The Serbian capital, Belgrade, has received emergency supplies of natural gas from Hungary and Germany to help it cope with its dependence on Russian gas, which has been cut off for several days.
The gas crisis between Russia and Ukraine is hitting Southeastern Europe hard. Many are already losing heating in their homes as governments say they possess only limited energy reserves, or none at all. Everyone feels helpless.
In a bid to bypass attempts by Russia and Ukraine to blame each other for the worsening gas shortages in Europe, the EU has offered to send in its own observers to supervise the pipeline system responsible for European deliveries. Brussels has refused to take sides in the dispute, saying it is up to Moscow and Kyiv to resolve it bilaterally. At the same time, a protracted cold spell is aggravating the effects of gas-delivery shortages in many EU member states.
Just a glance at the titles of some of the main newspapers in the Balkans is enough to demonstrate why these countries remain divided even as they search for their true identities.
As part of our look back at 2008, we asked broadcasters, editors, and correspondents representing the 20 countries and 28 languages in which RFE/RL broadcasts to vote on what they thought were the top news events of the year. With a few exceptions, their choices reflect challenges that will only get tougher in 2009.
Serbia will apply for European Union membership by mid-2009, even if its preaccession pact with the bloc does not kick off, Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic has said.
Past and present are deeply intertwined in the Balkans. But in 2008, the region appeared to look in a new direction -- the future. With independence in Kosovo and the arrest of Radovan Karadzic, the region seemed ready to shrug off the weight of history. But is it?
Serbia has arrested 10 former Kosovar guerrilla fighters suspected of involvement in killings and abductions in the rebellious Serbian province of Kosovo in 1999, the office of the war crimes prosecutor said.
Russia and Serbia have signed a deal on the sale of a 51-percent stake in Serbian oil monopoly NIS to Russian gas giant Gazprom.
Leaders of Bosnia's biggest Muslim, Croat, and Serb parties have called for parliament to begin revising the constitution, a key condition for joining the European Union.
The European Union police force in Kosovo (EULEX) is working to get Serbian police to return to their posts within the Kosovar police force, RFE/RL's South Slavic and Albanian Languages Service reports.
It might seem that 1,000 people signing up to a call for hatred on a social-networking website isn't that many, especially considering the torrent of hate propaganda that people in Serbia are exposed to. After all, every country has racist haters. The key in Serbia is how the authorities are reacting and will react.
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