Belgrade, 11. 03. 2008.

SERBIA

• GOVERNMENT PROPOSES DISBANDING OF PARLIAMENT
• USA CALLS ON SERBIA TO TURN TOWARDS FUTURE
• TALKS ON SERBIA - ROMANIA MILITARY COOPERATION
• INTER-UNIVERSITY COOPERATION BETWEEN SERBIA AND INDONESIA

• KOSTUNICA: BEST REPLY TO EU AFFIRMATION OF INTEGRITY
• FRIENDSHIP SHOULD BE OFFERED TO SERBIA - FRENCH, UK FMS
• RUPEL: EU STILL OFFERING POLITICAL DOCUMENT TO SERBIA
• REHN SAYS SERBIA WILL CHOOSE BETWEEN EU, SELF-ISOLATION
• EU MUST NOT ALLOW ISOLATION OF SERBIA, KALFIN
• BAKOYANNIS: SERBIA NOT TO BE PUNISHED FOR MISTAKES FROM PAST
• HUNGARY URGES SPEEEDING UP OF VISA ABOLISHMENT TALKS
• EU TO BACK DEMOCRATIC FORCES IN SERBIA, CRUCIANELLI
• CONFERENCE ON CROSS-BORDER COOPERATION WITH EU

• RESOLUTION 1244 REMAINS IN EFFECT, BAN
• CHURKIN: JEREMIC TO SPEAK AT SECURITY COUNCIL SESSION
• US, GREAT BRITAIN HINDER CALLING OF SESSION ON KOSMET
• REPUBLIC OF MALI TO RESPECT INTERNATIONAL NORMS
• RECOGNIZING KOSOVO IS NOT CZECK PRIORITY – PRESIDENT
• NEW GOVTS OF SPAIN, CYPRUS WILL NOT RECOGNIZE KOSOVO
• BULGARIA TO DECIDE ON KOSOVO DEPENDING ON DEVELOPMENTS
• EU CONCERNED OVER PARALLEL BETWEEN KOSOVO, ABKHAZIA
• BUSSEK SAYS KOSOVO WILL BE A PROBLEM FOR A LONG TIME
• GRYZLOV: CRISIS CAUSED BY KOSOVO SITUATION

• DE KERMABON: FIRST MEMBERS OF EULEX ALREADY IN KOSOVO
• EULEX MISSION TO COUNT 15 SLOVENIAN POLICE OFFICERS
• ASSELBORN SAYS EU GOAL IS THAT UNMIK LEAVE KOSOVO ON JUNE 14
• KOSOVO POLJE-LESAK TRAIN LINE STILL NOT OPERATIONAL

• STABILITY IMPORTANT FOR SERBIA – FIC
• HELLENIC BUSINESS ASSOCIATION SERBIA NAMES MANAGING BOARD
• THE ECONOMIST: TRADE WITH KOSOVO DROPS 50 PERCENT

BELGRADE, March 10 (Beta) - The government of Serbia on March 10 proposed to the president that he should disband the parliament and schedule snap parliamentary elections for May 11.

At its session, a press release said, the government established the annotated proposal for disbanding the parliament and organizing snap elections for May 11, 2008.

The government no longer has a unified and common policy, which, according to the constitution, makes it unable to perform its basic constitutional function to establish and conduct policies of the state of Serbia, the annotation to the proposal said.

A unified and common policy exists no longer among those caucuses in the parliament which formed and supported the government, the statement said further.

In order to establish operational and stable institutions, the government proposed that the parliament should be dissolved, new elections held on May 11 and a new government elected in accordance with the will of the people, the annotation read.

The government established its proposal at an extraordinary session and justified it by the fact that neither the government nor members of the ruling coalition any longer have a unified policy.

Serbian President Boris Tadic is due to decide on the proposal in the next 72 hours until noon on March 13. By that time, he must either disband the parliament and schedule a vote, or reject the proposal.

This means that Tadic may not schedule elections before March 12.

The president has already announced that he would accept the proposal and schedule the vote for May 11, when local and provincial elections are already due to be held.

NEW YORK, Mar 11 (Tanjug) - The United States of America on Tuesday called on Serbia to turn to the future and maintain good relations with the United States and the European Union, which, as U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said, understand that the Kosovo problem is a "sensitive issue" for the Serbs and the Serbian government.

