LOCAL PRESS

Dacic: Serbia supports Georgia’s territorial integrity (Tanjug)

Serbia is grateful to Georgia for the support to its territorial integrity and sovereignty and supports the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Georgia, Serbian Foreign Minister and the OSCE chair Ivica Dacic said in Tbilisi. Following the meeting with his Georgian counterpart Tamara Beruchashvili, he said that Serbia supported Georgia’s EU path. Dacic pointed out that the OSCE wishes to help overcome the consequences of the conflict in the South Caucuses in 2008.

Djuric: Somebody in Pristina is afraid of special court (Tanjug)

The Head of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija Marko Djuric has assessed that somebody among the decision makers in Pristina is afraid of the establishing of a special court for the crimes committed by the KLA, in the political sense, and maybe even on the personal level. According to him, it is the main reason why the Kosovo Assembly cannot get the majority of votes for the founding of that court. On the other side, Serbia believes that such an institution could bring more justice for those who have been waiting for 15 years see the truth, and for those who were directly responsible for the crimes to be removed from the streets, said Djuric.

Komercijalna, B92 Fund donate to hospital in Kosovo (B92)

Representatives of the Komercijalna Banka and the B92 Fund on Tuesday presented the hospital in Gracanica with new medical equipment. The donation came as part of the ongoing humanitarian campaign, “Battle for the Babies”. The hospital’s maternity ward has been given an operating table, a gynecological table, a lamp for the operating room, two patient monitors, ECG, two CTG machines and three pulse oximeters, providing it with all the necessary equipment.
“We are very pleased that the anniversary of the ‘Together for the Babies’ campaign was marked precisely in the maternity hospital in Gracanica. The equipment was purchased in the amount of 5 million Dinars, which will significantly raise the level of the health care provided to babies and their mothers. So far we have donated equipment to six maternity hospitals around Serbia, and thanks to our clients who, by using cards and transactions, enabled the bank to allocate from its sources more than 28 million. We are proud of our clients and the results achieved, and we will try to keep the same pace,” said Olivera Trailovic, director of the Retail Banking Division of Komercijalna Bank. The banks sets aside money that goes to the campaign from every transaction its clients make by using its cards, with no charge to the clients. “The maternity ward in Gracanica is the fifth fully equipped and the sixth that has received equipment thanks to the Komercijalna and B92 Fund campaign, and it is also the twenty-first victory within ‘The Battle of the Maternity Wards’,” said the fund’s chairman of the executive board, Veran Matic, and added: “Logistically, the equipping of the maternity ward was a special challenge for all who participated in the process, and for that our victory today is particularly important, as it proves that when it comes to humanity, there are no boundaries.” The ceremony at the hospital today was also attended by Branimir Stojanovic, deputy prime minister in the Kosovo government, who pointed out that he was confident the campaign will serve as a good example to others, and help ensure a good future of the youngest. Director of KBC Pristina-Gracanica, Professor Doctor Miroslav Popovic thanked the bank and the fund for their activities that have helped to modernize and equip the maternity ward: “We are grateful to the B92 Fund and Komercijalna Bank for the donation which will significantly improve the work of our gynecological clinic. The assistance is intended for our youth, our babies. If there is no youth, there is no future. Thanks to the people with a big and generous heart for such a humane act.” The campaign began a year ago, and will continue during 2015. The exact amount of the donated money is always accessible thanks to the transaction counter at the bank’s website, www.kombank.com

Keefe: Normalization with Kosovo crucial (Novosti)

“It is very important and positive that the way forward regarding the Kosovo issue has been found, and the EU wishes to see that relations between Serbia and Kosovo are being normalized. We cannot pretend that the problem doesn’t exist, but it must be resolved, despite the different stands of Belgrade and Pristina,” the British Ambassador to Serbia Denis Keefe said during the meeting with the students of the Belgrade University at the open doors day of the British Embassy: “Serbia is an important and influential country in the Balkans and it is important for it to be successful and in good relations with the neighbors so the entire region can be successful. There are 35 negotiating chapters that cover all possible things, and now the focus of attention is on Chapters 23 and 24 on the rule of law, human and civil rights and freedom of media, and Chapter 35 that covers specific issues on Kosovo.”

