BELGRADE, Feb. 5, 2012 (BETA) - Late on Feb. 5, the Serbian government called a national state of emergency because of heavy snow and extremely low temperatures.

The State Team for Emergency Situations said that the state of emergency could remain in effect for the next seven to ten days considering the sheer amount of snow that had fallen and expectations of even more to come.

In Serbia, nine people have frozen to death in the big freeze, while one pers..

BELGRADE, Feb. 2, 2012 (BETA) - Vincent Degert, the head of the European Union Delegation to Serbia, said on Feb. 2 that he expected Serbia to be granted EU candidate status in the next few weeks.

In a statement to journalists in the Serbian Parliament, Degert said that Serbia had to work quickly and decisively on meeting the conditions of the European Council in order to gain candidate status in March.

He said that the European Council had set three clea..

NEW YORK, Feb. 1, 2012 (Beta) - The tense situation in northern Kosovo is greatly affecting the dialog between Belgrade and Pristina, and the talks on the region's European prospects, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said in the Feb. 1 report on the situation in Kosovo.

In the report, which BETA had access to, Ban Ki-moon expressed satisfaction because of the resumption of the dialog between Belgrade and Pristina and the reached ag..

BELGRADE, Jan. 31, 2012 (Beta) - Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic stated on Jan. 31 his conviction that the economic crisis in Europe would not undermine Serbia's strategic determination to proceed towards EU entry or impact ongoing reforms.

Opening an informal ministerial meeting of the Southeast European Cooperation Process, Jeremic said that the economic crisis, the epicenter of which was in Europe, would unavoidably affect the future..

BELGRADE, Jan. 30, 2012 (BETA) - Some municipalities in Serbia are cut off and unreachable due to the bitter cold, with temperatures in some areas dropping below minus 20 degrees Celsius, and the cold has claimed its first victims.

Serbian Emergency Situation Sector head Predrag Maric said a search was in progress for two elderly people on Mt Suvobor, presumed to have died in big snow drifts, but that it was advancing with difficulty.

Since Christmas acco..