister Zenun Pajaziti urged Interpol Friday (May 8th) not to implement Serbia’s arrest warrants for Kosovo’s citizens. He was referring to Colombia’s move Wednesday to expel former Kosovo Prime Minister Agim Ceku, who is wanted by Serbia for alleged war crimes.

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