LOCAL PRESS

Vucic: I do not expect EU reaction (TV Prva/Beta/B92)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said that he did not expect Brussels to react to a letter that Serbia would send to the European Commission over the stance that the cases of Calatonia and Kosovo could not be compared, adding that this was a direct example of the EU using different standards. Vucic told the TV Prva, after meeting with the prime ministers of Bulgaria, Greece and Romania in Varna, that everyone “is conscious of the injustice” that had been dealt to Serbia. He said that he had not heard anywhere that international public law was only to be applied to EU members, as well as that there was no U.N. resolution speaking of Kosovo’s secession from Serbia. He stressed that Serbia was not protected by anyone and added that the job of the Serbian authorities was to protect national interests. Vucic said that it would have been fair if the EU had said that “it did Serbia in 1999, 2004 and 2008,” but that he did not think that it would happen.

Vucic also spoke about Kosovo Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj’s statement that he would give citizenship and passports to Albanians from the south of Serbia. The President remarked ironically, those passports will get them far, and added: “We know how many Albanians there are in central Serbia, there are many, many more Serbs in central Kosovo – I’m talking about central Kosovo, not about northern Kosovo and Metohija. They can be saying all this for as long as they have big protectors abroad. We do not have such protectors, there is no one to protect Serbia.” “Serbia is under pressure from various sides precisely because of their guilty conscience. Because of their guilty conscience toward our fatherland we are obliged to suffer, to listen to the pressure, to obey them sometimes, and when we don’t, to be labeled as anti-Europeans, just because were were protecting our native land,” Vucic said.

Djuric: Are other rules valid for the Serbs in everything? (RTS)

Instead of cynicism and meaningless phrases, I expect from the EU an explanation regarding several issues to which Brussels is not giving an answer, because it either doesn’t have one or because it considers that Serbia is not worth requesting any kind of answers: Why is the self-declared Kosovo a unique case, and will we continue listening in public only nonsense on this topic? Why is the Serbian, democratically adopted Constitution, less valuable than the constitutions of other states? Does the EU classify Serbia as a lower-ranking state because it is not a EU member? Why are international conventions, the UN charter, the Helsinki documents and other fundamental principles of internal law not valid for Serbia? Are other rules valid for the Serbs in everything? When and where have Serbian citizens, or at least only those in Kosovo and Metohija, decided on the so-called independence? How come, as you say, it is time today for unity, but it was not the case in 2008? Have you heard about the saying that you can deceive some people all the time, that you can deceive all the people for some time, but that you cannot deceive all the people all the time?

EU: Kosovo a sui generis case, no double standards (Tanjug)

EU spokesperson Maja Kocijancic on Tuesday dismissed allegations the standards applicable to Catalonia and Spain are different from those that were applicable to Serbia in the case of Kosovo. Commenting on the European Commission’s position that Kosovo and Catalonia are incomparable cases, Kocijancic said there were no double standards.

Mihajlovic: Nis-Pristina highway currently higher priority than connecting Nis with the Ibar main road (Beta)

Serbian Minister of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure Zorana Mihajlovic has stated that the construction of the first section of the Nis-Merdare-Pristina highway, from Nis to Plocnik, should commence next year. “The conceptual project is being drafted, and it is financed by the Western Balkan Fund. The Serbian government has finalized the spatial plan and it is expected to be adopted soon so expropriation for the Nis-Plocnik section would start in November,” said Mihajlovic before the meeting with the Head of the Office of the European Investment Bank for Western Balkans Dubravka Negre. She pointed out that this highway from Nis to Pristina is currently higher priority than connecting Nis with the Ibar main road because more than half a million people live in the Nis and Toplica districts, and the highway would bring jobs and investments. “This highway is not only for the Kosovo Albanians and it is not only for Serbia and Albania, but also for the entire region that will be connected this way with the sea via the Albanian port of Durres,” said Mihajlovic. She assessed that there is no highway that is not strategically important and that Serbia should use its geographical position for constructing the road infrastructure as it will increase the flow of people and goods this way. According to her, the feasibility study showed that the highway is fully profitable, while it will enable for the six percent of the Serbs in Kosovo to stay there. The estimates are that the construction of the highway from Nis to Merdare will cost 855 million Euros. Dubravka Negre has stated that a large part of the funds for the construction of the Nis-Pristina highway will come from EU non-refundable assistance, which will further increase its profitability.

Kosovo flag at session of parliamentary Committee for Kosovo and Metohija (Politika)

The parliamentary Committee for Kosovo and Metohija did not have a quorum for work because MPs of the ruling coalition, apart from its Chairperson Milovan Drecun, didn’t attend it, but they still debated the southern Serbian province after the decision of the Serb List to support the Kosovo government, led by Ramush Haradinaj. They debated in such a way that Drecun warned twice Miljan Damjanovic (Serbian Radical Party) who threw the Kosovo flag in front of him and told him to “take it to Marko Djuric, the Head of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija”. Even though they were invited, the session was not attended by representatives of the Serb List and Office for Kosovo and Metohija, over which the opposition protested. They requested that a new session on this topic be scheduled. Damjanovic reacted by throwing the Kosovo flag on the table in front of Drecun, and the latter gave him a first warning. Damjanovic called him a hypocrite because he “supports the government of Haradinaj”, so Drecun gave him a second warning, to which Marjanovic reacted: “The Serb nation will try you over the traitor policy that you are conducting”. Drecun requested that the flag be thrown away.

