Confederations

BRUSSELS - In its annual report on Serbia, the European Commission says the country has made progress on judicial and media reforms and on aligning with the EU foreign policy, diplomatic sources have told Tanjug.

The report commends two recently adopted media strategy laws - the Law on Public Information and the Media and the Law on Electronic Media, the sources said.

Greece and China signed a new bilateral aviation agreement in the context of the visit by Greek Transport and Infrastructure Minister Christos Staikouras to Beijing on Friday.

The new agreement, which is fully compatible with European Union legislation and the horizontal agreement between the EU and China, provides for the multiple appointment of air companies by each side.

"The European Commission has been notified of the recently taken measure by Bulgaria regarding gas supplies.

TIRANA - Serbian PM Ana Brnabic said in Tirana on Monday Serbia supported the concept of establishing a common regional market in the Western Balkans.

The government will submit its revised plan for funding from the European Union's Recovery Fund on Thursday.

The revised plan would ditch some approved projects budgeted at €800 million deemed unnecessary or difficult to implement and replace them with others. The government aims to absorb all available EU funds by August 2026.

A special clause in the countries' accession treaties to the European Union can ensure that they cannot block other applicants immediately after entry.

This was stated by the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, at the Strategic Forum in Bled, which gathered heads of state and government from the Western Balkans and other countries, including Bulgaria and Greece.

The European Union wants to sign contracts this year for up to 12 firefighting planes, the first it would fully own, to improve its ability to fight blazes fuelled by climate change, the bloc's head of crisis management said.

A resolution by members of the European Parliament has called on member-states to implement a radical change in search and rescue policies in the Mediterranean with priority given to preventive action so that no human lives are lost.

King Felipe VI of Spain (C) poses for a group photo with Spanish PM Pedro Sanchez (C-L), European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen (C-R), and other attendees at a reception after the meeting of the College of EU Commissioners in Madrid, Spain, 03 July 2023. EPA-EFE/Kiko Huesca Spanish agenda: low expectations, low disappointments

BELGRADE - Serbian y-o-y inflation was higher compared to the EU in April-May and also lower compared to two EU member states in April and lower than in one EU member state in May, according to the latest issue of the MAT economic monthly, a publication of the Belgrade Institute of Economics and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia.