Serbia

2023 - 1 - 26

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Image courtesy of "European Council on Foreign Relations"

How to kill four birds with one stone: The West's foreign policy ... (European Council on Foreign Relations)

EU and US policymakers have it within their gift to change the dynamic in their relations with Serbia. Taking on Western Balkans kleptocracy lies at its ...

All this could be part of a new EU and US approach to the region, if the key Western powers were indeed keen to adopt a longer-term framework for action and invest greater political capital. The history of post-Dayton Bosnia is full of examples that attest to the tight link between crime and nationalist politics. [80 per cent](https://www.serbianmonitor.com/en/demostat-survey-80-of-people-in-serbia-against-sanctions-imposed-to-russia/) of Serbia’s population oppose sanctions on Russia – in part thanks to the media he controls constantly putting out pro-Russian messaging. [Serbia](https://www.ispionline.it/en/pubblicazione/much-more-captured-state-top-serbian-institutions-scandals-31687) or beyond its borders in [northern Kosovo](https://www.slobodnaevropa.org/a/sever-kosova-kriminal-sankcije/31606958.html), Bosnia, and Montenegro. Playing on this could be one of the keys to changing the dynamic of the relationship. Indeed, as the charts below show, Serbia is predominantly integrated into Western economic structures, conducting most of its trade with the EU, and receiving considerable foreign direct investment from the bloc. Theoretically, the EU and the US could approach this differently, applying dual tactics towards Serbia – engagement and cold shoulder. [in attendance](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4-7eUfKatg) at Serbia’s largest military exercises, which showcase Serbia’s military ability to defend “our country and our people”. He has built up an image of the West as an enemy and In short, Vucic’s confidence that he can continue on his current course stems from the West’s consistent failure to develop and exercise the potential leverage it has. China’s influence in Serbia [has grown](https://cepa.org/comprehensive-reports/chinese-influence-in-serbia/) rather than diminished, whether measured by [investment](https://www.serbianmonitor.com/en/china-the-biggest-foreign-investor-in-serbia-this-year/), Chinese presence in the country’s critical infrastructure, or [political and cultural ties](https://ecfr.eu/special/china-balkans/). Part of this is understandable: power in Serbia is concentrated with Vucic, who has accrued considerable control to himself.

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Image courtesy of "Radio Free Europe/ Radio Liberty"

Workers At Chinese-Serbian Copper Mine Block Roads To Press ... (Radio Free Europe/ Radio Liberty)

Hundreds of workers at a joint Chinese-Serbian copper mine in Bor, in eastern Serbia, blocked access to the facility on January 26 to protest for higher ...

Russian and Belarusian athletes will be allowed to participate in this year's Asian Games despite Russia's war in Ukraine, the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) said on January 26. To read the original story by Current Time, [click here](https://www.currenttime.tv/a/genprokuratura-priznala-nezhelatelnoy-deyatelnost-v-rossii-kompanii-medusa-project/32240766.html). To read the original story by RFE/RL's Kazakh Service, The court said later in the day that it will address the request on February 8. The visit aims to send a message to Moscow amid Western fears that Russia may still want to launch an attack on the city to deprive Ukraine of its key maritime outlet for grain products. To read the original story by Current Time, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on January 26 it was "meaningless" to hold a trilateral meeting with Sweden and Finland to discuss their NATO bids after anti-Turkish protests this month in Stockholm. "Half of Afghanistan endures severe hunger throughout the year, regardless of the season, and malnutrition rates are at a record high for Afghanistan," said Phillipe Kropf, a spokesman for the UN food agency in Kabul. [explained](https://t.me/genprocrf/24142414) its January 26 decision by saying the Russian-language media outlet's "activities pose a threat to the basis of the Russian Federation's constitutional order and security." All the premises were provided to the Sakharov Center free of charge. The International Olympic Committee indicated on January 25 that it favors officially neutral teams from Russia and its ally Belarus at the 2024 Olympics despite a plea from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to exclude them entirely. Anyone can walk by foot and get to work," Dragan Elek, from the smelters trade union organization, told RFE/RL.

Serbia: toxic substances and dangerous railways (Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso)

Little or nothing is known about the impact and responsibility of 20 tonnes of ammonia leaking from a tank on a freight train in southeast Serbia, ...

Furthermore, the documents that BIRN has obtained show that, in the event of a leak of dangerous substances in the tunnel, the fire and first aid teams would not be able to intervene. Engineer Dragutin Ignjatovic, director of the CIP Transport Institute, told BIRN that if an explosion were to occur in the Vracar tunnel, "half of Belgrade would blow up". In the first days after the train derailment, the population of the Pirot area was asked not to use water from the wells. It is clear to everyone that the railways are in a catastrophic condition. Was the transport of the dangerous cargo carried out in accordance with the law? The minister then explained that, on the basis of an agreement signed in 2018, a tender for the reconstruction of the Nis-Dimitrovgrad railway section was called in March 2022 and that the works should start this year. What emerged from the investigations into the causes of death of the two men who died as a result of the accident? The mayor of Pirot explained that, according to experts, that was the safest way to deal with the environmental accident. According to the estimates of this company, which produces phosphoric acids and complex mineral fertilisers, on the day of the accident, about twenty tonnes of ammonia leaked from one of the derailed wagons. According to media reports, there are two victims: the driver of a truck, of Turkish nationality, who died after going off-road due to inhaling toxic fumes, and a man who died in hospital from asphyxiation. In mid-January, the state of emergency was lifted in the territory of Pirot, in southeastern Serbia, introduced on 25 December 2022 due to the ammonia leak from a derailed freight train. On the railway section, which has been in poor condition for some time, where the accident occurred, the freight trains were forced to reduce speed to 30 km/h.

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