LOCAL PRESS

Vucic: Serbia’s priorities include EU, economic growth and regional stability (Beta)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said at meeting with an international organization bringing together right-center parties that the country’s priorities included EU membership, economic growth and regional stability. President Vucic said that thanks to the Bulgarian and

Austrian presidency over the Council of the EU, this year offered great opportunities for Serbia to make progress in the EU accession process, promising that the country would continue its social and economic reform, the Office of the Serbian President reported. The Serbian president and an International Democratic Union (IDU) delegation, led by Secretary General Christian Kattner, also discussed relations in the Western Balkans. The IDU delegates expressed support to the regional policy of peace and stability, spearheaded by President Vucic and Serbia, the office went on to say in a press release.

Jevtic: Vucic’s visit calmed down tensions (RTS)

Kosovo Minister for Communities and Returns Dalibor Jevtic has told Radio and Television of Serbia (RTS) that Vucic’s visit to Kosovo and Metohija following the murder of Oliver Ivanovic was timely, it calmed down tensions and introduced peace. “This was a good reaction and decision of the Serbian President, even though difficult over security. He immediately arrived to talk with everybody, with all political representatives and the people in Kosovo and Metohija,” said Jevtic. He says that the fall of the Kosovo government and new election process in Kosovo and Metohija would not be a solution in this situation, since this would benefit only those who want to introduce unrest and to attack the Serbs. “All our decisions will be in the interest of stability and peace,” said Jevtic. He says that the return of usurped property is one of the biggest obstacles for the return of Serbs and this is why they are preparing a mechanism that will be binding and that there is consent of the Kosovo government on this issue. At issue is the formation of a special panel that will be dealing only with this. “We have completed all procedures and this draft proposal will pass voting inside the inter-ministerial commission for returns and later inside the government, and this body will then automatically start working. The goal is to transfer all cases of usurped property from municipal courts, or wherever they are, to the panel that will be resolved this faster,” said Jevtic.

EU working on resumption of Belgrade-Pristina dialogue (Tanjug)

The EU is working on a soonest possible resumption of the technical dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina as this is in the interest of both sides, diplomatic sources in Brussels have told Tanjug. The EU has been maintaining constant contact with Belgrade and Pristina to ensure a resumption of meetings between technical teams, suspended on January 16 over the assassination of Kosovo Serb politician Oliver Ivanovic. Both sides are still under the obligation to take part in the dialogue, which they have undertaken themselves, the sources said. In response to a Tanjug comment that Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic had announced the dialogue would be continued once information on the assassination was obtained or the case solved, the sources said the EU’s position was clear and unchanged and that the dialogue must be resumed as soon as possible.

Kuburovic: Parliament no longer has role in election of judges, deputy public prosecutors (RTS)

Serbian Justice Minister Nela Kuburovic said in an interview with RTS that the High

Judicial Council would have the exclusive authority of electing the president of the Serbian Supreme Court, and that a three-year trial period for judges and deputies to public prosecutors no longer existed. “The composition of the High Judicial Council has been changed insofar as the minister is no longer a member of the Council, nor is the chairman of the parliament’s Committee on the Judiciary. The members of the Council to represent judges will be elected by judges only. The Council will have five members, in addition to another five nominated by the parliament from among prominent lawyers,” Kuburovic explained. “We have acted according to regional standards and recommendations by the Venice Commission,” the justice minister explained.

The Serbian Ministry of Justice published on its webpage a draft version of constitutional amendments related to judiciary, subject to a new round of public debates.

Representatives of association of judges, prosecutors and lawyers have expressed doubt on Tuesday that the hinted changes to the Constitution in the area of judiciary, released in the form of draft by the justice ministry, would contribute to independence of the judiciary, as claimed by the justice ministry.

Serbian Patriarch decorates Gouillon and Ritsoudis (RTS)

Serbian Patriarch Irinej decorated Greek Marinos Ritsoudis, who refused to participate in the bombing of Serbia in 1999, with the Order of the Holy Emperor Constantine, and French humanitarian Arnaud Gouillon, who for many years has been helping the Serbs in Kosovo, with the Order of St. Sava. “Marinos Ritsoudis was in a situation to perform the duty of the Greek state and to take part in the shameful attack on our nation, country and he, as the commander of a military ship, arrived in the Adriatic Sea, where his conscience didn’t allow him to fulfill what he was obliged to do, returned with his ship to Greece and refused to take part in the attack on Serbia,” said the Patriarch, explaining the decorations at the ceremony at the Patriarchate.

