Balkan countries

BELGRADE - The head of the Serbian government Office for Kosovo-Metohija Petar Petkovic on Monday received former investigative judge Danica Marinkovic, who carried out a crime scene investigation following the January 15, 1999, armed clashes in Racak, Kosovo-Metohija.

BELGRADE - Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said at the weekend he expected the new Serbian government to be formed in March and announced that he would this week unveil the greatest-ever development programme for Serbia that would be similar to the post-WWII Marshall Plan.

European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson said in Athens on Monday that Europe's productive population is decreasing by one million every year. The problem is even greater in Greece. Firstly, there is the negative birth and death ratio, signaling an annual population decrease of approximately 50,000 individuals - totaling 1,250,000 people by 2050.

BELGRADE - Serbia took over the one-year Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA) presidency from Montenegro on Monday, and its Minister of Internal and External Trade Tomislav Momirovic expects to see Pristina's ban on Serbian goods end in 2024.

BELGRADE - The head of the Serbian government Office for Kosovo-Metohija Petar Petkovic said on Thursday Pristina's usurpation of the Rajska banja spa complex near Zvecan was a sheer robbery of private property owned by the Serbian Orthodox Church.

BELGRADE - Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina are the two main CEFTA member states and their bilateral trade volume totalled 3.2 bln euros last year, Serbian Minister of Internal and External Trade Tomislav Momirovic said after a meeting with his Bosnian and Herzegovinian counterpart Stasa Kosarac on Monday.

BELGRADE - The head of Serbia's national electoral commission Vladimir Dimitrijevic said that, by 6 pm, around 22,000 voters from Kosovo-Metohija had voted at 51 polling stations in the south of central Serbia in Sunday's parliamentary elections.

At a press conference, Dimitrijevic said the voters from Kosovo-Metohija had cast their ballots in Vranje, Raska, Tutin and Kursumlija.

BELGRADE - Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Thursday evening Western powers would not change their positions on the so-called Kosovo's independence or give up on it and that, without a doubt, Serbia will be under pressure over the issue in the future, too.

BELGRADE - Serbia has fulfilled all 40 recommendations issued by the Council of Europe body on fighting financial crime and money laundering, Finance Minister Sinisa Mali said on Wednesday.

Recent Eurostat findings shed light on Bulgarian households' cultural spending, indicating a meager 1.5% expenditure on cultural goods and services in 2020. This figure, trailing only behind Greece's 1.3%, underscores Bulgaria's position with spending notably below the EU average of 2.6%.