European Union

BELGRADE - The participation of the Serbian Armed Forces in EU peacekeeping missions and maintaining the status of military neutrality contributes to getting Serbia closer to EU membership, which is one of our main foreign policy priorities, Serbian Defence Minister Bratislav Gasic said on Monday.

BELGRADE - United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Herve Ladsous stated on Monday that Serbian soldiers and police officers participating in international peacekeeping missions are well-known for their expertise and the UN needs that kind of competence, and Serbian Minister of Foreign Affairs Ivica Dacic noted that Serbia wishes to provide an even greater contribution

Turkey’s EU accession bid has not progressed properly, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said during an address to Chatham House

European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso argued Monday that Britain is better in the European Union and warned that alienating its allies would be a "historic mistake", as pressure mounts from British eurosceptics before elections.

BELGRADE - Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic said during a meeting with United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Herve Ladsous in Belgrade on Monday that Serbia stood ready to increase its contributions to UN peacekeeping operations.

Nigeria - Africa's most populous country - was declared Ebola-free on Monday as European Union foreign ministers thrashed out measures to help halt the spread of the deadly disease.

A review of the European banking sector due to be released on Oct. 26 should bring clarity on Greece's funding needs, the head of the monetary union's bailout fund said on Monday.

Klaus Regling, head of the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), also said the euro zone should keep the funds it is allocating for crisis resolution for future use rather than invest them in the economy now.

The Hungarian Democratic Union of Romania's (UDMR) candidate in the Nov. 2-16 presidential elections, Kelemen Hunor said on Monday Romania's partnership with the United States and the European Union must be enhanced and there is no need of any other security solution for Romania.

The UDMR leader also pointed out that freedom never came from Russia.

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Kurds fighting Islamic State (IS) in the Syrian town of Kobane have received US weapons and medical aid, the Pentagon says.

The move comes against the backdrop of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's declarations over the weekend that Ankara would not allow Washington to supply the Kurds with arms.

Ties with Moscow "won't slow down EU integration"

BELGRADE -- The discrepancy between the foreign policies of Serbia and the EU will not slow down the EU integration process and opening of the first chapters.

This is according to Tanja Miščević, head of Serbia's negotiating team in the EU accession talks.