We would like to note that at the time when they (Serbs) are faced with political turbulences they should focus on the future rather than on the past times, McCormick told reporters ahead of a new session of the UN Security Council on Kosovo. We understand how complex and emotional the problem of Kosovo is for the Serbian people and the Serbian government, but it is in Serbia's interest to have good relations with the EU, USA and other governments, said McCormick.

BELGRADE, March 10 (Tanjug) - Serbian Army (VS) Chief of General staff Lieutenant-General Zdravko Ponos will meet in Romania on Tuesday with representatives of that country's armed forces to discuss bilateral military cooperation and regional military-political cooperation.

Lt-Gen Ponos will meet with his Romanian counterpart Admiral Gheorghe Marino and State Secretary for Defence Corneliu Dobritoiu to exchange experiences on the reform of armed forces, VS announced on Monday. Ponos will also visit the National Defence University Carol I and the Romanian Army's special units, VS said on its Internet site.

BELGRADE, March 10 (Tanjug) - Faculties of the University of Belgrade (UB) and colleges and universities of Indonesia have expressed readiness to establish new and renew the former cooperation, UB Chancellor Branko Kovacevic said on Monday. Four UB faculties, the Faculty of Organizational Sciences, Faculty of Philosophy, Faculty of Philology, and Faculty of Biology, are interested in cooperation with faculties of the Padjadjaran University of Bandung and the University of the Republic of Indonesia, Kovacevic said during a meeting with Indonesian Ambassador in Belgrade Muhammad Abduh Dalimunthe.

The University of Belgrade has signed a hundred contracts with universities of 60 countries, and is particularly interested in cooperation with Indonesia, a very friendly country, Kovacevic said, adding that there is interest in introducing Indonesian language and culture studies at the Belgrade Faculty of Philology.

That is a prerequisite for expanding cooperation between the two countries in all other areas as well, culture, sport, the economy, to the welfare of both countries, it was pointed out during the meeting, with emphasis on the fact that cooperation between the universities of these two countries was maintained in the 60s of the past century, but was suspended during the 80s. The Serbian-Indonesian Friendship Society initiated this meeting at the UB Chancellor's Office.

BELGRADE, March 10 (Beta) - Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica said in the evening on March 10 that the best response of the citizens of Serbia to the EU ministers' position would be to confirm at the upcoming elections the policy that Serbia "with Kosovo as its integral part will continue its European integrations."

"In such a case, a new government would have full legitimacy to start talks with the EU in such a way that Serbia with its province of Kosovo will continue the accession process," it is said in Kostunica's statement delivered to BETA.

According to Kostunica, the new government should receive clear support in the upcoming elections that Serbia, within its recognized borders, must be a partner of the EU.

"It is not a policy of selfisolation, but rather a responsible statehood policy and the only one with a future. We must respect ourselves and Serbia must respect its sovereignty and territorial integrity so that the EU can have esteem for us," Kostunica stressed.

The prime minister added that the EU countries that have recognized "the false state of Kosovo would surely like Serbia to do the same in some way, as that would be the easiest solution for them."

BRUSSELS, Mar 10 (Tanjug) - French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner and his UK counterpart David Miliband expressed hope Monday in Brussels that the people of Serbia will choose a European future in the forthcoming early parliamentary elections.

The European Union member-states wish the people of Serbia to know that it should have an important place in the EU in the future and wish to offer it friendship, Miliband said. Kouchner said that he trusts particularly the people who voted for Boris Tadic in the presidential election and who want integration in Europe.

BRUSSELS, March 10 (Beta) – The EU is still offering to Serbia to sign a political agreement on cooperation right away, Slovenian Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel said on March 10 and added that if the necessary conditions were met, Serbia could also sign a Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA).

After a meeting of the EU foreign ministers in Brussels, Rupel said the crucial issue at the moment is whether proEuropean forces in Serbia would benefit from this and prevail in snap parliamentary elections, that is, keep Serbia on its proEuropean track.

Rupel thereby replied to the question whether the EU will sign a SAA before or after parliamentary elections to be called over the crisis in the government.

EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn stressed that “now, Serbia should make a crucial choice over its European future, or face the danger of selfisolation.”

Rupel added that UNMIK must remain on the border between Serbia and Kosovo, because under Security Council Resolution 1244 it has tasks it is executing well.