Because of this, as the Patriarch said, great and heroic act, Ritsoudis had big problems and was sentenced to two and a half years in prison and served the sentence. “He did what the great souls and great personalities do, and after everything he had so much conscience to say that he was not a hero, but the Serbian nation. We do not have enough words to thank for such a gesture and such treatment, and that is why we decided to decorate Mr. Ritsoudis with the greatest order of our church – the Order of Holy Emperor Constantine and this way we symbolically thank him for the courageous and heroic action,” said Patriarch Irinej.

On the other side, Arnaud Gouillon has been for a long time “alleviating the terrible hardships” of our people in Kosovo and Metohija, “the only people in Europe deprived of all human rights”, helps it in the most necessary, so that it can exist in our sacred places. This way, Gouillon is doing a great good deed, inasmuch greater since he first started doing it when he was not even 20 years of age. In addition to “effective love” shown by his earnest commitment to collecting and providing the necessary aid for the church and the suffering people in Kosovo and Metohija, said the Patriarch, Gouillon was also decorated for the persistent testimony of the truth about the life of our people in our province. This relief and providing basic living conditions was made possible by a dear friend and brother Arnaud Gouillon. We do not have the words to thank you.

On behalf of our church, the people who stayed to suffer in Kosovo, we thank you, our dear great friend, for everything you have done and for everything you are doing. Our words are weak, but we pray to the Lord for you,” said the Patriarch.

REGIONAL PRESS

Lavrov: Russia is against Dayton II (RTRS)

Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov stated on Tuesday that Russia is against the ‘Dayton II’ and stressed that in his opinion, Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) would not survive such a challenge. Commenting on a proposal of US Congressman Mike Turner to hold another conference on B&H, i. e. the ‘Dayton II’, Lavrov said that what Turner meant in this case, should be revealed first. Lavrov assessed that the Balkans need cooperation and added that in many cases, Russia and other western countries, as well as Turkey, cooperated in order to normalize the situation. According to Lavrov, such attempt will represent another undermining of statehood of B&H. Commenting the situation in the Western Balkans at a conference in the UN headquarters in New York; Lavrov said that the region needs cooperation. “We need to cooperate in the Balkans, as we cooperated when the Dayton Peace Agreement was determined, which still represents foundation for B&H,” said Lavrov and underlined the Balkan countries are traditional friends of Russia. Commenting concerns over the increasing Russian influence in the region, Lavrov stated sarcastically: “We are not only blamed for the Balkans, but also for interfering in Mexico and some other places, I believe.”

Dodik: I know about request of Sarajevo sent to Serbia to detain me (RTRS)

Republika Srpska (RS) President Milorad Dodik commented for RTRS on Tuesday the statement of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic given for Happy TV on Monday evening, which says that Sarajevo asked Serbia to detain Dodik, a year ago. Dodik said that for a longer period of time, he knows about the request coming from Sarajevo and “who stands behind all this”. Dodik added that he is always at disposal of institutions and that if Sarajevo “has anything against him”, there is no need to address Serbia. Dodik stated that he obtained the aforementioned information from circles in Sarajevo and after certain checks, he was assured that the request really exists. According to Dodik, Vucic was present when he found out about the request and Dodik expressed gratitude to Vucic, for making this information public. Dodik argued: “They (Sarajevo) fabricated several false stories. Why would they demand something from Serbia? I am always at disposal. What is this?” Dodik assessed that Serbs in institutions of B&H created the entire story, as another attempt to make up things against the RS and in his opinion, the story about para-military formations in the RS, represents the newest example. Dodik called on the Alliance for Changes (SzP) to leave him alone as they failed to prove anything in the last year, arguing that they are nervous ahead of the upcoming elections as all surveys show that SNSD’s candidates for seats of a Serb member of B&H Presidency and RS President, will get over 53 percent of votes.

