the EU commenced in January 2014. Since Aleksandar Vučić and his Serbian Progressive Party came to power in 2012, Serbia has suffered from democratic backsliding into authoritarianism, followed by a decline in media freedom and civil liberties. After the COVID-19 pandemic spread to Serbia in March 2020, a state of emergency was declared and a curfew was introduced for the first time in Serbia since World War II. In January and February 2021, Serbia carried the second-fastest vaccine rollout in Europe. In April 2022, President Aleksandar Vučić was re-elected. Geography A landlocked country situated at the crossroads between Central and Southern Europe, Serbia is located in the Balkan peninsula and the Pannonian Plain. Serbia lies between latitudes 41° and 47° N, and longitudes 18° and 23° E. The country covers a total of (including Kosovo), which places it at 113th place in the world; with Kosovo excluded, the total area is , which would make it 117th. Its total border length amounts to : Albania , Bosnia and Herzegovina , Bulgaria , Croatia , Hungary , North Macedonia , Montenegro and Romania . All of Kosovo's border with Albania (), North Macedonia () and Montenegro () are under control of the Kosovo border police. Serbia treats the long border between Kosovo and rest of Serbia as an "administrative line"; it is under shared control of Kosovo border police and Serbian police forces, and there are 11 crossing points. The Pannonian Plain covers the northern third of the country (Vojvodina and Mačva) while the easternmost tip of Serbia extends into the Wallachian Plain. The terrain of the central part of the country, with the region of Šumadija at its heart, consists chiefly of hills traversed by rivers. Mountains dominate the southern third of Serbia. Dinaric Alps stretch in the west and the southwest, following the flow of the rivers Drina and Ibar. The Carpathian Mountains and Balkan Mountains stretch in a north–south direction in eastern Serbia. Ancient mountains in the southeast corner of the country belong to the Rilo-Rhodope Mountain system. Elevation ranges from the Midžor peak of the Balkan Mountains at (the highest peak in Serbia, excluding Kosovo) to the lowest point of just near the Danube river at Prahovo. The largest lake is Đerdap Lake () and the longest river passing through Serbia is the Danube (). Climate The climate of Serbia is under the influences of the landmass