Serbia

The EULEX mission in Kosovo will be granted a new mandate in June and will continue investigating war crimes and organized crime.

Serbian Prime Minister Ivica Dacic met with European Parliament (EP) Rapporteur for Serbia Jelko Kacin in Belgrade on Friday.

Serbia wants the mutual withdrawal of the two genocide lawsuits filed by Zagreb and Belgrade at the International Court of Justice, but it will not act unilaterally, Marko Djuric, an adviser to Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic.

Greek Ambassador to Belgrade Constantine Economides said on Wednesday that the EU-Serbia intergovernmental conference scheduled for Jan. 21 will be a historic moment both for Serbia and the Western Balkans.

Macedonia and Serbia are about to sign an agreement on using common diplomatic missions abroad. Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski, who has said that the move was a Serbian initiative, while the decision “a result of common thinking”.

Defence lawyers for wartime Croatian Serb political leader Goran Hadzic argued this week that the charges against their client should be dismissed because the prosecution had failed to prove its case.

Serbian Foreign Minister Ivan Mrkic said in Belgrade on Wednesday that Serbia will not join NATO but it will be a reliable and responsible partner.

The EU has set January 21 as the starting date for membership talks with Serbia.

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton will today officially present to the Council of Ministers her report on Serbia’s implementation of the Brussels agreement.

The governments of Serbia and the Serb entity in Bosnia, the Serb Republic (RS), will on Monday hold their fifth joint session in Banja Luka, RS.