UNMIK should be replaced by an EU mission, but this takes time and the transitional period will require certain effort, Rupel explained, thus replying to the question whether EU believes that UNMIK should remain in northern Kosovo, as suggested by Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos.

“We backed the idea that UNMIK continues to operate and safeguard the border between Kosovo and Serbia because of the problems that have happened there, including setting fire to border posts,” Rupel noted.

Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn, however, said the goal is to withdraw UNMIK from Kosovo on June 14. He assessed the overall situation in Kosovo as being mainly normal, but added that the situation in northern Kosovo is very difficult.

BRUSSELS, March 10 (Tanjug) - EU Commissioner for Enlargement Olli Rehn said in Brussels on Monday that Serbia would have to make a very important decision at parliamentary elections and to choose between the European future and risk from self-imposed isolation.

The European Union is committed to Serbia, but Serbia has to make the key choice - either to turn to its European future, or to be exposed to the risk from self-imposed isolation, Rehn said at the end of the EU Council of Ministers meeting in Brussels. The first option means prosperity for Serbia, while the other leads nowhere, the commissioner said.

EU High Representative for Foreign Policy and Security Javier Solana and Council of Ministers President, Slovenian Foreign MInister Dimitrij Rupel, also voiced hope that pro-European forces would win at the elections in Serbia. We would want Serbia to get as close to the European Union as possible, Solana said and added that the EU would extend its hand to Serbia so that it could act in that direction.

Rupel said he had heard that Serbian President Boris Tadic was ready to sign the Stabilisation and Association Agreement immediately, but added that the well-known political conditions needed to be met for that to happen. What is on the table, however, is the political agreement, Rupel said and added that the European Union would be ready to sign this agreement immediately.

BRUSSELS, March 10 (Tanjug) - The European Union must by no means allow an international isolation of Serbia, regardless of the results of the upcoming early parliamentary elections, Bulgarian Foreign Minister Ivailo Kalfin said on Monday.

Minister Kalfin, who is also Bulgaria's deputy prime minister, added at a EU foreign ministers' meeting that at the same time Serbia should express a clear position on accession to the EU, Bulgarian state news agency BTA reported. As a condition for the recognition of Kosovo's unilaterally proclaimed of independence, Bulgaria said that it will follow the realization of the international obligations in the province.

BRUSSELS, March 11 (Tanjug) - Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis said in Brussels late on Monday, on the occasion of the recent events in Serbia, that it was not fair to punish Serbia for the sins that had been made in the past, at the time of dictatorship.

While addressing the participants of a meeting of the European Union Council of Ministers, Minister Bakoyannis said that the EU should sign the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) with Serbia, the Athens News Agency (ANA) reported. Commenting on the situation in Kosovo and Metohija, the Greek foreign minister assessed that official Athens was for a larger UN presence in the southern Serbian province, in the sense that, as she put it, every step that was to be made in the region of Kosovo be in keeping UN Security Council Resolution 1244. During the meeting, the EU foreign ministers also agreed that efforts should be made so that Serbia got a positive message about its European future, as well as that all the members of the Union were determined to support the country in heading towards the Union.

BRUSSELS, March 11 (Tanjug) - Hungary suggested on Monday a speeding up of the talks on the abolishment of European Union visas for Serbia, Hungarian Foreign Minister Kinga Goncz has said in Brussels.

Minister Goncz told journalists that the EU foreign ministers had agreed at their meeting to strongly support the pro-Western forces in Serbia during the early parliamentary elections in May. As the Hungarian news agency MTI reported, in assessing the situation in Serbia, the EU ministers pointed to the need to prevent any strengthening of destabilization forces in the pre-election period.

BRUSSELS, March 11 (Tanjug) - Italian official Famiano Crucianelli said in Brussels on Monday that it is necessary that the European Union establishes a dialogue and political relations with Serbia so that it could back democratic and pro-European forces.

Crucianelli, who is the state undersecretary at the Italian Foreign Ministry, assessed at the meeting of the EU foreign ministers that the state of uncertainty dominates the situation. We are all well aware of the instability of the situation in Serbia ahead of the early elections, as well as in Kosovo, primarily in its northern part, Crucianelli said and added that therefore a helping hand should be offered to Serbia by initiatives which would give backing to the pro-European forces in Serbia as opposed to those that are nationalistic and radical. The Italian official also said that it is necessary to approach the situation in northern Kosovo with great wisdom.