Jeremic: Serbia will have to choose in 2018 between consenting to Kosovo joining the UN and aggravation of relations with the world (RTV)

President of the Center for International Relations and Sustainable Development (CIRSD) Vuk Jeremic has stated that Serbia will face a “difficult situation” in 2018 as it will have to choose between allowing Kosovo membership to the UN or fresh aggravation of relations with key international factors. The situation after the Catalonia independence referendum is “very serious” and could affect the Belgrade-Pristina talks, Jeremic  told Radio and Television of Vojvodina (RTV). He criticized the conduct of Serbian authorities who dramatically reacted to the stance of the European Commission that the cases of Catalonia and Kosovo are incomparable and announced written address to Brussels. “Following urgent consultations with the Serbian President, Prime Minister Ana Brnabic announced very dramatically that Serbia will address a letter to officials in Brussels, but I don’t think this letter would bring us any benefit and I don’t believe that any country would withdraw its recognition of Kosovo,” Jeremic said.

REGIONAL PRESS

Dodik: International community demonstrates double standards on example of referendum in Catalonia (Srna)

Republika Srpska (RS) President Milorad Dodik has told Srna that the reaction by official Brussels to a referendum on independence that was held in Catalonia on Sunday once again showed the lack of principles and double standards of that which is called the international community. “If Catalonia cannot go to a referendum to say if it wants to remain in Spain, how come that Kosovo decided to leave Serbia without a referendum, with only one declaration? And how come Kosovo, despite the opposition of official Belgrade, was recognized by a number of states, which today are denying this right to Catalonia?” Dodik has asked. He has said that the example of Catalonia showed that the international law is valid for some only and that it will be applied selectively. “From the historic point of view, Kosovo must have never been recognized by the countries which recognized it, since this is a Serbian territory which was practically seized by the Albanian national minority. The referendum in Catalonia showed the absurdity of the unilateral declaration of independence by Kosovo and of the international recognition of such an artificial creation,” Dodik has said. He has said that the EU, to which Serbia is committed strategically, will have to tell Serbia why some rules are valid for its member states and are not valid for those who are about to become its member states.“We in RS felt the best the violation of the international law where the so-called international community almost destroyed an international agreement by their daily interventions, instead of implementing it, by which it created an unbearable B&H,” the RS President has said. He has said that the international policy of double standards, again against Serbs, and favoring the rights of Bosniak Muslims, did not weaken the will of Serbs in RS to decide about their country, but to the contrary.“Such a policy made us stronger in the conviction that without an autonomy, which we got in Dayton, we cannot survive,” the RS President has concluded.

B&H officials react to Dodik’s and Dacic’s statments (N1)

RS President Milorad Dodik said that they should not give up on the intention to one day hold a referendum on independence.  Minister of Foreign Affairs of Serbia Ivica Dacic said that “whenever the RS announces a possible referendum, then it is assessed as anti-European behavior. How do they intend to explain to Serbs in B&H that they should not hold the referendum now that Catalonia held referendum?” A number of B&H officials reacted to Dacic’s statement, but also to Dodik’s desire to organize a referendum. SDP B&H representative in the B&H Parliament Denis Becirovic wrote to Dodik, sending him a clear message to stop the policy he is pursuing and dreams about creating a Greater Serbia on the territory of B&H. “It is an impossible mission,” Becirovic underlined. SDA Vice-President Sefik Dzaferovic said that Dacic and Dodik should stop raising tensions in the region and in B&H. “They need to fully respect the Dayton Peace Agreement (DPA) because the RS can only exist as an entity in B&H,” Dzaferovic stressed. What is interesting is that western newspapers are dealing with the regions in Europe that dream of independence. Croat Party (HS) said that Dodik’s call for unification of the RS and Serbia represents “new political orgy”, which was carried out in front of Dodik’s “mentor Aleksandar Vucic”. HS notes that Vucic’s message that Serbia respect sovereign and integral B&H is hypocritical, stressing that Dodik’s and Vucic’s messages are coordinated and dangerous.

Radmanovic says RS opposes membership in NATO, claims RS wants independence but not outside of Dayton (Nezavisne)

Vice President of SNSD and delegate in House of Peoples of B&H parliament Nebojsa Radmanovic said that vast majority of Serbs believe, because of emotional reasons, that B&H should not join NATO and added: “NATO nowadays does not even think about B&H becoming its member, yet we are arguing on who supports this and who opposes it”. Apart from this, Radmanovic reminded that NATO is carrying out an aggressive geo-strategic politics towards Russia while Serbia has proclaimed its military neutrality and he concluded: “Because of those three reason, there is no dilemma for us: We are against NATO”. Radmanovic noted that the RS Assembly will most probably adopt a resolution on military neutrality of the RS and he noted that he thinks that NATO will not pay much attention to that resolution. Asked to say whether he intends to run for a position in the upcoming general elections, Radmanovic said that media speculated on possible candidacies a lot but not many media paid attention to SNSD’s stance that now is the time to define programs since there is still time to decide on individual candidacies.

