LOCAL PRESS

Brnabic, Danielsson: EU membership foreign policy priority of Serbia (Beta/Tanjug)

Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic reiterated during the talks with Director-General of the European Commission for Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Christian Danielsson, that a full EU membership is a foreign policy priority of Serbia. Brnabic pointed out that the entire region belongs in the Union, because without including the Balkans, the common economic and political space on the European continent will not be complete. She underlined that Serbia continues to implement comprehensive reforms in many sectors through which it seeks to modernise society and the state and establish strong institutions, whose work is based on democratic principles and full respect for the rule of law. She also voiced hope that the opening of new chapters in the negotiation process will begin soon. Brnabic stated that Serbia sees the strengthening of regional cooperation in the Western Balkans as one of the main conditions for continuing the reconciliation policy in the region and that it wants to be an active and credible partner in all regional initiatives and processes. She added that the signing of the Transport Community Treaty and the consensus of all from the region and the European Commission that the headquarters of the future secretariat should be in Belgrade is of great importance for both Serbia and the region.

Danielsson: There is a link between normalization of relations and EU membership (Beta)

Director-General of the European Commission for Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Christian Danielsson stated on that a clear connection existed between the normalization of relations between Belgrade and Pristina and Serbia’s EU membership. He told reporters at the Belgrade Security Forum that the EU wanted to make the dialogue between Serbia and Kosovo easier. It is clear from the negotiation framework that it is an ongoing process. I know it is dangerously wrong to interpret a particular terminology. I think it is clearly understood that there is a connection between the full normalization of relations and accession to the EU, he stated. We are in the process of negotiations about Serbia’s accession, but the rate at which the negotiations progress depends on Serbia, Danielsson said.

Vucic: It is important that NATO remains neutral in Kosovo (Beta)

At a meeting with Gottemoeller, Vucic said it was very important that NATO should keep implementing a principled and status-neutral attitude towards Kosovo, his cabinet reported.

He said that NATO was an indispensable factor of the regional stability for Serbia, and KFOR a very important factor of security and survival of the Serb community in Kosovo, as well as preservation of the Serbian cultural and historical heritage. Vucic said that cooperation between Serbia and NATO was greatly improved and that the mutual trust increased. Vucic and Gottemoeller also discussed implementation of the initiative for use of the trust fund for demining and destruction of cluster bombs in Serbia, which will be implemented with the assistance of the Dutch government.

NATO accepts Serbia’s commitment to military neutrality, Gottemoeller said, noting the neutrality was not an issue for NATO or an obstacle to cooperation with Serbia in many areas.

Djuric: We have no implementation partner in Pristina (Tanjug)

Serbia is fully committed to solving the great, generational problem in Kosovo and Metohija peacefully and through dialogue, but Belgrade has no partner in Pristina for implementation of agreements reached, the Head of the Serbian government Office for Kosovo and Metohija, Marko Djuric, told a Belgrade Security Forum panel on Friday. Many agreements have been made over the past period, but Pristina has scrapped the position of the official in charge of implementation, Djuric said.

Djuric discusses dialogue with Pristina with Logar (RTS)

The Head of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija Marko Djuric informed the State Secretary of the Slovenian Foreign Ministry Andrei Logar about the course of the dialogue with Pristina, stressing that Belgrade for months hasn’t had an implementation partner from the other side. According to Djuric, Belgrade is prepare to continue the dialogue with Pristina and is determined to resolve all disagreements, as well as the problems of the Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija, with peaceful and democratic means. “Belgrade insists on implementation of reached agreements, primarily the agreements on the formation of the Community of Serb Municipalities, which is the main elements of the Brussels agreement,” said Djuric. He also informed Logar about the political and security situation in the southern province, as well as the course of the internal dialogue on Kosovo and Metohija launched at the initiative of President Vucic.

Brajovic: These are the best relations in the last decade (RTS)

Political relations of Montenegro and Serbian leadership are getting better, and parliamentary diplomacy, which facilitates the cooperation at all other levels, is of particular importance, assessed the parliament speakers of the two countries, Ivan Brajovic and Maja Gojkovic.

At a joint press conference in the Serbian Parliament, after the meeting that was held at the beginning of the official visit of the Montenegrin Parliament delegation to Serbia, Brajovic said that Montenegro was continuously committed to building friendly relations with Serbia. They are further empowered by the regional context and goals of both countries to become members of the European Union. Gojkovic called to mind that the two countries are bound by many foreign policy commitments, history, as well as the apparently common future in the EU. “We discussed the possibility that the Berlin process could get another dimension – a parliamentary dimension. I told the distinguished President who agrees with this idea to present our idea to all who make the Berlin Process. Thus, most probably, the Berlin Process at the next meeting that will be held in London will get this dimension for the first time,” Gojkovic said.