Mektic denied claims of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic (ATV)

Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) Minister of Security Dragan Mektic denied claims of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic that a year ago Serbian authorities were requested to detain RS President Milorad Dodik “due to some villa.” Vucic underlined that this was an official demand from Sarajevo. Mektic said that no official demand for the apprehension of Dodik was sent to Belgrade. “Dodik holds citizenship of Serbia, and it would be absurd to request his detention in territory of this country.” He went on saying that all B&H did was to request information on transactions related to Dodik’s purchase of the villa in Dedinje settlement in Belgrade from competent bodies in Serbia. Mektic underlined that this request was submitted in line with cooperation agreement between the two countries and within the investigation in ‘Pavlovic Bank’ case. Mektic wondered whether Vucic was misinformed by some from Banja Luka or by “some circles in Belgrade.” Commenting Vucic’s statement saying that he “would not be in Dodik’s shoes” due to pressure Dodik will be exposed to in election year, Mektic said that the opposition in the RS is only one exposed to pressures of the current RS authorities.

Representatives of political parties met on Tuesday to discuss new model for election of B&H Presidency members (Glas Srpske)

Representatives of political parties met on Tuesday to discuss the new model for election of B&H Presidency members that would be in line with decisions of international courts and individual requests of political parties. High-ranking HDZ B&H official Barisa Colak said that the proposal, according to which members of the Presidency of B&H would be elected ‘indirectly’, in the Parliament of B&H, is on the table – and if it is adopted, the House of Peoples would play the crucial role. “Serb parties find it unacceptable to have the member of the RS Presidency elected indirectly, because they believe that member of the Presidency elected directly by people would have greater legitimacy. On the other hand, Bosniak parties do not support the possibility to have two members from the Federation of B&H elected indirectly, and the one from the RS directly”, Colak said. SDP B&H stated on Tuesday that they will no longer participate in talks about changes to election legislation, because SDA and HDZ B&H have clearly shown that they are willing to block the work of the Parliament of the Federation of B&H in order to prevent discussion about any solution that might secure unhindered implementation of election process. Daily reported that two proposals of changes to the Election Law of B&H, the one submitted by Croat People’s Assembly and the other one submitted by SDA, are currently in parliamentary procedure.

Colak: HDZ B&H is ready to accept election of two members of Presidency from Federation of B&H in B&H Parliament and direct election of member of Presidency from RS (N1)

While HDZ B&H stated that they accept election of members of B&H Presidency in B&H Parliament, SDA stressed that this kind of election process is out of the question. Member of HDZ B&H Barisa Colak said that the party is ready to accept election of two members of the Presidency from the Federation of B&H in B&H Parliament, and direct election of a member of the RS Presidency. Colak said that the most important thing for HDZ B&H is to elect legitimate representatives of the peoples, i.e. Croats. Member of SDA Safet Softic stated that the party will never accept any kind of asymmetric solutions. Meanwhile, Serbs advocate the stance to directly elect a member of B&H Presidency from the RS. The Office of the High Representative (OHR) stated for N1 that their role is to ease communication among the parties which is expected to result in change of election rules, in a way that will ensure implementation of the elections.

Ambassador Berton: Our position is clear from very beginning – Bosnian language is language of Bosniak people (Fena)

Head of the OSCE Mission to B&H Ambassador Bruce Berton stated that from the moment the issue of name of language of Bosniak pupils in the RS appeared, the OSCE Mission to B&H warned it is about case of discrimination. Ambassador Berton said: “Our position is clear from the very beginning – Bosnian language is the language of the Bosniak people. Constitutional Court of B&H confirmed it by saying constituent peoples have the right to call their language whatever they want”. He further said that the OSCE Mission to B&H appeals to the RS authorities to resolve issue by recognizing the Bosnian language, which the authorities did for many years.