Commenting on the referendum on the Court of B&H and Prosecutor’s Office of B&H, Radmanovic said that he is one of those who think that “one cannot give up referendum unless everything is perfectly clear” because of which it is logical for the referendum only to be suspended and not fully cancelled. Radmanovic reminded that referendums are being interpreted in different ways worldwide and he noted: “We are small and not strong enough and we must be aware of the fact that big ones will interpret our moves in different ways. I believe that we only want to join those democratic countries in which referendum is the very top of democracy”.

Finally, Radmanovic was asked to comment on the future of the RS in the context of declaration on independence of the RS by 2018 which was adopted back in 2015, to which he replied by saying that the declaration stipulated that the RS wants independence in frame of Dayton responsibilities as well as that it wants equal rights. “It doesn’t state it in those words, but it is clear from the conclusion that we want independent RS not outside of Dayton. It also stipulates that we will hold referendum in case taking away of RS’ responsibilities continues”, Radmanovic said. Radmanovic strongly criticized reactions, primarily of SDA, on some hypothetical statements and concluded by saying that “if this continues, there will be referendum eventually, with or without SNSD”.

Softic says indirect election of B&H Presidency members is acceptable for SDA (TV1)

Deputy Speaker of the House of Peoples (HoP) of B&H parliament Safet Softic (SDA) commented on Tuesday the meeting of speaker of the B&H House of Representatives (HoR) Borjana Kristo and speaker of the B&H House of Peoples (HoP) Barisa Colak with Head of Political Section at the US Embassy in B&H Craig Conway and Head of Political Section at the EU Delegation to B&H Matthew Field. Softic said that the indirect election of B&H Presidency members would be a solution for changes to the Law on Elections of B&H and would result in relaxation of relations in the state and especially in the Federation of B&H. Softic added that the changes to the Law on Elections of B&H represent the top political question in B&H because it is necessary to implement rulings of the European Court of Human Rights and decisions of the Constitutional Court of B&H through the changes to the Law on Elections of B&H. Softic concluded by saying that the assistance of the international community is extremely important because the international community had significant influence on election legislation so far.

Opposition parties in RS to file criminal report against Director of Official Gazette of RS

Veselinovic for delays in publishing of decision on referendum (EuroBlic)

Leaders of opposition parties will file a criminal report with the District Prosecutor’s Office in Banja Luka on Friday against Director of the Official Gazette of the Republika Srpska (RS) Dragan Veselinovic because of delays in publishing of the RS Assembly decision on holding of the referendum on the B&H Court and Prosecutor’s Office of B&H. The daily learned that the criminal report will be signed by NDP leader Dragan Cavic, PDP leader Branislav Borenovic and SDS leader Vukota Govedarica. Namely, opposition parties are of the view someone must be held responsible for the failure to publish the decision on the referendum within the legal deadline. Cavic noted that everything indicates that “someone kept this decision in a drawer for two years”. Cavic also said that he expects judicial institutions to do their part of the work and added that he expects this every time “so that similar deformations in institutions, which produce political consequences, be cleared. Had they (judicial institutions) been doing their job, then many things now would not be the subject of speculations and political quarrels but a result of court proceedings”. Veselinovic refused to comment on this matter on Tuesday. Chair of SNSD Caucus in the RSNA Radovan Viskovic said that the opposition parties would not launch this issue if they cared at least a little bit for the RS and its institutions. “This was a good way to have the decision on the referendum ready and to activate it in any moment we needed it,” Viskovic said and claimed that opposition parties act upon someone else’s instructions.

International officials in B&H emphasize importance of adoption of excise duties on fuel (TV1)

Representatives of the international community attended a presentation of a book titled ‘2020 Vision: Reforms in B&H – Road to European Future’ on Tuesday and stated on the occasion that excise duties are one of crucial things for progress of B&H. They noted that they did not expect excise duties to be a problem at all and added that the fiscal policy is difficult but necessary.

US Ambassador to B&H Maureen Cormack said that taxes are difficult matter in every state but are necessary. Cormack reminded that, according to data of the World Bank, B&H has one of the worst road infrastructures in Europe. “No small economy has ever managed to improve the standard of citizens without significant increase of export, which requires good infrastructure. B&H leaders must explain to citizens how revenues from excise duties will be used and protected from corruption. The construction of a motorway by 2025 will be impossible without new sources of incomes”, Cormack said. Cormack also noted that it is necessary to improve business ambient, i.e. it is necessary to enable easier launching of business.

German Ambassador to B&H Christiane Hohmann said that the introduction of taxes is never popular measure but it is necessary. Hohmann noted that it is necessary to adopt excise duties as soon as possible because this will launch so many other fields “and we will be able to work more intensively on the implementation of our vision, which is seeing B&H as a member of the EU”.

