Dora Bakoyannis

SJENICA - Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Friday Council of Europe (CoE) rapporteur Dora Bakoyannis, who recently recommended that the so-called Kosovo be admitted to the organisation, had not even fulfilled the fundamental obligation to speak with Belgrade before a Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) session, and noted that what she had done was a "disgrace."

STRASBOURG - The head of the Serbian delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) Biljana Pantic Pilja said on Tuesday evening the body had made a "disgraceful decision" by adopting a recommendation to grant CoE membership to the so-called Kosovo, trampling all norms of international law.

ATHENS - Quoting unnamed diplomatic sources, the Greek news agency ANA reports that Greece's position on Serbia and the so-called Kosovo remains completely unchanged.

"There has been no change of attitude, nor do we intend for there to be a change of attitude," the sources were quoted as saying.

BELGRADE - The head of Serbia's standing parliamentary delegation to the Council of Europe (CoE) Parliamentary Assembly Biljana Pantic-Pilja said on Friday CoE rapporteur Dora Bakoyannis had recommended that the so-called Kosovo be admitted the organisation, and added that its Committee on Political Affairs would decide on this at an extraordinary session scheduled for March 25.

The condemnation of populism was one of the main conclusions of the recent conference on the 50-year anniversary of the "Metapolistefsi" (the period since the restoration of democracy) co-organized by Kathimerini. The issue came to the fore in the debate on foreign policy.

One of the areas where Greece made some of its greatest strides during the past 50 years has been in foreign policy, the second day of the "50 Years of the Metapolitefsi" conference heard on Friday.

ROME - The EU special envoy for the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue Miroslav Lajcak held a series of meetings with Italian officials in Rome on Thursday to discuss the latest developments in the dialogue, wider regional issues and next steps in the coming months.

Outgoing Athens Mayor Kostas Bakoyannis has defended his track record in local government, underscoring his commitment to serving the best interests of the Greek capital in his new role as the head of the municipal opposition.

A draft bill to be submitted to Parliament in the coming months will extend equal marriage and adoption rights to same-sex couples, Kathimerini understands.

The winner of Sunday's Greek elections will likely be Kyriakos Mitsotakis - but just as important for the future of Greek democracy is who loses, as the country risks being left without a real opposition.