Croats from Serbia meet with Plenkovic (Hina)

Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic on Tuesday received a delegation of the Croat minority community in Serbia to talk about their status as well as projects and programs being implemented with the support of the Croatian government, with the Prime Minister saying that he hoped Serbia would fulfill its obligations, the government’s public relations office said in a press release. Plenkovic spoke with the president of the Croat National Council in Serbia, Slaven Bacic, and the president of the Democratic Alliance of Croats in Vojvodina and Croat MP in the Serbian Assembly, Tomislav Zigmanov. They welcomed the news that after many years, a meeting of the combined committee for monitoring the agreement on the protection of minorities signed with Serbia would finally meet again on 30 and 31 January 2018. Plenkovic underscored that the status of the Croat national minority is an important issue for the Croatian government and he expressed hope that Serbia would fully meet bilateral obligations. These matters refer to the political representation of Croats at all levels, their cultural rights and education and information provided in the Croatian language and script. Bacic and Zigman thanked the Prime Minister for the support and constant contact with Croatia’s most senior government officials and expressed satisfaction with the recent visit Croatia’s Science and Education Minister Blazenka Divjak paid to Subotica during a conference organized by the HNV marking the 15th anniversary of HNV’s first sitting in Serbia and the 15th anniversary of lessons in Croatian in Vojvodina and Serbia.

Markovic: After joining NATO, the European agenda is the most important topic (CDM)

Prime Minister Dusko Markovic said that European integration was a strategic priority of the Government. Markovic participated in the regular working meeting of the ambassadors of the member states of the European Union and the head of EU Delegation to Montenegro Aivo Orav, hosted by the ambassador of the Republic of Bulgaria Mladen Chervenyakov, as a diplomatic representative of the state presiding the Council of the European Union. At a two-hour meeting highlighting the priorities of the Bulgarian presidency – the future of Europe for Youth, the Western Balkans and Connectivity, Security and Stability and the Digital Economy – PM Markovic reiterated that, after joining NATO, the process of European integration is a strategic priority of the government. “The European agenda is the most important topic for the government,” the PM said, pointing out Montenegro’s full commitment to continuing reforms and the country’s readiness to fulfill all obligations within the integration process. Markovic welcomed the goals of the Bulgarian presidency as balanced and well-chosen, particularly emphasizing the fact that the Western Balkans was a priority not only during Bulgarian presidency, but also in the next two cycles in which Austria and Romania will take the presidency. “The announced EU strategy, as well as the upcoming summit in Sofia and London, whose topics are the Western Balkans and its European perspective, is encouraging for the entire region,” Markovic said at a meeting with ambassadors.

PACE sends a delegation to the presidential elections (CDM)

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has accepted the invitation of Montenegrin Parliament speaker Ivan Brajovic to send a delegation to monitor the forthcoming presidential elections, which will take place on 15 April 2018. In a letter sent to Brajovic by the PACE President Michele Nicoletti, it is said that the PACE committee formed for this occasion will consist of 14 members from all political groups of the European Parliamentary Assembly.

Nicoletti expressed expectation that the competent state authorities of Montenegro would provide support to the members of the delegation in the preparation of their observation mission.

In addition to PACE, Brajovic sent an invitation to observe the presidential elections to the ODIHR, the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and the European Parliament.

Presidential and local elections cannot be scheduled for the same day (CDM)

Presidential and local elections cannot be held on the same day, the office of the President of Montenegro announced. As it explained, it is legally impossible. “None of the opposition parties or coalitions or anyone in Montenegro addressed a written proposal to the President of Montenegro for scheduling local elections on the same day when the presidential elections are scheduled. It is assumed that they have checked that it is legally impossible,” the president’s office said. This year, local elections in Montenegro should be held in the City of Podgorica and 11 municipalities.

Government adopts its 2018 working program, sets economy, EU and NATO membership as priorities (MIA)

At a regular session on Tuesday Macedonia’s government adopted its working program for 2018, setting the country’s economic development, the EU and NATO membership as top priorities.

This year, the government will take measures for resolute, non-selective combat against organized crime and corruption. It will also work on enforcing of the rule of law, building of independent state institutions and educational reforms. It will furthermore earmark funds for innovations and information technology. The program stipulates the activities for judicial reforms, full implementation of the Ohrid Framework Agreement, building of civil society and inter-ethnic cohesion under the principles of tolerance and respect, the government said in a press release. It also includes proposals and deadlines for harmonization of the national with the EU’s legislation, the press release reads.