Head of the EU Delegation to B&H Lars-Gunnar Wigemark said that the EU, USA and international financial institutions “are ready to put our EUR 500 million on the table”. Wigemark also said that it is up to domestic authorities to decide whether to accept this or not. He urged domestic politicians to take into consideration long-term interests instead of short-term political points. Wigemark stated that the EU will respect any decision of domestic authorities and he urged domestic politicians not to lose momentum and to continue reforms and revive economy.

UK Ambassador to B&H Edward Ferguson stated that there is resistance to more challenging reforms, such as excise duties and privatization of state companies. The reporter noted that representatives of the international community concluded that not all reforms are suitable for everyone because of which delays and obstructions will grow stronger. They also noted that changes to the Law on Elections of B&H and employment of youth represent important items which, together with investments, represent the key to progress.

High Representative Valentin Inzko said that he has been in B&H for the past eight years and did not see a clearer situation. He noted that everyone would benefit from the adoption of excise duties. He added that economy too would benefit because transport costs would decrease and transport itself would be faster. At the same time, Inzko noted that B&H has already collected significant funds from existing excise duties, more than BAM one billion, and citizens wonder where this money went and they would certainly be wondering where the additional money would go. “It would really be good, and I am even willing to impose excise duties should it be needed and if someone asks me to do so, but I would impose excise duties by BAM 0.03 higher for culture”, Inzko said while smiling and winking. The presenter seriously asked Inzko if he intends to impose the law on excise duties, to which Inzko replied by saying that he would be willing to do that if the international community asked him to do that and if domestic politicians agreed on that. However, he noted that it is up to domestic leaders to reach an agreement on excise duties.

DPS proposal on the dialogue coming soon (RTCG)

Prime Minister Dusko Markovic announced that the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) will soon come out with a proposal in the direction of dialogue. He said it was not healthy that the opposition was out of parliament. The Prime Minister of Montenegro also believes that it is in the interest of the authorities to bring the opposition back to parliament and to process the demands for new elections at any time. Markovic said that the previous parliamentary elections in Montenegro were recognized by the competent state institutions. The opposition, as he said, was disappointed with the results of the elections and went into the boycott, thus causing a political crisis. “It simply cannot be tolerated, it cannot be political and legal practice. This means that any political entity dissatisfied with elections can resort to a boycott, which means we are getting to new elections and infinity,” Markovic said. The Prime Minister said that no one has the right to disobey and humiliate the institutions of the system.

Chichakovski has called upon the political parties to stop all incidents (Meta)

The President of the State Election Commission (SEC), Aleksandar Chichakovski has issued an appeal to the political parties to stop urgently with causing incidents and has stated that the violence in the pre-election period can cause only damage to the candidates, political parties, the election process and the state.  Speaking on behalf of SEC, Chichakovski condemned all previous incidents before the local elections set for 15 October. The incidents are derailing the democratic ambiance and the election process and they should stop immediately. “The violence is never a solution. It won’t help anyone and it can only cause damage to the candidates, the political parties, the election process, the state. Once again, we appeal all negative occurrences to stop immediately and we appeal for respecting the counter-candidates and for fair and democratic elections. The elections will be won on the 15th of October with a clearly stated will of the citizens, with a higher percentage of voter turnout and the individual right of every citizen to cast his vote for those candidates that he thinks are best and not with violence” said SEC’s president. Chichakovski reminded that the mayoral candidates and councilors, including the political parties, have signed a code for fair and democratic elections, which obliges them to respect the principles of democracy and the good behavior, and to contribute to the society’s democratic development. “Each violence, incident, disobeying the political opponents in the election process is contrary to the code, the laws, the rules and regulations of Republic of Macedonia that are relevant during the elections,” said Chichakovski.

MoI: No tolerance of any incident during election campaign (MIA)

The Interior Ministry (MoI) says it won’t tolerate any incident during the election campaign and it strongly condemns all forms of violence. “Any attempt to violate the democratic election process and to endanger the safety of the citizens will be prosecuted adequately,” said MoI spokesman Toni Angelovski on Tuesday informing about yesterday’s incident in which Suto Orizari’s incumbent mayor and mayoral hopeful, Elvis Bajram, was attacked suffering a head injury.  So far, police have identified and brought in for questioning nine people who have reportedly been part of the scuffle. Evidence is being collected as part of the investigation into the incident, according to the MoI. The number of those involved is likely to rise. On behalf of SEC he called upon the authorized institutions to solve the incidents and to punish the perpetrators and the political parties to contribute to calming the situation.

EU: Macedonia institutions to provide conditions for credible local elections (MIA)

Following several incidents reported during the local election campaign, which led to Elvis Bajram – the incumbent mayor of Suto Orizari municipality in Skopje, who is running for a second term – being attacked last night, the European Commission issued Tuesday a reaction on the matter. A spokeswoman for the European Commission called on the Macedonian government and the institutions to provide conditions ensuring that free elections would be held, MIA’s correspondent reports from Brussels. “Before the local elections in the country, we are encouraging all political party representatives to act in a responsible manner. Also, we call on the institutions to provide conditions for a credible and transparent election process enabling the citizens to freely exercise their democratic rights,” stated Maja Kocijancic. In addition to implementation of reforms, part of the Urgent Reform Priorities, to make the EC recommendation for the opening of accession talks with Macedonia unconditional, Brussels is urging Macedonia to hold fair and democratic elections in which the citizens will cast ballots freely and without intimidation.

