By Aleksandra Stankovic

From the terrace of Mihajlo Djordjevic`s cottage in the village of Ragodesh, there is a magnificent view of the Stara Planina mountain range in south-eastern Serbia. Even in June, the highest peak, Midzor, rising 2,169 metres above sea level, is covered with snow and sparkles in the sun. Mihajlo gazes at the pastures below Midzor, where he has spent all his life. In late summer, city folk come to pick the wild bilberries, raspberries and blackberries. Locals say the best way to feel the richness of the local herbs is through the taste of the sheep`s milk, from which hard kackaval cheese is made.

By Nenad Radicevic

One of the conditions for us joining the European Union (EU) is to follow the steps of developed countries in renewable energy resources investments, the Minister of Environment and Spatial Planning in the Government of Serbia Oliver Dulic has said at the Conference on Climate Changes held recently in Poznan. Although the Minister has been reassuring his European colleagues that Serbia was open for investments in cleaner and energy more efficient technologies, in this part of Europe currently has been spent 4.6 times more energy than the European average. At the same time both the consumers and industrial facilities owners` switch to the wind and sun energies seems light years away. Additional pollution reduction represents political challenge for even many EU member countries. Nevertheless, at the last week`s summit leaders of all the 27 Union members have unanimously adopted the package of measures for fighting climate changes.

By Danijela Pasic

"Clean rivers, vast openings, sun bathed mountain peaks, healthy food, culture and tradition, unforgettable night life..." with these slogans Serbia presents itself at the international tourist market. Those are also "undeniable facts" that almost every citizen of Serbia boasts of. However, brutal reality indicates to an objective onlooker that Serbia is at the tail of Europe when garbage and recycling management is in question which means that it leaves millions of euros on garbage dumps all over the country.

By Danijela Pasic

"Accident at the garbage dump near Uzice, Dragisa J. killed in explosion," "Fire at the Ljig dumping place, firemen cannot manage to extinguish it," "There are 50,000 tons of tires scattered all over Serbia," "Medical waste at the Nis Fortress"... These are just some of the newspapers` headlines that have marked 2008 in Serbia, the state expecting to become the candidate for the European Union membership next year.