As the EU-led dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia is set to resume on March 4, the two sides have made some advances on Serb-run northern Kosovo while areas of disagreement remain. In a meeting on Tuesday with the Kosovo President, Atifete Jahjaga, Prime Minister Hashim Thaci said the two sides had …
Read More »Serbian Nationalists Rally for Hague Defendant Seselj
Supporters of Vojislav Seselj, leader of the Serbian Radical Party who’s on trial for war crimes, protested in Belgrade for his release from the Hague’s “tyranny”.Around 3,000 protesters gathered on Sunday in Belgrade to mark the tenth anniversary of Seselj’s voluntary surrender to the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former …
Read More »Census Shows Serbians Sticking With God
Results of the census published on Thursday show around 94 per cent of the population are religious believers, far higher than the percentage in most European countries.The results of the 2011 census in Serbia confirm that half a century of official atheism under the Communist system failed to dent Serbs’ …
Read More »Schools Start Teaching Bosniak in Serbian Sandzak
Primary level and high schools in the mainly Bosniak [Muslim] southwest Sandzak region of Serbia have started teaching classes in the Bosniak language.Students in 12 schools in the Sandzak region had their first classes in the Bosniak language on International Mother Tongue Day, February 21. Esad Dzudzevic, president of the …
Read More »Belgrade Marathon Runs Into Ownership Dispute
A tussle over who has the right to organise the 2013 Belgrade Marathon has led to speculation that the city might end up with two showpiece races.Belgrade Marathon Ltd., a company that has been organising endurances races for two decades, has stated that it will organise this year’s event, although …
Read More »Belgrade Aims to Restore US Flight Link
After America’s FAA completed its initial inspection of Serbia’s aviation, Serbia hopes the US will allow Belgrade to launch direct flights by year’s end.After the US Federal Aviation Administration, FAA, carried out the first stage of its inspection of Serbian aviation on February 17th, it will decide whether Belgrade meets …
Read More »Serbia Can Expect ‘Conditional’ EU Talks Start Date
Brussels is likely to reward Serbia for normalising relations with Kosovo with a ‘conditional’ start date for accession talks.In its April report, the European Commission is likely to recommend that Serbia be granted a conditional start date for EU accession talks in June, Balkan Insight has learned from two independent …
Read More »Bosnian Serb Town Flags ‘Discriminatory’
The constitutional court in Bosnia’s Serb-dominated entity Republika Srpska ruled that Serb symbols used by the towns of Banja Luka and Nevesinje discriminated against Bosniaks and Croats.Republika Srpska’s constitutional court ruled on Wednesday that the coats of arms and flags of Banja Luka and Nevesinje contain “symbols of the religious …
Read More »Serbia Pulls Potentially Contaminated Milk
After a dispute between regional and state inspections over whether milk is contaminated by the potentially dangerous aflatoxin, M1, Serbia is withdrawing all suspect milk from shelves.Serbia’s veterinary inspectorate has ordered all milk that some analysis shows is contaminated with the aflatoxin M1 to be pulled off the shelves. Dairy …
Read More »Kosovo and Serbia Edge Closer Over North
Kosovo and Serbia are expected to come closer to an understanding on Serbian-financed institutions in northern Kosovo in their talks in Brussels – but a think tank warns that the situation remains volatile.After a meeting on Tuesday, the Kosovo Prime Minister, Hashim Thaci, and his Serbian counterpart, Ivica Dacic, are …
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