Hoyt Yee: Establishing accountability for wiretaps important for NATO, EU accession (TV Alsat M)

“It is very important for the country to establish accountability for the unauthorized wiretaps and the alleged government abuses associated with these wiretaps. This is a critical step towards Macedonia convincing EU, NATO and other international partners that it is ready to join these institutions, says United States Deputy Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs, Hoyt Yee, in an interview with TV Alsat M. “It is also a step towards reassuring the people of Macedonia that the rule of law is being established, respected and strengthened. We call on all actors – political parties, political leaders, government leaders, members of parliament – to do all they can to ensure that justice is done, that the rule of law is observed, that the Special Prosecutor is given the necessary support to do its job, and there is no political pressure and influence over prosecutors and judges, those involved in establishing accountability. I agree this must be done in a timely manner and not drag on for a long time”, says Hoyt Yee. According to him, it is very important for Macedonia to make the required judicial reforms, to allow the judiciary be independent, be free of political pressure, to be able to provide efficient and timely decisions that will establish a strong rule of law. “This is important for the future of Macedonia in acceding to the EU and NATO, but also important for those investors who will help the country reach the economic standards necessary for the young people to stay in Macedonia”, adds Hoyt Yee.

He says that any healthy democracy needs not only a strong government but a strong opposition, an opposition that will play a constructive role, both in parliament and outside, not only blocking proposals that it does not agree with, but propose alternatives. “Macedonia is trying to advance its democratic transition and advance its prospects for accession into the EU and NATO. This means that the country cannot afford a luxury of permanent delays and obstructions by political parties who disagree with the government. Of course, it is a democratic right to use all democratic tools at disposal and according to parliamentary rules. We look forward to VMRO and all parties in the parliament to play a constructive role and seek compromises when there are disagreements. We will be watching very closely, the EU as well. For those parties and individuals who are clearly obstructing for the sake of obstructing, or for personal or other intentions, we will hold them accountable”, stresses Hoyt Yee. The U.S. official says there has been Russian activity and malign influence in the Balkans over the past year. “We see Russia trying to discourage the accession of the Western Balkans’ accession to NATO and EU. We believe it is very important, as a matter of principles, for the Western Balkans or countries anywhere, to have the right to choose their own security alliances, the right to choose their futures. No country should have a veto and that is the principle that we are defending in helping Macedonia, Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina and other countries that want to integrate more closely with European and Euro-Atlantic institutions. It is important that Macedonia, working with us, EU and partners in the region to continue to resist malign influence, wherever the source might be, that they continue to strengthen the independent media, it is important to have strong, free, independent, professional media that will resist misinformation from Russia or other sources”, underlines Hoyt Yee in the interview.

FM Dimitrov meets OSCE High Commissioner Zannier (MIA)

Foreign Minister Nikola Dimitrov held talks Tuesday with OSCE High Commissioner for National Minorities Lamberto Zannier, who is in Skopje for an annual meeting of Heads of OSCE Missions in South-Eastern Europe. Dimitrov expressed satisfaction with the long, fruitful Macedonia-OSCE cooperation and readiness for it to resume, particularly in the sphere of integration, cohesion of Macedonia’s society, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a press release. Dimitrov briefed Zannier about Macedonia’s latest steps and the government’s determination to exploit the chance for the country’s accession, establishment in the family of developed democracies. In this respect, he presented the views on strengthening the cohesion of ethnic communities in the aftermath of the political crisis. Zannier commended the government’s vision for Macedonia’s further development, saying that he and his team are ready to help the country in its efforts to strengthen, advance the democratic values and standards, the press release reads.

Jean Asselborn: 2018 May be a very good year for negotiations; Any comparison to Crimea, Kosovo and Catalonia is ungrounded (ATA)