Not an unexpected decision of the US to leave UNESCO (RTS)

National coordinator for cooperation with UNESCO for cultural heritage Vladimir Dzamic has told RTS that the decision of the US on withdrawing from UNESCO is not too surprising and that he doesn’t expect other states to follow their move. He says that the US has had a turbulent relationship with UNESCO since 1974 when they protested over the relationship towards Israel, and then in 1984 when they left UNESCO, which lasted until 2001. Dzamic notes that the US hasn’t had the right to vote since 2013, neither in 2015 when the voting on Kosovo’s UNESCO membership took place. “The influence that the US has in the world is not reflected in UNESCO and they are probably expressing this dissatisfaction by leaving the organization,” says Dzamic.

He says that, even though the US has formally left UNESCO, essentially nothing will change when it comes to lobbying for Kosovo. “We should not relax. Our goal is for Kosovo not to join UNESCO,” he said.

REGIONAL PRESS

Dodik to host meeting of parliamentary parties and reps of civil society on Saturday to define joint stance on work Court of B&H and Prosecutor’s Office of B&H (RTRS)

Republika Srpska (RS) President Milorad Dodik said that a consultative meeting on the RS’ activities related to the Court and Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) will be held on Saturday regardless whether representatives of opposition parties in the RS will attend it or not. Dodik stated that this is the issue of national interest, and that opposing unity at this moment is equal to betrayal of Serb national interest. Dodik also stated that the verdict against Oric is evidence that the Court of BiH works under influence of some political subjects. “We allowed Muslims to try and sentence us”, stressed Dodik.

The Alliance for Changes (SzP) will not attend Dodik’s meeting on Saturday. The SzP also presented a negative stance on the work of judiciary but it also presented some concrete proposals. SDS leader Vukota Govedarica said that the current existence of the Court and Prosecutor’s Office of B&H is unsustainable. Govedarica added that they deny the jurisdiction of the Court of B&H and Prosecutor’s Office of B&H in war crimes cases and noted that it is completely normal for courts of entities to take over this jurisdiction. Govedarica also stated that the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council (HJPC) of B&H should be, in great part, deprived of the responsibility to select and appoint the President of the Court of B&H and Chief Prosecutor of B&H. According to Govedarica, those should be elected by B&H Parliament instead.  The SzP called other political parties to join their initiative but it also warned that this is a serious issue and that there is no room for manipulations.

Opposition sends open letter to Dodik (NAP)

Representatives of Alliance for Changes and leaders of SDS, PDP, NDP and SRS RS Vukota Govedarica, Branislav Borenovic, Dragan Cavic and Milanko Mihajlica sent an open letter to RS President Milorad Dodik. In their letter, opposition leaders noted that Dodik’s invitation would be worth of admiration if they were convinced that he has honest intentions and that he acts as RS President. “Unfortunately, until now you gave us no opportunity to see that you preform the highest post in the RS I a way prescribed by the constitutional provisions, but on the contrary, by violating the RS Constitution you cause and instigate divisions and provoke hatred and conflicts with your unbalanced and inappropriate public actions against those who publically present stances that you disagree with”, reads letter. Opposition noted that they understand all the weight of the verdict i.e. acquittal of Naser Oric and they oppose such inefficient and irresponsible work of the Court and Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina. They noted that they presented their stances publically and are willing to work on this with everyone who are interested. “We do not see the point of your invitation, because you often carry out irresponsible state politics, which we witnessed every time when you abused our good will to work together on resolving of national and state issue of Serb people and the RS”, reads letter. Opposition noted that they will consider the possibility to talk to him if he returns within frameworks of his constitutional obligation. “Considering all of the above, we are not asking you to apologize for everything you did with your reckless actions and statements, but we are asking you to think if the behavior you exercise in the public is suitable for post of the RS President,” ends the letter.

OHR says decisions that would suspend or limit jurisdiction and decisions of state judiciary in part of state territory would be unconstitutional and unacceptable (TV1)

The Office of the High Representative (OHR) commented on Dodik’s call to Serbs to leave the B&H Court of and Prosecutor’s Office, as well as the announcement on limiting the jurisdiction of these institutions in the RS, and stated that one-sided decisions that would suspend or limit jurisdiction and decisions of judicial institutions of B&H in a part of the state territory would be unconstitutional and unacceptable. The OHR added that entities must respect decisions of state institutions and reminded that the Court of B&H and Prosecutor’s Office of B&H have jurisdiction in the entire territory of B&H. The OHR also said that attempts to exert pressure on representatives of judiciary or make an influence on appointments and unacceptable and concluded that judges must be allowed to work independently and without any political pressures.