Romania to harmonize with EU regarding Kosovo (Danas)

“The goal of the informal group “Friends of Serbia” is to encourage members of the European Parliament (EP) to establish friendly relations with Serbia and its representatives, to support Serbia’s democratic development, political dialogue, economic, cultural, and above all, social relations. As we are aware, strengthening relations between the EU and Serbia represents a prerequisite for Serbia’s EU accession,” Romanian deputy of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the EP Emilian Pavel, who is also the newly elected president of the group “Friends of Serbia”, tells Danas. He explains that this group was initially established by the Romanian deputy Viktor Bostinaru and that it gathered around 30 members from various political groups. “I responded to the challenge to continue to lead the group during my mandate in the EP with Franc Bogovic, deputy of the European People’s Party, and Katerina Kinic, deputy of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democratic, who are the vice presidents,” says Pavel. Assessing last week’s statement by Romanian Prime Minister Viktor Ponta that Bucharest could recognize Kosovo, Danas’ interlocutor says that Kosovo received around 110 diplomatic recognitions by May 2015, including the recognition by 23 of 28 EU member states. “As a neighbor and state that cherishes peaceful and friendly relations with Serbia over many decades, my personal opinion is that Romania could not have been among the first “wave” of states that recognized the unilaterally declared independence of Kosovo. Still, following the Brussels agreement in 2013, reached with EU mediation, Serbia and Kosovo exchanged liaison officers and approached the normalization of relations. I believe this is an important step that is in everyone’s interest. Also, in 2013 the EP voted for a resolution that calls member states, including Romania, to recognize Kosovo as an independent state. As an EU member, and Serbia will also become a member in the future, Romania should harmonize its stand with the stand of other EU members,” stresses the Romanian deputy. Pavel concludes that he is of the opinion that Serbia will benefit from stronger relations between Serbia and Kosovo, which will also help the building of the European future, “better future for all Serbs”.

REGIONAL PRESS

Western Balkan countries important for peacekeeping missions (Srna)

The Western Balkan countries have passed from the status of recipients of UN peacekeeping missions services in to the providers of those services, which contributes to the strengthening of cooperation and stability in the region. This was the conclusion of today’s opening of a regional roundtable on increasing the participation of countries in the region in UN peacekeeping missions. Coordinator of the UN in B&H Yuri Afanasiev said that the UN is particularly interested in the participation of the Western Balkan countries in the peacekeeping operations. “Countries in the region have expertise that can be used within the UN framework,” said Afanasiev in his addressing to the participants of the round table. Peter Due from the Department of Peacekeeping Operations of the UN said that the peacekeeping operations that the UN conducts today in the world, are the largest so far, and that nearly 125,000 members of the military, police and civilians are deployed in them. “Peacekeeping operations are a valuable tool, however, it is not a tool that is perfect,” said Due. According to him, the aims are efficient and cost-effective UN peacekeeping forces and operations. “This is why we need the support of countries such as B&H and other Western Balkan countries,” said Due and added that cooperation between countries in the region is a good example of countries that were in conflict, and now cooperate in peacekeeping operations. Deputy Defense Minister Emir Suljagic noted that peacekeeping missions around the world so far include more than a thousand B&H citizens in uniforms. “In the following months adoption of the decision to increase the B&H contingent is expected regarding the mission in Mali, deploying 16 more people, by which the task force for the destruction of unexploded ordnance would be formed,” announced Suljagic. He added that B&H remains committed to participate in the UN missions and continue to contribute to the maintenance and preservation of peace in the world, especially as a country that was recently affected by war, which carries a special responsibility to prevent it in other places. The B&H Security Assistant Minister, Samir Rizvo said that there will be a discussion at the roundtable on how to adapt the B&H capacities to match the new needs and how to increase the participation of B&H police officers in peacekeeping operations. “Clearly, the UN expressed the need to strengthen and increase our participation in peacekeeping operations and to try to do it on a regional basis, or to combine the capacities of countries in the region in order to be more conducive to the efforts of the UN to establishing peace and security in specific areas,” concluded Rizvo. The two-day round table “Regional cooperation for peacekeeping missions” is organized by the Office of the UN Resident Coordinator in B&H, in cooperation with the ministries of foreign affairs, security and defense of B&H. The meeting is the official continuation of a dialogue from the high-level regional roundtable meeting held in Belgrade in October last year. The regional meeting in Sarajevo is an opportunity to continue discussions on the issues of importance to the countries of the region in regard to participation in the UN peacekeeping missions and to present the opportunities of the regional countries for specializing in certain areas of peacekeeping missions.