Albanian Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Ditmir Bushati met with Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, Minister for Immigration and Asylum of Luxembourg Jean Asselborn in Tirana on Tuesday. In a joint press conference following the meeting Bushati praised the bilateral relations between Albania and Luxembourg as well as the assistance provided to EU integration process, receiving member status and to the judicial reform. Bushati underlined that it was agreed to avoid double taxation as a necessary mechanism to bolster economy as well as emphasized the role Albania will play in relation to the regional stability. In addition, Bushati said, the meeting also discussed current developments within the EU which have intensified and somehow affect the entire Union as well as focused on matters of security, immigration and asylum-seeking and counter-terrorism. Bushati informed his counterpart about the concrete steps undertaken by the Albanian government in the field of reforms for the fulfillment of the membership priorities, especially the justice reform, which is directly connected to each of the priorities and above all the life of every Albanian citizen. During the press conference, Minister Asselborn dwelt on some of the most important recent events in the EU, referring in particular to the events in Spain, the elections in Germany and Brexit. In this context, he stressed the importance of EU enlargement including the Western Balkan countries. “In 2009, Albania submitted its formal application for EU membership. In 2014, it received the status of candidate country, and 2018 may be a very good year for opening negotiations. There are good opportunities and Luxembourg will continue to support it in this process,” Minister Asselborn emphasized. He also focused on asylum-seeking phenomenon which, according to him, it is a means to develop free movement within the EU not to increase asylum claims, as well as expressed concern on the issue of abandoned children in EU countries. Following the press conference and the journalists’ inquiry as regards the current events in Spain and the parallelism between Catalonia and Kosovo, Ministers Bushati and Asselborn voiced that any comparison to Crimea and Catalonia is ungrounded. “The decision of the International Court of Justice on Kosovo has closed any further discussion from the standpoint of international law,” Minister Bushati pointed out. On his part, Minister Asselborn underscored that “In Kosovo, there was a war, while in Catalonia there is no war and this is the main difference between these two cases.” The visiting Minister Asselborn was received in a separate meeting by the President, Ilir Meta, who praised the very good bilateral relations and expressed gratitude for the attention and constant support that Luxembourg has given to the integration process of Albania and Western Balkan region.

Coalition with Albanians, Rama’s special invitation (ATA)

After the victory at the parliamentary elections, Prime Minister Edi Rama promised a coalition and co-governance with the citizens. To make a step toward this promise the Premier addressed a letter to every Albanian citizen inviting them to join him in a meeting in the Olympic Palace on October 6. “On 25 June the Albanians voted for a co-governance with the people. It is my pleasure to invite you to joins us in the public presentation of the new platform and the opening for the registration of the governance coalition,” writes Rama.

Electoral Reform/ DP proposes a new formula (ATA)

Democratic Party has a new proposal on the composition of the new ad-hoc parliamentary Committee on the Electoral Reform. Democrats require a committee with 18 members, 9 from majority and 9 from the opposition. They will have three members, the other 4 posts will be for its allies, Fatmir Mediu, Nard Ndoka, Vangjel Dule and Dashamir Shehi. Meanwhile the other two left, for the Socialist Movement for Integration (SMI) also in the opposition. DP will make this proposal official during the meeting of the Conference of Chairman ahead of the parliamentary session. Bledi Cuci and Oerd Bylykbashi were proposed to be the co-chairmen of the new ad-hoc parliamentary Committee on the Electoral Reform. The new committee is expected to be voted on Thursday and the majority and the opposition are expected to have the same number of the members. Socialists are alone in their positions and all the five members of the committee will be elected by their party.  The ‘debates’ are expected to happen within the opposition. Democrats pretend to share their posts with its allies, as republicans or agrarian. While the position of the Socialist Movement for Integration in this committee remains unclear.

New parliament group created (ATA)

The Albanian parliament has a new parliamentary group. As it was announced before, the Republican Party became ‘bigger’ taking some of the democrat MPs and creating its own group. The members are Fatmir Mediu, Isuf Celaj, Hekuran Hoxholli, Oriola Pampuri, Lindita Metalia, Nadire Mecorapaj and Fatbardha Kadiu. The leader of the group will be Fatmir Mediu while the vice chair will be Lindita Metalia.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA SOURCES

Balkan leaders back Serbia’s bid to join European Union (Reuters, 3 October 2017)

SOFIA – The prime ministers of Bulgaria, Greece and Romania gave their support to their Balkan neighbor Serbia’s bid to join the European Union on Tuesday, saying the integration of the western Balkans would guarantee regional peace and stability.

Serbia, which in the 1990s was seen as pariah of Western Balkans for its central role in wars that followed the collapse of Yugoslavia, expects to complete negotiations on EU membership by 2019. “All of us know that the natural place of Serbia is in the European Union,” Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov said after a four-party summit in the Black Sea city of Varna with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, Romanian Prime Minister Mihai Tudose and Serbian President Alexander Vucic. Borissov said that the three EU members would work to speed up the process to the advantage of peace and stability in the Balkans and Europe generally.

Bulgaria takes over the rotating six-month EU presidency in January while Romania will take over in 2019. Many Serbs, however, remain skeptical about joining the bloc and view Western European countries as outspoken advocates of the 1999 NATO bombing to halt the killing and expulsion of ethnic Albanians in the former province of Kosovo, in which thousands of civilians had been killed.

DOUBLE STANDARDS

Vucic accused the European Union of using double standards by refusing to accept the Catalan independence referendum while largely welcoming a separate Kosovo. ”We support Spain, it is our friendly country,“ said Vucic. ”But the European Commission responded in a different way (over Kosovo) and it was against my people and my state. Kosovo’s declaration of independence from Serbia in 2008 was accepted by Washington and most EU states, but rejected by Belgrade and its allies. “Kosovo gained independence without even holding a referendum but Catalonia … cannot get anything like that,” Vucic said. “Sometimes, we, the Serbs, are asking ourselves why we should have been the victim of double standards?” Serbia’s position on Kosovo has been one of the main stumbling blocks in its own bid to join the European Union. Brussels has said it needs to improve relations with the authorities in Pristina and stop trying to block their efforts to join international bodies.