SDS, PDP and NDP request information on implementation of referendum on state judiciary (BNTV)

SDS, PDP and NDP Caucuses in the Republika Srpska (RS) Assembly sent a letter on Thursday to the RS Commission for Implementation of Referendum, in which they requested information about activities on implementation of the referendum on state judiciary in the RS. NDP leader Dragan Cavic told BNTV that the commission is legally bound to do their job. Cavic explained that there are two options available, either to conduct the referendum, or to put out of effect the decision on the referendum in term of 55 days after the decision was put into force. He stressed that the commission is obliged to carry out activities, such as requesting the list of voters, the budget, and to carry out other preparations for the referendum. Cavic underlined that the commission is not supposed to take into account political stances, but to conduct the referendum.

Commission for Implementation of Referendum on B&H Judiciary to convene on Friday (ATV)

A session of the Commission for Implementation of Referendum on the B&H Judiciary will be held in Banja Luka on Friday. The news about the session broke a few hours after the opposition in Republika Srpska (RS) asked the Referendum Commission to answer the question about the preparations for the referendum on work of the Court and the Prosecutor’s Office of B&H.

The decision on holding the referendum on work of the Court and the Prosecutor’s Office of B&H was published in the RS Official Gazette on September 20, thus starting a 50-day deadline for its holding. Given that the decision on the referendum has not been suspended, this practically means that the RS citizens will vote in the referendum on November 19.

SBB B&H and DF will not support adoption of excise duties (Dnevni avaz)

SBB B&H leader Fahrudin Radoncic said that price of all products will increase if excise duties increase, adding that older generation knows what that means. “Besides, it is clear from previous experience, Turkish ‘Cengiz’ and such will be key contractors. They will take hundreds of million BAM from B&H, which we will get indebted for, and then they will return part of the deal in cash for election campaigns of SDA, like they did in earlier years. For this reason exactly SBB will not support adoption of excise duties”. DF leader Zeljko Komsic said the DF’s previous stance that the party does not support adoption of this set of laws that stipulate the increase of excise duties.

Government sabotaging President’s visit to Russia? (Jutarnji list)

The Prime Minister has forbidden some ministers from accompanying the President to Moscow. It is becoming more evident that Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic is trying to sabotage the visit by President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic to Russia. It is just a new phase in the conflict between the government and President, which is increasingly starting to look personal, reports Jutranji List. Instead of Foreign Minister Marija Pejcinovic Buric, Plenkovic has selected State Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Zdravka Busic to be part of the President’s delegation for her most important visit this year after her bilateral meeting with US President Donald Trump. Also, the delegation will not include Deputy Prime Minister and Economy Minister Martina Dalic, although economic topics are expected to dominate the talks. Only Interior Minister Davor Bozinovic and Culture Minister Nina Obuljen Korzinek will accompany the President. Also, Russia has not been given a building in Zagreb to which its diplomats could move, so this problem will undoubtedly be one of the topics that Grabar-Kitarovic will have to discuss with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

At the end of May, then Foreign Minister Davor Ivo Stier visited Moscow. At a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, they discussed the issue of the Russian Embassy building in Zagreb. For its diplomatic mission in Moscow, Croatia is using a building which has been provided by Russia and, according to diplomatic customs, Croatia should act in the same way. This issue has remained unsolved for a long time since Russian diplomats are currently located in a completely inappropriate building. Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic has called media claims that President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic’s planned official visit to Russia next week had been obstructed by his government, bizarre. Plenkovic emphasized his government’s support for the visit. Plenkovic also dismissed media claims that Croatia had problems in its relations with Russia due to the unresolved issue of a building to house the Russian embassy in Croatia, pointing out that the technical issue of finding an embassy building had already been on the government’s agenda for around 25 years.

Zbogar: Local elections – opportunity for citizens to determine future development of municipalities (MIA)

The 15 October local election are an opportunity for you, the citizens to present your views about the direction your municipalities should take in the future, Head of the EU Delegation to Macedonia Samuel Zbogar said Thursday. “We call on political leaders and party members to conduct the election process without intimidation and violence. We remind of the significance of making clear distinction between the state and party activities before, during and after the elections. We count on the state institutions – the police, the State Election Commission, civic society – to do their job for conducting democratic, free and fair elections,” Zbogar said. Finally, each vote counts, he said. ‘We call on citizens to exercise their democratic right to vote and thus shape the future of their municipalities.’