Coordination mechanism is very important (Srna)

The Republika Srpska (RS) Prime Minister Zeljka Cvijanovic says a coordination mechanism which has to define actions of all levels of government in B&H is very important. She told reporters following talks with Head of the European Union Delegation in B&H, EU Special Representative, Lars-Gunnar Wigemark, that procedures and actions for the development of strategic documents must be defined in order to be able to withdraw funds from the EU on the basis of the new IPA II concept. Cvijanovic said she had informed Wigemark of all the legal solutions that the RS government had proposed and submitted to the parliament for further procedure, and the things that the two entity prime ministers had adopted as common views and solutions, for which they expect support from all the parties involved in the processes led by the EU. It takes much more cooperation, communication and coordination in order to use the “positive energy by the EU” in the best possible way, she said. “We are grateful to Wigemark for his personal commitment, as well as the commitment of the entire EU through their delegation in B&H in working together with us to improve the situation. We have defined certain things that need to be done to achieve the necessary social and economic progress,” said Cvijanovic. The RS Prime Minister specifically thanked the EU for the assistance provided during the 2014 floods and their statement that flood recovery was something that they would keep working on in the future. Wigemark has pointed out that the issue of coordination is important and that it requires political will, provided that the competences of the entities and B&H are observed. According to him, the entry into force of the Stabilization and Association Agreement sends a very important message and will pave the way for a more efficient realization of EU assistance going through IPA funds. Wigemark underlined that a lot of work would have to be done in RS, primarily in terms of aligning the laws, regulations and standards with those in the EU. “I am impressed by the resolve of the prime minister (Zeljka Cvijanovic) to achieve results on the European path together. She knows very well how things are in the EU, which is a very complex entity, but at the same time B&H is complex too, so we make a perfect couple,” said Wigemark.

Request of the Bosniak Caucus not accepted (RTRS)

The RS Constitutional Court has not accepted the request of the Bosniak Caucus in the RS Council of Peoples, which requested a discussion regarding the violation of the vital national interests of the Bosniak people by adoption of the Declaration on the Law on Holidays in the RS Assembly. Legislators adopted a declaration after a member of the B&H Presidency Bakir Izetbegovic initiated before the Constitutional Court the initiative challenging the constitutionality of the RS’ Law on Holidays segment which refers to 9 January – Republic Day, reports RTRS.

Djokic: There are serious intentions to destabilize the RS institutions (Srna)

The President of the Socialist Party (SP) Petar Djokic said that the representatives of the ruling coalition parties noted at today’s meeting that there are serious intentions to destabilize the RS institutions, pointing out that the coalition was determined to promote and defend the values ​​of all institutions, including the institution of the President of the Republic. Djokic said that the determination to defend and promote Milorad Dodik, who people elected to be the President of the Republic, is also a part of it. “These serious intentions we have recognized through the effort to bring certain issues that can go in that direction in to the RS Assembly. Also, through the media, there are attempts to create a public image that the institution of the President of the Republic is debatable for this or that reason,” Djokic told reporters in Banja Luka after the meeting with representatives of the SNSD, DNS, the SP and the Serbian Radical Party. Djokic noted that no one else, except the ruling coalition in the RS, has condemned the declaration adopted at the SDA Congress, which represents a change in the Dayton structure of B&H. He stressed that the representatives of political parties from the RS, who were in this Congress, should have, at least shown their disapproval by leaving the Congress, and that the international community should have condemn the declaration. The SP leader said that the ruling coalition, despite “certain difficulties”, is stable and determined to implement the policy course that is known for several years, and preserves the stability of the RS and strengthen it in all its elements. “We want to protect and promote all the institutions of the RS and we will make that very clear. We also want to strengthen the RS as a partner in international communication, as important, regional focal point of Europe that can be a respectable partner for negotiations and give contribution to European integration,” said Djokic.

Radojicic: I’m not agreeing anything with the opposition (Oslobodjenje)

Igor Radojicic, member of the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD), had left the SNSD caucus in the RS National Assembly but not the party. This was also confirmed by the party president Milorad Dodik. Radojcic said that he is not having any kind of negotiations with the opposition, and has not crossed to another party, but that “there are problems within the family”. “I sought and I am still seeking for months and years for certain changes to be made. At the SNSD congress I spoke about this and I got the support of the delegates. Fourteen times delegates were applauding during the speech. At the end instead of support, in the past weeks and months I have experienced constant disqualifications, plotting and malice from the members of the SNSD. They’re trying to provoke a situation where Igor Radojicic leaves the SNSD, and then he would be one to blame for everything,” said Radojicic. He stressed that he has not left the SNSD, and “let those from the party leadership answer why and with which purpose they work against both themselves and the SNSD party and against the interests of the RS”.”Let those people with very dubious moral qualifications answer why I’m doing something,” added Radojicic.