Macedonia’s European perspective – main topic of FM Dimitrov’s meetings in Brussels (MIA)

Macedonia’s Foreign Minister Nikola Dimitrov visited Brussels on Tuesday for meetings with officials of the European Commission and European Parliament. Yesterday Dimitrov met the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, European Commission Vice-President Frans Timmermans, European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport Tibor Navracsics, Director General for Enlargement Christian Danielsson, as well as MEPs Andrey Kovatchev and Ivo Vajgl.

He also held talks with Martin Selmayr, head of the cabinet of EC President Jean-Claude Juncker. On the occasion Dimitrov had a brief encounter with Juncker, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a press release. The visit was aimed at promoting Macedonia’s reform progress and its European approach to advancing the good-neighborly relations ahead of the revealing of the EC Enlargement Strategy in early February. The talks with all officials in Brussels were focused on the expectations for the new enlargement strategy to confirm the European perspective of Macedonia and the countries of the region, the press release reads. The EU officials commended the Macedonian government’s results thus far and sent encouraging messages for reform progress for the country to be a European success in 2018. Dimitrov notified the significance of a merit-based approach for the EU-integration process. Commencing of the EU-accession talks will strengthen Macedonia’s European future, he said. ‘The main patriotic task of our generation is to succeed to get on board of the EU train and ensure a European future, stability and prosperity for the citizens of Macedonia,’ Dimitrov said.

Kosovo’s President Thaci criticizes Macedonia’s counterpart Ivanov’s language bill veto (MIA)

Kosovo President Hashim Thaci criticizes his Macedonian counterpart Gjorge Ivanov‘s decision to veto the language bill, saying that it was a result of old-fashioned mindset. He commended Tuesday the Macedonian Parliament vote for ‘making the Albanian an official language’, labeling Ivanov’s veto as ‘pitiful’. The bill will become a law and nobody can prevent that, Thaci said.

For Albania’s Prime Minister Edi Rama, Ivanov’s refusal to approve the bill is not a surprise as his stance on the legislation is well-known. But it will not prevent the bill to become law, Rama said, notifying he was proud to be accused of protecting the ethnic Albanians in Macedonia.

According to the Macedonian constitution, the president is obliged to sign the legislation if it’s approved by parliament in a second vote.

Rama and Tsipras meeting in Switzerland (ADN)

The Greek Foreign Minister, Nikos Kotzias declared on Tuesday in Brussels that Albania and Greece made huge steps towards their bilateral issues during the last meeting in Korca.  He informed that the negotiations were very successful. “We agreed on some issues that we have had a lot of problems in the past. Problems that had not been resolved during 70 years,” said Kotzias. These negotiations make possible the meeting between the two Prime Ministers, Edi Rama and Alexis Tsipras in Davos. Kotzias was enthusiast for the first Greek soldiers bones found in Tepelena on the first day of excavations.

Judicial reform, SMI appeal to the US and EU Ambassadors (ADN)

The International Monitoring Mission (IMO) was abolished by Prime Minister Edi Rama. Will the US and EU Ambassadors continue to remain silent? The chairman of Socialist Movement for Integration (SMI) parliamentary group, Petrit Vasili appealed to the US and EU ambassadors through this press release on Tuesday to react over majority’s disregarding attitude toward IMO.

“IMO is a crucial element in the judicial reform implementation, a process aimed to restore citizens’ confidence on the justice. The inclusion of international factor in this process is enabled by the Constitution. But, in spite of this fact, Prime Minister Edi Rama and his blind kamikazes overruled and disregarded IMO by placing on top of the lists the candidates disqualified by this mission. Their names will now be presented to the parliament as candidacies for the new bodies of judicial system. IMO was the only warranty that induced confidence on the Albanian citizens after the innumerable promises of US Ambassador Donald Lu and EU Ambassador Romana Vlahutin. I was one of those who believed and voted in favor of the judicial reform. Mine was the fifth vote needed for the reform to be presented in parliament. IMO was thrown away by Premier Rama along with reform’s integrity. The judicial reform lost definitively its morality. Will Lu and Vlahutin continue to remain silent? They have shown in many cases a great ability to react instantly. Time has come to react and rescue the maimed and disintegrated judicial reform,” declared Vasili.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA SOURCES

Challenges Facing Serbia in 2018 (BIRN, by Filip Rudic, 23 January 2018)

In the coming year, Serbia is expected to not only complete difficult negotiations with Kosovo but also hold heated Belgrade elections and implement overdue constitutional reforms.

