Liberal democracies

Greece believes Serbia deserves to join the European family, and see the wrongs inflicted to it by the EU for years redressed.

Speaker of the Greek Parliament Nikos Voutsis said this on Monday in Belgrade.

Thousands of companies in Bulgaria that exist only on paper appear to have been launched by Greeks in recent years for tax-evasion purposes, as a survey by the University of Bristol has shown that of the 14,000 Greek-owned enterprises in the neighboring country only 3,000 are actually active.

BELGRADE - Serbian Minister of Culture and Information Vladan Vukosavljevic said Wednesday he was not aware of any Croatian reservations about culture in terms of Chapter 26 (education, culture and sport) in Serbia's EU accession talks.

"As far as we know, Croatia has no reservations about culture," Vukosavljevic told a press conference at the Ministry of Culture and Information.

Croatia should "eat humble pie and be quiet" when it comes to ethnic and religious minorities and their treatment, the Serbian president has said.

Protest posters were plastered on Belgrade supermarkets run by a Croatian company on Tuesday morning after media reported that Zagreb had blocked the opening of the latest negotiating chapter in Serbia's EU accession talks and Serbian premier Vucic ended his visit to Brussels early.

BELGRADE - Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic has said he had been shocked by Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic's public apology for giving Serbian-made chocolate bars to a group of children in Dubrovnik earlier this week.

All this indicates that Croatia does not want good relations with Serbia, Nikolic told the Kurir daily.

Photo: NATO.int

BELGRADE - Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic has said he had been shocked by Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic's public apology for giving Serbian-made chocolate bars to a group of children in Dubrovnik earlier this week.

All this indicates that Croatia does not want good relations with Serbia, Nikolic told the Kurir daily.

Greece, Cyprus and Israel signed a memorandum of cooperation in research and development in Jerusalem Thursday in a bid to strengthen trilateral ties. The formation of a regional emergency force was also discussed.

Greece, Israel and Cyprus were set to forge closer ties in the fields of energy and civil protection, among others, following agreements signed during a tripartite summit of the countries' leaders in Jerusalem on Thursday.

Those who believe in the idea of a united Europe, the so-called pro-Europeans, were left with mixed feelings following the results of a referendum in Italy and a repeat presidential election in Austria. While the "No" victory was expected in Italy, few could imagine such a big difference between the two camps.