Serbia

Kosovo police says that the traffic at the Merdare border crossing has returned to normal, after being paralysed over the weekend, with kilometres-long queues.Hundreds of people were stranded on both sides of the border for hours, due to what Kosovo Police described as failure of the Serbian police to properly …

Belgrade has condemned the statement from former UN envoy who said that Serbia should be denied EU membership until it recognizes Kosovo.The newly appointed Serbian Prime Minister Ivica Dacic warned on Sunday that the statement by the former UN envoy to the Kosovo status process, Martti Ahtisaari, that Serbia should …

Prime Minister designate presents the programme of the future government whose 19 members took their oaths of office on Friday.The sound of the national anthem and the presence of a ceremonial guard marked the ceremony when Serbia’s new cabinet members took their oath of office. They failed to be sworn …

Talks aimed at normalizing relations between Kosovo and Serbia, are due to resume after Serbia forms a new government, Ashton tells Kosovo leader Hashim Thaci.Pristina and Belgrade are set to resume talks once a new government in Serbia is in place, the EU’s High Representative, Catherine Ashton, announced on Wednesday. …

Aleksandar Vulin, head of new office coordinating all 17 ministries on Kosovo, says he will never shake hands with Kosovo leaders and issues ringing defence of Serbian-funded bodies in Kosovo.”No one will ever shake hands with [Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim] Thaci.” So said Aleksandar Vulin, the hardline new head of …

Serbia’s Public Procurement Office has found irregularities in procurements worth up to 70 million euro in the first half of 2012 – three times more than in the whole of 2011.Predrag Jovanovic, head of the Procurement Office, said uncovered irregularities in urgent public procurements for first six months of 2012 …

As Serbia’s new ministers are due to be sworn in on Friday, key parties have started the distribution of state-owned companies, breaking promises to end the party politicisation of public enterprises.Talks on the distribution of plum posts in public enterprises have started in Serbia, following the conclusion of a coalition …

The Progressives, the biggest party in the new Serbian government, have announced the names of 19 future members of the government.The Serbian Progressive Party has announced, after the main board meeting on Sunday, that the future government will have 17 ministries and 19 officials to run them. The government, which …

Serbia’s President Tomislav Nikolić has stated he is ready to assume responsibility and lead the fight for Kosovo. “I will gladly take the historic responsibility. I will gather everybody who means something in Serbia, politicians, intellectuals, businessmen, religious dignitaries, in order to finally

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will start a six-day tour of the Western Balkans on Friday. He will visit all countries created after the breakup of the former Yugoslavia, with July 23 reserved for Serbia.