Reporting by Angel Krasimirov; Editing by Richard Balmforth

Prime Minister Tudose says Romania, Bulgaria, Greece and Serbia can be EU’s defence wall (Agerpres, 4 October 2017)

AGERPRES special correspondent Madalina Cerban reports: Romania, Bulgaria, Greece and Serbia can be a wall meant to protect the European Union, Romanian Prime Minister said in Varna on Tuesday. “We have done nothing but extend the collaboration between Bulgaria and Romania with Serbia and Greece. (…) We, Romania, aren’t a neighbour country of Greece, but we are Greece’s partners. (…) We are four countries making up the Western Balkans, Balkans that can equally be an entrance gate to the European Union, an exit gate from the European Union or a wall protecting the European Union. We have the same interest, both strategic and economic, as well as good neighbours wanting Serbia to become a European Union member country,” Prime Minister Mihai Tudose told a joint press conference with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and with the Bulgarian and Greek counterpart, Boiko Borisov and Alexis Tsipras. The four officials participated on Tuesday in the Evksinograd Palace of the Bulgarian city of Varna in the high-level quadrilateral meeting of Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia and Greece.

The Romanian Prime Minister also said he is very confident that everybody understands that this team wasn’t created against anything or anyone, but only for Romania, Bulgaria, Greece and Serbia to capitalise on the chances they have as best as possible. “I am convinced that (…) we are in a very pragmatic partnership, we have no more time to lose, history doesn’t wait for us, we have a huge opportunity, which I am positive we are materialising,” Mihai Tudose underscored. According to him, the four countries have the same strategic interests to be independent energy-wise and have energy security. “The gas interconnection of Serbia with Bulgaria is important, the interconnection of Serbia with Romania on electricity which we are working on is important, but it is important that all four countries act like a single partner in respect to energy relations with the rest of the European Union and avoid dependency on a single supplier,” Tudose said.

In respect to the infrastructure projects, he believes that coordination is needed. “Coordination is needed, because we are talking about common infrastructure projects, but we also have national projects, and coordinating the national projects is as important to develop a network under the international ones, the great European corridors, allowing smaller economic exchanges, which, in fact, make up the day to day basis of the communities living at the border,” Tudose said.

In his turn, Bulgarian PM Boiko Borisov said that in Varna on Tuesday a new Balkan Visegrad Group was born. He pointed out that, through this initiative, the four countries are doing a good thing for Europe, and their voice will be heard. “I am pleased with this European solidarity and with the financial aid that we received in the form of European funds, I am talking about those received by Bulgaria, even those received by Romania and Greece. Our goal is not to confront each other, but on the contrary, through arguments, to reach good results. (…) With tolerance, we should propose options and reach sooner the European peace between Belgrade and Pristina and Serbia’s accession to the European Union,” Borisov showed. He pointed out that, at the proposal of President Aleksandar Vucic, the next high-level quadrilateral meeting could take place in Serbia.

President Vucic said that Serbia is headed towards Europe. “I was very grateful to Bulgaria, Romania and Greece, who support us very much. (…) Together we can do many things for our citizens, for their prosperity, so that we have less problems than we have today,” Vucic showed.

At the same time, in the opinion of Greek PM Alexis Tsipras, the four countries can play “an essential role in the name of the progress, peace, stability and prosperity” of the entire region.

“The Balkans are a critical region for Europe, a region which, in the past, created much inquietude, wars, confrontations, but today it can (…) create the hope of cooperation and collaboration. (…) We have decided to cooperate closely in several directions, such as energy, economy, transport, (…) as well as crises management, namely the security area,” Tsipras also said.

(RO — editor: Georgiana Tanasescu; EN — author: Adina Panaitescu, editor: Rodica State) 

Rinkēvičs: Alignment with EU foreign policy of utmost importance for candidate states (European Western Balkans, by N. T. Štiplija, 3 October 2017)

During the Riga Conference 2017, portal European Western Balkans spoke with Edgars Rinkēvičs, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Latvia. We spoke about the EU integration of the Western Balkans, Montenegro’s accession to NATO and Russian influence in the region.

European Western Balkans: What is the position of Latvia regarding the EU integration of the Western Balkans? Recently we heard President Juncker saying that Montenegro and Serbia are front-runners in this process and that the EU can see them as members by 2025.

Edgars Rinkēvičs: First of all, we do support the process of EU enlargement, because we believe in it from our own experience. While we were running for both EU and NATO membership in the 1990s, it was beneficial for two reasons. First, it was beneficial for our own development – the reform process, political, economic and social justice system reform. Second, we do believe that EU enlargement is also bringing stability in the broadest sense possible. Remembering what happened at the end of 1980s and particularly in the 1990s in the Balkan region, we do believe that if countries of the region are ready and they have both filled out criteria and implemented reforms, and if we all agree in the European Union – currently at 28, soon to be 27, then we should continue with this enlargement.

