Serbia

President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy will on Monday confer with Serbian officials in Belgrade. Several other EU officials will visit next week as a result of the Council’s decision to open membership talks with Serbia.

Serbia’s Foreign Minister Ivan Mrkić will visit Croatia on June 20-July 1 as a member of a Serbian delegation and attend the formal of Croatia’s EU accession. The Foreign Ministry made the announcement on Friday.

Egypt has become the 100th country to recognize Kosovo as independent, the Pristina government said June 26, a milestone for the Balkan country’s pursuit of full international acceptance.

The German parliament has authorized the German government to vote in favor of the beginning of the EU accession talks with Serbia. The vote will take place at Friday’s session of the European Council and adding that the German

Serbia has “reasons to rejoice” after the Council of the EU Ministers adopted “a historic decision,” Slovak Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajčak believes. Lajčak said that Serbia is now invited to enter the final phase of the EU accession process, and that this is an irreversible process. 

Serbian Prime Minsiter Ivica Dacic will leave on the working visit to Brussels. During the visit Dacic will meet with European Commission

Catherine Ashton said after meeting with Ivica Dačić that she will recommend the European Council to start negotiations with Serbia no later than in January. She told a joint press conference in Brussels that she was “very happy that the foreign ministers of all 27 EU member

European Union ministers on Tuesday recommended that Serbia begin negotiations to win EU membership, officials said.

Hungarian President Janos Ader will pay a visit to Belgrade. During the two-day visit Ader will meet with Serbian state officials, including with Serbian counterpart Tomislav Nikolic.

Serbia expects a decision this week to begin negotiations with the EU, and this will first be discussed in Luxembourg, then in Berlin and finally, in Brussels. The first in a series of key meetings will be held by EU