November 6, 2009

The EU Council of Ministers may decide soon to implement visa liberalization for Serbian, Montenegrin and Macedonian citizens as of 19 December this year. More on this and other topics in the PRESS REVIEW, prepared by Olivera Milovanović.

Official Ljubljana’s proposition was unanimously accepted at a meeting of the Working Group for Visas of the EU Council and the European Parliament is expected to confirm it on November 11 and the Foreign Minister’s Council on 1 December or even before, writes DANAS. Director of the European Integrantions Office and Deputy PM Božidar Đelić says this decision will facilitate Serbian citizens’ plans to celebrate New Year abroad. Speaking of Slovenia’s initiative, Slovenian Charge d’Affairs in Belgrade Jadranka Šturm-Kocjan described that as another sign of friendship and alliance with Serbia. During Slovenia’s EU presidency, the Stabilization and Association Agreement was signed and with this act now we are trying to help Serbia progress towards full-fledged EU membership as soon as possible. Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic said in Brussels,  after talks with European Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn, he had informed the European Commission of Belgrade’s intention to apply for EU membership by the end of the year, DANAS reports.
The Serbian government successfully ended talks with the IMF, but there is much yet to be done, writes BLIC. NBS Governor Radovan Jelašić remarked the crisis was not over yet. In the third quarter of this year, there was a growth of industrial production, but it will take time for us to reach last year’s level, in terms of incomes and loan terms. The final budget version and a pension system reform programme should be completed by February 2010, for the next IMF visit.
 POLITIKA reports the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts has admitted 26 full-time, 26 part-time and 13 foreign members. Election to full-time membership required a minimum of 39 votes, while part-time one required 65 votes. New members include Đorđe Šijački, Stevan Pilipović, Vidojko Jović, Stevo Todorčević, Dušan Kovačević, Svetlana Velmar-Janković, Borislav Jovanović, etc. All the foreign candidates have been elected, including  Ivan Božović, Ivan Čarota, Wyatt Anderson, Zoran S. Petrović, Tomas Fleiner, Panayotis Haritos, Waclawv Klaus, Toshiaki Makabe  etc., writes POLITIKA.