Liberal democracies

PRAGUE - Serbia sees a great friend in the Czech Republic - its friendship dates back to the pre-WWII period and, as an EU member, it can provide much assistance to Serbia in its European integration, Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic said in Prague Tuesday.

BELGRADE - Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic will be on an official visit to the Czech Republic on November 29-30.

Nikolic will meet Czech President Milos Zeman, as well as with numerous businesspeople, the government press office said in a statement.

Recent political tensions between Croatia and Russia are not the only factors behind the steady decline in the value of trade between Russia and Croatia, experts say.

Economic analyst Damir Novotny told BIRN that falling trade levels, mostly caused by a fall in imports from Russia, are not "a dramatic issue for Croatia".

NIS - Hungary wants to take part in Serbia's economic rise and it is also interested in investing in southern Serbia, Hungarian PM Viktor Orban said Monday.

NIS - The Serbian government will offer Hungarian investors terms that are the best in the world, PM Aleksandar Vucic said Monday.

37 projects at a total value of EUR 16,910,099 will be implemented under the programme for cross border cooperation with Serbia.

Some Greek entrepreneurs have moved their businesses abroad to survive the austerity measures visited upon them, including a 29% tax rate that Greece was compelled to adopt as part of an international bailout agreement.

NIS - Hungary wants to take part in Serbia's economic rise and it is also interested in investing in southern Serbia, Hungarian PM Viktor Orban said Monday.

Lithuania will host NATO training sessions with the participation of about 4,000 soldiers from 11 countries from the alliance, reported TASS.

Iron Sword training will continue until December 2 and no Bulgarian soldiers will be taking part in it.

Bulgaria has received the award of Russian tourists for best destination for family holidays.

The award is presented by the Russian edition of National Geographic Traveler magazine after a survey among its readers.

Bulgaria ranked ahead of Croatia, Greece, Montenegro and Russia itself. A total of 60 countries took part in the competition.