Southeastern Europe

The Foreign Ministry has said it "warmly welcomes the decision of the European Council to start the accession negotiations of Bosnia and Herzegovina with the European Union."

The European Commission is set to recommend that the EU open accession talks with Bosnia and Herzegovina, despite lingering ethnic divisions in the Western Balkan country. At the same time, US Special Representative to the Western Balkans Gabriel Escobar is also in the region.

On the eve of the summit, Vui assessed that connecting economies, removing obstacles and progressing towards a single market are "big goals that lead to the essential development" of Serbia and the region and a better future for all citizens.

TIRANA - Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Thursday Serbia would double its GDP to 140 or 150 bln euros over the next ten years.

TIRANA - Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said in Tirana on Wednesday evening he had ordered the army to restock its ammunition reserves to 100 pct from the present 62 pct and that Serbia needed to assess its position regarding joint ammunition production by Western Balkan countries and Ukraine.

SKOPJE - In an 11-point joint statement adopted on Monday at a Skopje summit titled The Growth Plan: Western Balkans Meets EU, Western Balkan leaders underscore the "paramount significance of cooperation within the region" and note that an EU Growth Plan represents a "new opportunity to promote the economic and social convergence of our region with the European Union."

Leaders of the six Western Balkan countries, including Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia, met on Monday in Skopje, North Macedonia to discuss reforms needed to access the European Union growth plan presented last October.

DAVOS - Since 2012-2013, Serbia has succeeded in more than doubling its total GDP from 32 bln euros to almost 69 bln euros, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said at a World Economic Forum (WEF) discussion panel in Davos on Thursday.

Vucic noted that the IMF had projected Serbia's GDP to grow 3.5 pct in 2024 but that he believed the growth rate would reach 3.6 pct.

The situation in some parts of the Western Balkans is volatile and problematic in the rest.

BRUSSELS - The European Council on Friday released a package of conclusions adopted at the December 14-15 Brussels summit, in which it reaffirmed "its full and unequivocal commitment to the EU membership perspective of the Western Balkans", calling for acceleration of the region's accession process.