German Lutherans

BELGRADE - Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic will receive European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Belgrade on Tuesday.

After a welcome for von der Leyen at the Nikola Tesla Airport, scheduled for 1.15 pm, Vucic and the EC president will hold a tete-a-tete meeting at the Palace of Serbia, the presidential press office announced in a statement.

BRUSSELS - European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will be in Belgrade on Tuesday as part of a four-day visit to the Western Balkans, where she will present the details of an EU growth plan for the region, the EC announced on Friday.

She will arrive in Belgrade on Tuesday afternoon and meet with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and PM Ana Brnabic.

President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said at a press briefing in Brussels on Tuesday that the Pylos shipwreck that claimed the lives of hundreds of migrants was "horrible".

At the briefing and on social media, von der Leyen announced a 15-billion-euro package for the economic strengthening of European partners in migration and external border protection.

The European Commission wants to assist the Greek authorities in the official investigation into the causes of the Tempe railway disaster and in coming up with a railways framework that will be safer and more attractive to citizens, a government minister has said.

Public opinion plays a role in democracies. The extent to which polls influence the political decision-making process is a matter of dispute among experts. This applies to domestic politics, and also to foreign policy making. A majority of Greeks have a negative opinion of Germany. This is confirmed by several recent polls.

The long-awaited visit of Foreign Minister Analena Berbock (of the Greens) may have been canceled due to covid, but the line-up of top German politicians in Greece is no way over. On Friday, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's visited Thessaloniki for a "Balkan dinner".

Angela Merkel defended her approach to Ukraine and Russia during her 16 years as Germany's leader, saying Tuesday that a much criticized 2015 peace deal for eastern Ukraine bought Kiev precious time and she won't apologize for her diplomatic efforts.

Angela Merkel's reputation has been damaged in Germany in recent weeks, writes the Telegraph. "After the invasion of Ukraine, former ministers who served in her tenure, in turn, renounce its foreign policy," the paper writes.
"I never thought in my life that we would enter into such a crisis with Russia," said Wolfgang Schuble, a former finance minister during Merkel's term.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Dec. 10 headed to Paris and EU and NATO headquarters, with Russia tensions and climate in the spotlight for his first foreign trip since he took office this week.

Olaf Scholz became Germany's ninth post-World War II chancellor on Dec. 8, opening a new era for the European Union's most populous nation and largest economy after Angela Merkel's 16-year tenure.