European Union

BELGRADE - President of the Democratic Party (DS) Bojan Pajtic and Niels Annen, foreign-policy spokesman for the SPD group in the German Bundestag, have stressed the need for Serbia and the EU to get better coordinated in terms of foreign policy interests.

"Serbia under no obligation, but should join sanctions"

BERLIN -- Germany "does not agree with the European Commission's position that Serbia, as a candidate, has a legal obligation to introduce sanctions against Russia."

The European Parliament and the EU Member States have reached preliminary agreement on the EU 2015 budget.

The compromised reached between the two sides sets the total payments in 2015 at EUR 141.2 B, with total commitments amounting to EUR 145.3 B.

BELGRADE - Ivica Dacic, Serbian first deputy prime minister and minister of foreign affairs, conferred with Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia-Herzegovina Ana Trisic-Babic on regional issues and promotion of the regional cooperation.

BELGRADE - Serbia's Prime Minister Alaksandar Vucic said on Wednesday Serbia would focus on 2 things in the next 3 yers, economic growth and, even more importantly, how to help, train and convince the people that the future lies in the private sector.

Energy Minister Taner Yıldız said Turkish negotiators would meet with representatives from Russia's Gazprom to discuss a gas discount for 2015 again Dec. 10.

"We are continuing to work to negotiate a bigger reduction in gas prices. Our target is to clarify the final price by the end of this month," Yıldız said at the signature ceremony for the Istanbul 2016 World Energy Congress.

PM talks about corruption, singles out inefficient judiciary

BELGRADE -- Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic stated on Tuesday that the fight against corruption "has to be a continuous mission of the society."

The European Union on Tuesday announced 10 million euros ($12.3 million) in new humanitarian aid for Syrian civilians in Turkey and Syria.
      

Energy-starved Ukraine said Dec. 9 it had received the first Russian natural gas shipments since a politically charged price dispute saw Moscow cut off supplies to its Westward-leaning neighbor in June.

The announcement means that the war-torn nation of 45 million people should have enough power to heat homes through the bitter winter months.

A new poll conducted by the Center for Democracy and Human Rights, CEDEM, shows that the President, the Serbian Orthodox Church and the education and healthcare systems enjoy most public trust in the country.