Serbia's governing coalition wrestling with reshuffle, risking survival

Serbia's prime minister piled pressure on Finance and Economy Minister Mladjan Dinkic on Saturday to cede one of his portfolios or face being ousted from the Balkan country's coalition government, Reuters reported. "It's crucial to have a division of responsibilities by splitting the ministry of finance and economy if we are serious about pursuing our goal of economic and fiscal consolidation," Prime Minister Ivica Dacic told a news conference. The ultimatum comes as the coalition tries to agree a cabinet reshuffle and avert a snap election that would likely delay the start of European Union membership talks from January next year. The two biggest parties, Dacic's Socialists and the national Progressive Party, signalled on Friday that they had agreed how to reshuffle their own ministers, but there was no word from the junior partner, Dinkic's United Regions of Serbia (URS). Without URS's 16 seats, the remaining coalition parties would still hold a slim majority in parliament.