VMRO-DPMNE: Administration of upcoming elections must meet highest standards (MIA)

Opposition VMRO-DPMNE leader Nikola Gruevski and US, EU and Ambassador to Macedonia discussed Thursday on the course of campaign ahead of 15 October local elections in the country, the party said in a press release. Numerous violations to the election process, such as physical incidents, demolishing of parties’ headquarters and abuse of state funds for partisan goals, have been registered in the course of the election campaign, VMRO-DPMNE said at the meeting. The opposition party also underlined the need of conducting fair, democratic elections, which requires grater engagement of relevant institutions. VMRO-DPMNE remains committed to the pledge for democratic elections and democratic climate for all participants in the process and believes that the forthcoming poll must meet the highest standards for Macedonia to advance on its road to the EU, NATO membership, the press release reads.

Ahmeti: Change of Kosovo’s borders could have domino effect (MIA)

Statements by top Serbian officials about changing the borders of Kosovo are deemed dangerous and having a domino effect for the entire Western Balkans, said DUI leader Ali Ahmeti. Ahmeti urges ‘these things to be reconsidered in-depth’, because if the process of changing the borders of Kosovo begins, it will have a domino effect gripping other countries. Ahmeti says Russia was to blame for the idea, because the country didn’t want the Western Balkans to be part of the EU, much less NATO. “Top Russian officials, President Vladimir Putin and Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, have openly said that Macedonia’s accession to NATO is a classic provocation, the worst one that can be done to Russia,” Ahemti says. The DUI leader says he believed that Albanians can be united only within the European Union after borders in the region are lifted. Ahmeti calls on the authorities in Serbia, the authorities in Kosovo, and also those in Macedonia and Albania to have ‘a clear head’ when analyzing the circumstances and to see which is the best and most productive solution for the region. According to him, there should be no borders because ‘there’s no reason for borders and for passengers to wait for three hours on the border between Kosovo and Macedonia.’ As regards the upcoming local elections in Macedonia, the DUI leader says that he is confident his party will win and that DUI will govern a bulk of the municipalities with predominantly Albanian population. DUI at the moment manages 16 out of 18 municipalities with a dominant Albanian community, according to Ahmeti. Ahmeti says that Albanians in Macedonia do not need more than two parties that will be championing their interests in the institutions of Macedonia.

Parliament blocked, Ruci forced to postpone session (ADN)

The parliamentary session this Thursday evening was closed before even started. Democrat MP expelled, Flamur Noka, followed the same strategy as democrats used a week ago: he protests within the parliament blocking the podium expecting the session to reopen, as it was decided at 17:30 p.m. Facing the same situation, parliament speaker, Gramoz Ruci, decided to postpone the parliamentary session on Friday at 08:30 a.m. and refused the request of some opposition MPs to expel also the Prime Minister, Edi Rama from Parliament.

Tensions in parliament related to Rama’s ties with crime – Basha (ADN)

The Democratic Party (DP) chair, Lulzim Basha declared that Premier Edi Rama ties with the organized crime were the origin of tensions during Thursday’s parliamentary session. He also accused speaker Gramoz Ruci of intentionally causing a collapse of parliamentary life in order to avoid the debate on the elections and organized crime. “Speaker Ruci intentionally caused a collapse of the parliamentary life by violating the regulation acting in accordance to Rama orders. The only reason behind this illicit way of doing is to avoid any kind of debate over the elections and the organized crime issues. Rama is afraid of facing the truth and the fact that country’s territory is controlled by gangs whose ties go up to him. Opposition is more than ready to present the citizens with facts proving his ties to the organized crime. This is not a metaphor. He is perfectly aware of this fact due to our continuous warnings. The parliament is the right place for these facts presentation,” said Basha.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA SOURCES

AP Interview: Serbian leader vows to lead nation into the EU (AP, 13 October 2017)

Serbia’s president is promising to lead the Balkan nation into the European Union and says the fact that Russia is arming the Serbian military doesn’t threaten that goal. President Aleksandar Vucic told The Associated Press in an interview Friday that “we know where we are going, which means that we are on our EU path, that’s the strategic goal of our country.” He says “at the same time, we want to preserve the very best relations with Russia, Turkey, China, U.S. and all others.” Under the leadership of former ultranationalist Vucic, Serbia has formally been seeking EU membership, but at the same time is maintaining close relations with historic Slavic ally Russia. Russia has been supplying Serbia with MiG-29 fighter jets, and plans to deliver battle tanks and armored vehicles.