BELGRADE, March 10 (Tanjug) - The Serbian Finance Ministry announced Monday that a conference of programs for cross-border cooperation with the European Union, dubbed "Neighboring programs - successful examples in practice", in the organization of this Serbian ministry and the European Agency for Reconstruction (EAR), will open on Tuesday.

The conference will be addressed by Deputy Premier Bozidar Djelic, Finance Minister Mirko Cvetkovic, the head of the delegation of the European Commission in Serbia - Josep Lloveras, the head of the EAR operational center in Belgrade - Daniel Giuglaris, and the assistant finance minister in the sector for programming and managing EU funds and development aid - Gordana Lazarevic. Projects that have so far been realized with Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria will be presented during the conference, a statement said.

MOSCOW, March 11 (Tanjug) - UN Security Council resolution 1244 remains in effect and the UN Civil Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) therefore continues to consider it as the legal framework for its mandate and implement it "in light of the evolving circumstances," UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon said on Tuesday.

Asked whether, as Russia and a number of other countries warned, one of the consequences of Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence might be the beginning of a "parade of sovereignties" with Palestine, Abkhazia, South Ossetia and the northern part of Kosovo, and whether he finds the international recognition of other self-proclaimed regions possible, Ban said that "each situation needs to be examined based on its unique circumstances" and that Kosovo is "a highly distinctive situation.""I wouldn't want to speculate about what may or may not happen throughout the world as a result of developments in Kosovo," the UN secretary general told the Interfax news agency.

UNITED NATIONES, March 10 (Beta) - The U.N. Security Council decided to allow Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic to address its March 11 session devoted to Kosovo, Russian Ambassador to U.N. Vitaly Churkin told the press on March 10.

Churkin, who is currently presiding over the Security Council, further said he suggested the session be open for public, followed by closed door consultations, because, as he said, many things "have been very wrong," since Kosovo declared independence from Serbia.

Asked why Jeremic should be allowed to speak considering the collapse of the Serbian government, Churkin replied that in Serbia, like in Russia, after the fall of a government, ministers continue to discharge their duties until the election of a new cabinet.

"We do not accept the argument that now the minister can only speak about technical issues and we believe that we simply have to respect the current political situation in Serbia," Churkin said. He added that Jeremic intended to stay in the U.N. and that the Security Council should debate the situation in Kosovo.

The U.N. Security Council session on March 11 was called at Belgrade's request. Jeremic said he would demand from the Security Council to confirm Resolution 1244 and that the U.N. mission in Kosovo continues with its work.

NEW YORK, March 11 (Tanjug) - The delegations of the United States and Great Britain at the UN Security Council opposed to the convening of the Tuesday session on Kosovo-Metohija in the most influential body of the world organization, Itar-Tass has learned from diplomatic sources in the UN Security Council.

The Russian state news agency Itar-Tass at the same time reported a statement by Permanent Representative to the U.N. Vitaly Churkin that due to a number of problems, which have presented themselves after the unilateral proclamation of Kosovo independence, the situation in the region should be discussed at the U.N. Security Council.

The United States and Great Britain diplomats, among other things, expressed doubt whether an address of Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic before the UN SC is necessary, the source said. Besides that, the diplomat claims, the British and the US delegations pointed to the fact several UN SC sessions on Kosovo were held over the past month and a half. Other delegations, Itar-Tass reported, had no complaints as to the holding of the session. According to Churkin, Minister Jeremic will address the open part of the UN SC session, after which the UN SC will hold a close-door meeting.

BELGRADE, March 10 (Beta) - The president of Mali, Amadou Toumani Toure, has expressed the Malian stance to the Serbian Ambassador Vladimir Kohut in connection with Kosovo, that international norms must be respected because their abuse and the violation of territorial integrity could threaten a series of countries with a similar problem.

As the Serbian foreign minister reported on March 10, Kohut, as the new Serbian ambassador in that country on a nonresidential basis, presented his letter of credence to the Malian president.

BRATISLAVA, Mar 10 (Tanjug) - Czech President Vaclav Klaus said Monday in Bratislava that recognizing the unilateral declaration of Kosovo independence is not his country's priority.