EWB: When Latvia tried to become a member of the EU, you had to fulfil all the Copenhagen criteria and to align with the acquis. But somehow in the Balkans everyone forgot about the Copenhagen criteria, and it seems that nobody from Brussels cares about the rule of law, human rights and rights of minorities in the Balkans. For them, somehow “checking boxes” of the European acquis is much more important than what happened in these countries.

ER: I cannot fully agree with you on this. I think that we do have chapters in the accession process that are directly linked to the rule of law issues, judiciary reform and human rights. By the way, also the understanding of human rights has evolved. If you compare the acquis back in the 1990s with the acquis in 2017, there are some differences. There is also the overall understanding of human rights, equality issues, which are also evolving in the EU.

I would even say that we are not all on the same page on many things within the Union. So, from that point of view, I disagree that this is “checking boxes”. Look what happened in Macedonia recently with the election process and then formation of the government. I think that you have seen quite active involvement also of Commissioner Hahn, you have seen Federica Mogherini working with leaders of political parties and with the wider neighbourhood.

From that point of view, my take would be that there is one larger issue. That larger issue is also what people from the Balkans probably feel. I would also say that the same would apply at some point in the past to the Baltic States – “We will pass xyz number of laws, we will check boxes, we will happily report to Brussels through the mechanisms that we have done everything and passed all the good laws, and now, please, accept us.” The trouble is that after passing these laws, there is also the implementation, and that is where we sometimes feel issues, not only in the Western Balkans, but also with the Eastern Partnership nations.

EWB: What are priorities of your country when it comes to the Western Balkans accession process? What are the questions you asked Brussels about the Chapter 31, which regards the foreign policy of the Western Balkan states?

ER: For us, there are some issues. One is that all the candidate countries do implement the acquis. We asked the Commission for the report and they think that the progress has been sufficient. Whether it is the judicial sector, finances or economy.

Regarding the second question, yes indeed. It is of utmost importance for us that all candidate countries do align themselves with the foreign and security policy of the EU, particularly after 2014 and particularly after the illegal annexation of Crimea. And we know that there is one country that has not done that – Serbia. That would be a huge debate here if there would be a recommendation by the Commission to end accession process and to start already the admission of Serbia, if this country would continue the policy of non-alignment with the foreign and security policy. That is what I have said to the candidate countries, and what I have said to the press recently.

EWB: Montenegro recently became NATO member state. Do you think this membership will contribute to the stability of the Western Balkan region, given the fact that there is an increased Russian presence in the region?

ER: I do think that accession of Montenegro to NATO is providing additional stability in the Balkans. We have seen also that there has been sufficient reform process when it comes to the private sector, when it comes to the public opinion and general governance issues. So, from that point of view, we do believe that there is already a positive dynamic when it comes to security and stability.

Second, I do believe also that the contribution of Montenegro to NATO operations is as important as the contribution of any other NATO member state. For instance, Latvia is not a big country with enormous military assets and many soldiers. But I think that what we have seen is that our resources through common NATO operations are contributing to the common security, we are like Montenegro, for instance. We are not just consumers of security, we are also providers. From that point of view, I think that Montenegro is doing really great.

EWB: The EU and NATO accession in Central and Eastern Europe somehow went together. But there are some states, such as Serbia which declared military neutrality, that do not desire to become members of NATO. From your perspective, does this represent an obstacle for EU membership?

ER: No, not at all. I think that we should respect the decision of Serbia not to seek NATO membership. I do not believe that we have any right to dictate any government on what their security policy should be. For us, NATO and EU memberships were complementary for many reasons, but we respect the decision of any government, whether it is the Balkans or in the eastern neighbourhood of the EU.

For instance, we have three nations – Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia, wanting to become EU members. We have Belarus, Armenia, and Azerbaijan not wanting to become EU members.  We respect those decisions. We also believe that everyone should respect the decisions of people and governments, but in this case, Serbia is free to choose only EU membership, but not NATO membership.

EWB: How would you compare the Russian influence in the Baltic and in the Balkans? In the Balkans, Russian influence is increasing in the past several years, from 2008. Do you believe that Russia is using its soft power in the region and to what extent?

ER: I think that there are some similarities and some differences. I do agree that Russia is trying to use its influence – economic or information warfare tools, propaganda tools, or religious organisations. We have an Orthodox Church and we know that they are very much linked to the Russian Orthodox Church, and we also know that Russian Orthodox Church is very close to the government. We have also seen economic and trade relations. When the Soviet Union collapsed, the Baltic states were heavily dependent on Russian energy and trade. This has changed. We have also seen attempts to invest and to make more economic ties with the Balkan nations.

The difference is that I still believe that it is harder and more difficult for Russia to play games with EU and NATO member states than with the state that is still not part of the club – be it NATO or the EU. The EU has its regulations. EU’s soft power has shown its might, especially in 2014. We still have many issues when it comes to the economy and when it comes to political discussions, how to continue to build our Union. But still, I believe that to some extent we are still better protected from the attempts to directly influence us.