INTERNATIONAL PRESS

Serbia – In Search of Gas (naturalgaseurope.com, 2 June 2015)

Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic said on May 28th that Serbia would accept the US suggestions to reduce the country’s dependence on Russian gas and join the US-backed gas pipeline, which will carry gas from Azerbaijan to Europe. While some analysts see this statement as a U-turn in Serbia’s foreign and energy policy, Vucic says this is only an attempt to diversify gas supply routes and to increase the state’s energy security. In an interview with the AP, Vucic also said that Serbia, with regard to the issue of energy security, was ready to use gas from several sources, which, he said, is “very important for our American friends, too.” According to the AP, the US has been encouraging Balkan countries for some time to turn to alternative sources of gas, rather than setting their hopes on the construction of the Turkish Stream gas pipeline which would carry Russian gas from the east to the Balkans. The AP also concluded that Vucic’s stance on the support for the US-backed gas pipeline was a major policy shift for Serbia, a traditional ally of Russia and a country deeply dependant on Moscow in the energy sector. Commenting on his statement Prime Minister Vucic said in Belgrade on May 29th that it did not mean Serbia was “turning its back on Russia” in the energy sector, but just trying to increase its own energy security.  He also said Serbia had to obtain gas from several directions, because in 2019 Russia would stop sending gas via Ukraine which is now the only direction Serbia receives this energy source. “That is why I have to do everything now in order to find secure gas supply for Serbia in future. It has nothing to do with geostrategic decisions, nor with our foreign policy, but with the survival of the state,” Vucic said. Belgrade Economics Institute associate Mahmud Busatlija said experts should first determine whether there was a technical possibility for Serbia to join the gas pipeline from Azerbaijan. He added that its capacity would be much smaller than the one previously planned for the Russian gas pipeline South Stream, abandoned at the end of 2014. “I do not know whether we can expect some serious quantities of gas from Azerbaijan, and I am not sure how the Americans can help us with that,” Busatlija told Natural Gas Europe. He added that Serbia should first make “serious economic studies on whether it should join such a project.” On the other hand, economist Milan Kovacevic thinks that the main problem is “the lack of an energy strategy” in Serbia. He also believes Serbia is not trying to distance itself from Russia, since Moscow will stop the gas supply via Ukraine in 2019, and then easily find new buyers in the Asian market. “The Turkish Stream pipeline is far away from Serbia and there is no way to receive gas through it. The only alternative is LNG,” Kovacevic told Belgrade daily Politika. He suggests Serbia should ask the West and Russia to ship LNG to Serbia. “Even if Serbia makes new connections to the TAP and TANAP gas pipelines, it would have nowhere to store the gas because its only warehouse is controlled by Russia,” Kovacevic said. Dusan Bajatovic, the head of Serbia’s state-owned gas distributor Srbijagas, said Serbia and the rest of the region “suffer because of poor relations between the West and Russia.” “It’s not fair to leave Southeast Europe without a secure gas supply due to the geopolitical games of the US, Russia and the EU,” Bajatovic told reporters. He also added TAP would not have enough gas for Southeast Europe. Bajatovic believes that shale gas is also not an alternative because it is not “cost-effective and competitive.” “There is still no real replacement for natural gas, primarily from Russia, in the European market,” Bajatovic said. Serbian Energy Minister Aleksandar Antic said the gas supply issue should not be “politicized” and that Serbia must be interested in all projects “that could bring gas to the region.” “We are most interested in the pipelines in which Serbia would be a transit country. Our priority are gas interconnections with Bulgaria, which should allow us to have access to the TANAP and TAP pipelines, coming from Azerbaijan,” the Minister said. Antic also said that pipeline’s capacity should not be a problem. “I was with the Prime Minister in Azerbaijan where we had meetings with SOCAR officials on possible gas supply to Serbia. They told us the pipeline’s capacity was based on the number of potential buyers. So, if Serbia and other countries from the region want Azerbaijani gas, we can discuss capacity again. That is why I do not think capacity will be a problem,” Antic told reporters. It is interesting that the head of Russian Gazprom, Alexey Miller, visited Serbia on the very same day the AP published Vucic’s statement on decreasing Serbia’s energy dependence on Moscow. Miller commented on that briefly, saying that Serbia and the rest of the region “could wait a long time” for gas from Azerbaijan. “Four years ago, it was planned that pipeline should start working in 2017 and now the deadline is 2021 and that delay can continue indefinitely,” Miller added. Serbian officials have talked with Miller about reducing the gas price for Serbia, especially for the companies that use gas as a raw material. Serbian media reported that nitrogen plant Azotara had reached a deal with Russian Gazprom on reducing gas prices to under $300 per 1,000 cubic meters, ensuring profitable operation of the factory. The majority owner of the factory, which is important for the entire Serbian industry, is Srbijagas.