After meeting Slovakia's President Ivan Gasparovic, Klaus told a press conference that the Czech Republic has a softer stand on Kosovo that Slovakia.

BRUSSELS, Mar 10 (Tanjug) - The new governments of Spain and Cyprus will maintain the policy of their predecessors and will not recognize Kosovo independence, Foreign Ministers Miguel Angel Moratinos and Marcos Kyprianou said Monday in Brussels after the meeting of the European Union Council of Ministers.

Cyprus has not changed its stand and will not recognize Kosovo independence, said Kyprianou, who assumed office after February elections. Spain's new government will not change its stand and will not recognize Kosovo independence, said Moratinos, whose Socialist Party won again in the parliamentary elections Sunday. Even some of the EU members which have recognized Kosovo independence believe that no more steps should be taken to push Serbia away from the EU, he said.

MOSCOW-BAKU, Mar 10 (Tanjug) - Bulgaria will make its stand on Kosovo independence known after considering developments, President Georgy Prvanov said Monday, adding that the Kosovo issue is important for Bulgaria for reasons of regional security. Kosovo is a sui-generis case and cannot be a precedent for resolving other conflicts, he said on his arrival for a visit to Azerbaijan.

Referring to Nagorno-Karabakh which has seceded from Azerbaijan, President Ilham Aliyev said that this conflict can be resolved only by respecting Azerbaijan's territorial integrity and securing the return of refugees and IDP's. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe should make it clear to Armenia that Nagorno-Karabakh will never be independent, he said.

BRUSSELS, Mar 10 (Tanjug) - The European Union is concerned over the decision taken by Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States to draw a parallel between Kosovo and Abkhazia, Chairman of the EU Council of Ministers and Slovenian Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel said Monday in Brussels.

No decision was taken in this regard by the EU CM, but it is especially concerned for Abkhazia, he noted. European Foreign Affairs Commissioner Benita Ferrero Waldner said earlier that the EU is concerned over the possibility that Russia might recognize independence of Abkhazia, which requested last week international recognition of its secession.

VIENNA, March 11 (Tanjug) - Special Coordinator of the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe Erhard Bussek holds that the situation regarding Kosovo will represent a problem for a long time, but pointed out, however, that the most difficult problem of the Balkans is the internal integration of Bosnia-Herzegovina. In an interview for the Vienna daily Wiener Zeitung,

he said that from a medium-term perspective, Serbia would continue to be a reason for concern in the Balkans. I do not think that the situation regarding Kosovo will be resolved soon, he said. If the Battle of Kosovo and some other things which happened more than 600 years ago still remain etched on one's mind, it means he must have an enormous capacity for memorizing things, Bussek noted. The most difficult issue in the region, however, is the internal integration of Bosnia-Herzegovina, he assessed. This is a country from which people are moving out, in which economy is making hardly any progress and in which there is no joint identity, and this is where I see, from a long-term perspective, huge problems, including the European integration issue as well, Bussek specified.

MOSCOW, Mar 11 (Tanjug) - Russia has pointed out on several occasions that the development of the situation in Kosovo and Metohija might have a number of negative consequences, leader of the United Russia and State Duma Speaker Boris Gryzlov stated on Tuesday, adding that one of the consequences of the unilateral declaration of independence by Kosovo and the internal political crisis in Serbia.

"It is a serious crisis caused by the Kosovo situation, said Gryzlov, expressing his hope that the situation in Serbia "would not develop according to a negative scenario," the RIA Novostei news agency quoted Gryzlov's comment on the Serbian government proposal to hold early parliamentary elections in May. "The elections will be rather complicated and the situation will not be simple, it has been politicized. Not only rallies and protests, but also destruction, as we know, have taken place because of Kosovo. We would like Serbia to manage to protect itself from such a development of the situation," said Gryzlov.

PRISTINA, March 10 (Beta) - The first members of EULEX in Kosovo have been in Pristina since last week, but further deployment of the European mission needs to be "coordinated" with the United Nations, EULEX head Yves de Kermabon said on March 10.

The deployment has begun, the first members of the mission went last week, De Kermabon, visiting New York to meet with U.N. officials, told Agence France Presse in a telephone statement.

This first contingent consists of around 20 staff members in charge of coordinating further deployment, De Kermabon said, reminding that a number of steps would be necessary to make the EULEX judicial and police mission operational, which is due to happen around mid.June.

