Southeastern Europe

BELGRADE, - Serbian Minister of Economy Zeljko Sertic said Wednesday in the talks with a delegation of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that the Serbian government's priorities are to develop the real and private sector and introduce order into public enterprises.

BELGRADE - German Nobel Prize-winning author Guenter Grass has said that today he would be against the 1999 bombing, noting that one should have guessed that the campaign would be led by the U.S. and that it would not end in Kosovo, but expand throughout Serbia.

KOSOVSKA MITROVICA - EULEX stated in a release on Wednesday that an international judge rejected as ungrounded the defense motion to dismiss the indictment filed with the Basic Court in Mitrovica against the leader of the Citizens' Initiative "Freedom, Democracy, Justice" (GI SDP) and four more Serbs.

BELGRADE - Serbian Minister of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure Zorana Mihajlovic proposed on Wednesday a full liberalization of goods transport to the Russian Federation.

BELGRADE - The Polish embassy in Belgrade hosted a reception on Wednesday to mark the country's Independence Day, which commemorates the re-establishment of Poland's statehood on November 11, 1918.

Prior to World War II, Independence Day was only celebrated two times, in 1937 and 1938. It was abolished during Communist rule, becoming an official holiday again in 1989.

Albania limits import of Serbian pharmaceutical products

BELGRADE -- Serbian Economy Minister Željko Sertić says Albania in September passed a law limiting imports of drugs and medications of all types produced in Serbia.

This move ignores all protocols and agreements signed between the two countries, he added.

BELGRADE - Serbian Economy Minister Zeljko Sertic said Wednesday that Albania had passed a law at the beginning of September limiting imports of drugs and medications of all types from Serbia into Albania, a move ignoring all protocols and agreements signed between the two countries.

BELGRADE - Serbian Defence Minister Bratislav Gasic conferred in Minsk with Belarus Defence Minister Yuri Viktorovich Zhadobin, when they agreed that the two countries' overall political relations are excellent and are marked by no open issues, the Serbian Defence Ministry released.

Serbia now has 100 registered political parties

BELGRADE -- Serbia has recently received its 100th registered political party - more than any individual EU member-state has.

Not only that, but Serbia has more parties than India, a country whose population is about 170 times larger.

The Ministry of Tourism has rejected allegations about a fine of BGN 160 000 by the European Commission over the project for the creation of a new brand for Bulgaria as a tourist destination.

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