Ruling Bosnian Serb Coalition May Have Lost Majority (BIRN, by Srecko Latal, 2 June 2015)

Decision-making process in Bosnia’s Serb-dominated entity of Republika Srpska looks at a standstill as defections create confusion over whether ruling bloc still has a majority.

Power struggles between two opposing Bosnian Serb political blocs created confusion over whether a governing coalition still exists in Republika Srpska. “Hot political summer in Republika Srpska: ruthless struggle for votes in the Assembly,” the  Banja Luka daily Nezavisne Novine reported on Tuesday. After desertions of deputies from both opposing blocs, experts and Western diplomats said it was now difficult to track down how many representatives each bloc had in the RS Assembly. After the 2014 October elections, the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats, SNSD, just managed to establish a ruling coalition in the entity after luring two MPs from other parties. But, two weeks ago, two MPs left the SNSD bloc and joined the opposition caucus led by the Serbian Democratic Party, SDS. Last week, however, one SDS deputy left that party and announced he would remain independent, but experts suspected he would vote along with the SNSD. The latest desertion has made the situation even more complicated. Igor Radojicic, one of the most popular SNSD leaders, on Monday said he was leaving SNSD caucus in the assembly, although he was still not leaving the party. In the past few months Radojicic has criticized the SNSD leadership, accusing it of corruption and making the wrong moves. After avoiding public appearances for weeks he said in Banja Luka on Monday that SNSD officials were plotting against him, to force him to leave the SNSD, or to be kicked out of it. “I have a problem with ours [people],” he said. Radojicic added that because of this he had decided to leave the SNSD caucus but was not joining the opposition bloc. According to the sources close to SNSD, Radojicic may be followed by at least three other SNSD MPs who are loyal to him. Western diplomats and international officials are trying to figure out whether the current RS government still has majority support or not. Confusion increased further after the assembly speaker, Nedeljko Cubrilovic, scheduled the assembly’s next session for June 23rd. Experts said that such a long delay indicated that the SNSD has a problem obtaining a majority in the assembly. Bosnian Serb opposition leaders on Monday announced that by the end of the week they will call for an earlier session of the assembly and stage a no-confidence vote in the government. RS President Milorad Dodik then called on the opposition to bring him the signatures of the 44 MPs they need by the end of Monday, and said if they did so, he would immediately nominate their representative as Premier-designate. Dodik added that if the opposition fail to do so, they should stop playing political games. He also accused the opposition parties of being “traitors” to Bosnian Serb interests because of their cooperation with Bosniak [Bosnian Muslim] and Croatian parties. The new political spat in Republika Srpska – and the recent desertions from both political blocs – have effectively blocked the proper functioning of the entity’s executive and legislative bodies. The logjam comes at the worst possible time, as both of Bosnia’s entities have until the end of June to adopt a hotly disputed labour law in order to get new financing from international financial organizations. If they fail to do so, Bosnia faces a serious liquidity crisis in the last quarter of 2015.

More than 2,700 vote in Balkans in Turkey’s election (BMI Research, by Selim Altın, 1 June 2015)

A total of 878 people voted in Bosnia and Herzegovina, 816 in Macedonia, 531 in Albania and 546 in Kosovo

SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina – Polling at Turkish missions in Balkan states for Turkey’s general elections has come to an end with 2,721 Turks participating in the process.

The general election officially begins on June 7 in Turkey. A total of 878 people voted in Bosnia and Herzegovina; 816 in Macedonia, 531 in Albania and 546 in Kosovo, according to Turkish embassy and consulate officials. The overall number of eligible voters in the Balkan region is estimated at 24,000. About 3, 800 voters were eligible in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Macedonia, where voting began Saturday and concluded Sunday; about 2,304 voters were eligible in the Kosovar capital of Pristina and the Albanian capital of Tirana, where voting began and ended on Sunday. Nuray Turkyilmaz had driven for three hours to cast her vote at the Turkish embassy in Sarajevo. “I am proud of my state and its numerous modernization in the past 10 years…I am grateful to Turkey for allowing me to cast my vote abroad…God willing, Turkey will continue its success,” Turkyilmaz told Anadolu Agency Saturday. According to Turkey’s Supreme Election Board, 112 polling stations have been set up for almost three million Turkish nationals living abroad. Elections in Turkey have the second-highest voter turnout among developed democracies, according to a report released by the Washington-based Pew Research Center. More than 84 percent of the electorate went to the polls in the 2011 general election, according to the report comparing turnout rates in Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development member states. The upcoming June elections will elect 550 members of the Turkish parliament from 20 political parties. This will be the country’s 25th general election.