De Kermabon, also a former commander of NATO forces in Kosovo, said there were rumors about obstacles to the deployment of the mission, but he dismissed such claims.

The mission should be deployed as planned, in agreement with the Serbs. We need more flexibility from the Serb side, as this is a mission in their interest, De Kermabon stressed.

PRISTINA, March 10 (Beta) - Slovenia will deploy 15 police officers in the EULEX mission in Kosovo, who will stay there for a year, Slovenia's General Police Administration said on March 10.

The mission is due to start with its operations in mid.June. The duties of the police officers will involve monitoring, mentoring, and counseling.

Slovenia will also deploy a number of judges and prosecutors. The Foreign Ministry is collecting applications for those posts.

BRUSSELS, March 10 (Tanjug) - The EU goal is for UNMIK to leave Kosovo on June 14 and to be replaced by the Eulex mission as of that date, Luxembourg's Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn said after the end of the EU Council of Ministers in Luxembourg.

In the largest part of Kosovo, the situation unfolds without any major problems, but the situation in northern Kosovo is very difficult, Asselborn said and added that it would take about ten years for the situation in northern Kosovo to stabilize. UNMIK is to leave Kosovo on June 14, and this is the date when Eulex will finally be deployed, Asselborn said and added that this was the EU goal.

KOSOVSKA MITROVICA, March 10 (Tanjug) - UNMIK spokesperson Methild Heneke said on Monday that the train between Kosovo Polje and Lesak was not running for security reasons. Heneke said in a statement to Mitrovica radio Contact Plus that UNMIK railways were not managing stations in the north of Kosovo and that until UNMIK takes over the railways in their entirety "it does not want the trains to be running."

Responding to the question whether that meant that trains would not be running until an agreement is reached between Serbian Railways public enterprise representatives and UNMIK representatives, she said "probably yes." Heneke confirmed that UNMIK rejected the demand of Serbian Railways representatives to manage railways in the north of the province.

BELGRADE, Mar 10 (Tanjug) - The Foreign Investors' Council pointed Monday to the importance of stability and predictability as motive forces of economic development and noted that the forthcoming parliamentary and local elections scheduled for May 11 in Serbia would provide a good opportunity to secure these conditions.

FIC sees the elections as a fresh opportunity for the people of Serbia to confirm the country's democratic potentials, a FIC release says. FIC expects from the future Serbian government to define and then implement a clear economic strategy that would secure economic growth and improve the business climate, the release says.

BELGRADE, Mar 10 (Tanjug) Representatives of the Companies from Greece, members of the Hellenic Business Association (HBA) in Serbia, have named new members of the Managing Board, while Vassilios Dertilis, Director of Metal Globe, was elected chairman of the association of Greek-owned companies.

New members of the Managing Boards are General Director of the Metropol Palace Hotel Chrystos Tsemperas, General Manager of Megastores Electronica Nicolaos Karacostas, Eurobank EFG Executive Board President Stavros Ioannou, Pireaus Bank Executive Board President Ioannis Nikolopoulos and Dertilis. Greek companies have been present in the Serbian market for a long time, and have so far invested over EUR 2 billion, which makes Greece one of the leading investors in Serbia. Greek companies have so far invested in different sectors - banking, telecommunications, food industry, tourism, civil engineering and trade, and currently employ over 25,000 people across Serbia, it was said in a statement.

BELGRADE, March 10 (Tanjug) - The total commodity trade between Serbia proper and its southern province of Kosovo and Metohija dropped 50 percent since that province unilaterally proclaimed independence, and, should trade be completely suspended, Serbia might lose almost 200 million dollars annually, The Economist magazine said on Monday.

The value of the total registered trade last year between Serbia and Kosovo-Metohija amounted to around 199.7 million dollars, with exports from Serbia proper to Kosovo-Metohija being worth around 189 million dollars, or 2.1 percent of Serbia's total exports, and imports worth around 10 million dollars, or 0.06 percent of Serbia's total imports. Northern Vojvodina province exported goods worth almost 50 million dollars to Kosovo and Metohija last year. These losses will be felt by the residents in Kosovo and Metohija as well, because Serbia proper accounts for 13.6 percent of the total imports in Kosovo-Metohjija, and is consequently the biggest supplier of that market.