To support photosynthesis, Serbian workers cut out holes in frozen lake

A team of public employees on Thursday undertook the laborious task of cutting holes in thick ice covering a lake in Serbia to help wildlife benefit from the sun's rays, as seen in images supplied by an epa photographer on site.

La vague de froid en Europe a fait plus de 60 morts

La vague de froid en Europe continue d'être meurtrière, avec sept nouvelles victimes dans les Balkans, six en Pologne, et autant depuis jeudi en Roumanie, portant le bilan total à près de 60 morts.

Blizzards, icy weather grip parts of Europe

Blizzards swept parts of eastern Europe on Friday, closing roads and causing traffic accidents, travel delays and leading to medical evacuations.

State of Emergency Declared in 15 Flooded Serbian Municipalities

The government's press office said a state of emergency has been declared on Tuesday for 15 municipalities because of flood-related damages.

EU Commission's Stance on South Stream in Serbia Still Unknown

The position of the new team of European Commissioners on the construction of the Serbian section of the Russia-led South Stream gas pipeline is not clear yet though preparations for the project are underway, the Russian president's top aide, Yury Ushakov, told journalists Wednesday.
"Preparations for the construction of the Serbian section are well underway. I expect them [European Commissioners] to mention it. It has been made clear to Serbia that it will find next to impossible to implement this project without a go-ahead from Brussels, although [Serbia] is more than ready. It is of great interest to them," the presidential aide said.

China-built Danube bridge in Serbia to be up and running on time

The bridge spanning the Danube river, which is being built by a Chinese company in Belgrade, capital of Serbia, was to be completed in December as expected, Serbian deputy Prime Minister Zorana Mihajlovic said on Tuesday.

Mihajlovic said that the 1.5-km-long bridge will be open for traffic in December 2014, while in October 2015 the whole project including 21 km of access roads will be completed.

Chinese-built bridge in Serbia to open this year

The Bridge over the Danube in Serbian capital, Belgrade, built by Chinese company CRBC would be open in December this year, Serbian Minister of Infrastructure Zorana Mihajlovic announced after inspecting the work progress with the Chinese ambassador to Serbia Li Manchang on Wednesday.

Li Manchang and Zorana Mihajlovic toured the building site on Wednesday to determine that works at the popularly called Chinese bridge that ought to connect Belgrade's municipalities of Zemun and Borca are going just as planned.

“Greek Seas” exhibition opens in Belgrade

BELGRADE -- A photo exhibition originally staged by Athens’ Benaki Museum, “Greek Seas - A Photographic Journey Through Time”, has been opened in Belgrade...

The event is hosted at the hall of the National Bank of Serbia (NBS).

The exhibition is a cultural event marking the end of Greece's EU presidency and was opened by Greek Ambassador to Serbia Constantine Economides late on Wednesday.

Economides said that the reason why photographs of the sea had been chosen to represent Greece was because naval policy had been a key priority for the country during its EU presidency.

Έτινγκερ: Να αναθεωρήσει η Σερβία το συμβόλαιό της με τη Gazprom

Εάν η Σερβία θέλει να αποφύγει τυχόν μελλοντικό "πάγωμα" των επικείμενων ενταξιακών της διαπραγματεύσεων με την Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση, τότε πρέπει να αναθεωρήσει το συμβόλαιό της με τη Gazprom και τον South Stream, διεμήνυσε ο Ευρωπαίος Επίτροπος, αρμόδιος για την ενέργεια, Γκίντερ Έτινγκερ, μιλώντας χτες στις Βρυξέλλες σε forum για την ενεργειακή πολιτικής της ΕΕ.

«Οι ενταξιακές διαπραγματεύσεις της Σερβίας με την Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση, που αναμένεται να ξεκινήσουν περίπου την ίδια περίοδο μ’ αυτές μεταξύ ΕΕ και Ρωσίας για τα αναθεωρημένα συμβόλαια, είναι δύο διασυνδεόμενες, παράλληλες διαδικασίες» υπογράμμισε ο Επίτροπος.

Granting national significance status to South Stream in Serbia highly important

The Gazprom headquarters hosted today a working meeting between Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Company's Management Committee and Dusan Bajatovic, Director General of state-owned Srbijagas. 

The parties discussed the issues of bilateral cooperation in the energy sector and long-term natural gas supplies.

The meeting paid special attention to the progress with South Stream and underlined the importance of granting the national significance status to the project in Serbia.

Is South Stream too hard to handle for Gazprom?

The South Stream pipeline will be built via Bulgaria, ending in the north of Italy. The Russian gas giant has managed to obtain the consent of all the countries, through the territories of which the pipeline is going to be built. The construction may begin as early as in December of this year. Experts point out that the financial requirements of the project may undermine Gazprom's financial situation.

Bulgaria was the last to join the project. Last week, the head of Gazprom, Alexey Miller, and Bulgarian Energy Holding CEO, Michael Andonov, in the presence of Prime Minister Boyko Borisov, signed the final investment agreement. The document has approved the construction of the Bulgarian section of South Stream gas pipeline.

Ντόμπρεφ: Στα τέλη του 2013 η διασύνδεση φυσικού αερίου Βουλγαρίας-Ελλάδας

Ο υπουργός Ενέργειας της Βουλγαρίας, Ντελιάν Ντόμπρεφ, δήλωσε ότι η κυβέρνηση θα επισπεύσει τις προσπάθειές της για την διασύνδεση φυσικού αερίου με τις γειτονικές χώρες, ελπίζοντας ότι τα έργα σύνδεσης με την Ελλάδα και την Τουρκία θα ολοκληρωθούν μέσα στο 2013.

Την Κυριακή, η διαχειρίστρια του βουλγαρικού δικτύου, Bulgartransgaz, παρουσίασε σχέδιο ανάπτυξης με βάση το οποίο αναμένει ένα έτος καθυστέρηση στα συγκεκριμένα έργα, αλλά ο υπουργός θεωρεί ότι αυτή είναι μια μάλλον συντηρητική εκτίμηση: