Progressive Party

Videos possibly leaked by the police of Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic meeting an alleged gangster have prompted fresh calls for oversight of the security sector to be improved.

Control over the police and security services must be enhanced to avoid misuse by these institutions, MP say.

Serbia's former president, Boris Tadic, has told BIRN that reports that he and his former associates were behind the publication of the video of Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic meeting a drugs gangster were an "insinuation"."If someone accuses me directly of the publication of videos, I will press charges against him immediately," he said.On Tuesday, however, Dacic publicly accused Tadic of being

After privatization of the state-owned media in Serbia started last week, the opposition Democratic Party has accused the ruling Progressive Party of trying to buy up some media outlets, hiding behind "front" companies to do so.

The Serbian parliament on Monday discussed the government's legislative proposal for public sector employment which envisages that around 9,000 people will be laid off by the end of 2015, most of them in the education, justice and healthcare sectors.

Nenad Canak and Aleksandar Vucic at Serbian government | Photo by Beta

Serbian Prime Minister and ruling Progressive Party leader Aleksandar Vucic met leading Vojvodina politician Nenad Canak on June 24 in what analysts say is a move designed to seek new political allies in the opposition-run province.

Following Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic's recent visit to Washington, a source close to his ruling Progressive Party told BIRN that the US has set several conditions for Belgrade to fulfil in order to ensure investments in Serbia and Washington's support for its EU integration.

The Serbian Socialist Party's steering committee should be held in mid-June, when it will then choose a deputy leader for the party, four vice-presidents and the head of the executive board.

The latest survey suggests the party and its coalition allies enjoy the support of up to 15 per cent of the voters, which makes them the second strongest political force in Serbia.

Serbia's Anti-Corruption Agency is investigating whether Bratislav Gasic, the Defence Minister and vice president of ruling Progressive Party, broke any laws by awarding contracts to companies connected to his family when he was mayor of the town of Krusevac.

Ahead of a rally in Belgrade scheduled for Saturday, Bojan Pajtic, the head of the opposition Democratic Party, said the "poor condition" of the country meant snap elections are necessary.

"Between 2000 and 2012, Serbia's debt was by 1.5 billion euros. Under three years of Vucic [Aleksandar Vucic, Prime Minister], the debt has increased by 10 billion," he claimed.

Serbian police on Wednesday published documents about the suicide of a friend of Sasa Jankovic, Serbian ombudsman, which occurred in Jankovic's own apartment and with Jankovic's gun in 1993.

The documents show traces of gunpowder were found on Jankovic hands.

The ballistics expert's report noted that there is no way to determine how the gunpowder ended up on Jankovic's hands.