Kosovo

EC approves proposal to sign SAA with Kosovo

PRISTINA -- Head of the EU Office in Kosovo Samuel Zbogar says the adoption of the proposal to sign the SAA "is an important step in EU-Kosovo relations."

BELGRADE - The President of the Czech Republic Milos Zeman has said that he does not believe that Serbia needs to recognise the unilaterally declared independence of Kosovo to become a full member of the European Union.

PM "doesn't know what to expect" from platform

BELGRADE -- Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic on Thursday said he "does not what he can expect" from President Tomislav Nikolic's announced Kosovo platform.

Nikolic said this week that he would send a draft of the platform to Vucic and the government after the upcoming May 1 Labor Day holiday.

Kosovo residents "dissatisfied with institutions, media"

PRISTINA -- Most citizens in Kosovo "are disgruntled with the work of Kosovo's key executive, legislative and judicial institutions," Tanjug is quoting a UNDP-USAID poll.

PRISTINA - A majority of Kosovo citizens are disgruntled with the work of Kosovo's key executive, legislative and judicial institutions, they have lost trust in media freedom, and youth unemployment is the biggest problem, shows a survey carried out by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).

An Albanian minister said the budget may have to be revised to take account of lower than expected revenues.

Lower prices for key export commodities such as petroleum and minerals reduced growth in revenues during the first three months of 2015, the Deputy Finance Minister, Irena Beqiraj, said on Wednesday.

BELGRADE - No one is setting the recognition of Serbia's southern province as a condition for the EU membership, but everything depends on the Kosovo issue, Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic has said.

Kosovo platform "after May holidays" - Nikolic

BELGRADE -- Tomislav Nikolic says Kosovo is crucial "although recognizing its southern province as independent has not been set as a condition for Serbia's EU membership."

Czech president refers to Thaci as "war criminal"

BELGRADE -- Czech President Milos Zeman says that he personally does not recognize Kosovo as independent and therefore is not sending an ambassador to Pristina.

Germany's Foreign Minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, said that the creation of a special court on war crimes committed by the Kosovo Liberation Army, KLA, during the conflict of the 1990s is an essential tool for Kosovo to deal with unresolved issues from the past.