The cabinet of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic will be engaged in several demanding tasks set before the country as part of its EU accession process. These will test his regime’s popularity in the Serbian capital – and perhaps in parliamentary elections too. Authorities in Pristina expect to sign a legally-binding agreement with Belgrade by the end of 2018, which analysts in Serbia say will require increased pressure placed on both sides. Some, including Boban Stojanovic, an assistant lecturer at the Belgrade Faculty for Political Sciences, believe Serbia will try to delay signing any deal for as long as possible. “Whether that tactic will be successful… I really can’t say,” Stojanovic said. Others note it is likely international pressure to reach an agreement will be stepped up. “There are indications that those pressures are increasing, especially through the engagement of the US,” long-time journalist for daily newspaper Politika and foreign policy expert Bosko Jaksic told BIRN. According to Jaksic, the US wants to put an end to the stalling of negotiations which has been “tolerated” by the EU so far. Kosovo Foreign Minister Behgjet Pacolli’s words echoed this expectation when he told Kosovo’s RTK television on December 11 that the negotiations with Serbia in Brussels will continue in January with “increased intensity”.

“I hope that the dialogue will end with a peace agreement between Kosovo and Serbia because such an agreement is necessary to both [of them], and to everyone in the region,” Pacolli said.

Jaksic said he expects the agreement will allow Kosovo to become a member of the UN without forcing Serbia to formally recognise its former province’s independence, declared in 2008.

“I expect that neither side will be in a position to delay the [signing],” Jaksic said, adding that a “frozen conflict” is in nobody’s interest. However, some Belgrade officials have taken the hard-line approach to negotiations. Serbia’s Foreign Minister and Deputy PM Ivica Dacic said that Kosovo will not join the UN “while Serbia is friends with Russia”, which has the power to “veto that decision”. “They say they will get a seat in the United Nations… like hell they will,” Dacic told the Serbian national broadcaster, RTS, in November this year.

Belgrade elections

Another test for both the government and the opposition will be the local elections in Serbia’s capital, where around a quarter of the country’s population lives. Some analysts believe that the ruling party fears it could lose control of the capital, recalling that the opposition’s Belgrade victory in the 1990s served as an “introduction” to the defeat of then President Slobodan Milosevic in other parts of the country. While Belgrade is important enough on its own, analysts and opposition parties have not ruled out the possibility of snap parliamentary elections being held at the same time – despite the ruling Progressive Party’s claim they will be held as scheduled in 2020. “I still believe that the parliamentary elections will take place [at the same time as the Belgrade elections],” said Boban Stojanovic, when asked whether he believed the Progressives. After much speculation over the possibility of snap parliamentary elections, the managing board of Aleksandar Vucic’s Progressive Party voted on November 18 against an early poll. The opposition Democratic Party said that the Progressives deliberately “distracted” citizens, even though Vucic’s party “knew from the start” that the elections would not be held.

“At the moment, when the West is questioning the honesty of this government’s declared [support for] European integration, Aleksandar Vucic and the Progressive Party employ the already seen method of distraction,” Democratic Party president Dragan Sutanovac told Beta news agency on November 18. Most opposition parties interpreted the Progressives’ decision not to hold early parliamentary elections as a sign that western countries did not support the idea and demanded Vucic abandon the plan. Others from the opposition, however, have warned that the Progressives can overturn decisions in one day. In December, the Socialists’ Movement, which is part of the ruling coalition, urged Vucic to reconsider any moves for early elections. “Despite [the] decision, Vucic and the Progressive Party will seek a way to stage early parliamentary elections in order to mitigate [their] impending failure in Belgrade [city elections],” said the Free Citizens’ Movement, which is led by former Ombudsman and defeated presidential candidate Sasa Jankovic. Rumours about snap elections were started by Vucic himself, who hinted at the possibility in October which was then followed by a month of media speculation. For political sciences assistant lecturer Stojanovic, the Progressives’ public display surrounding the early election dilemma seemed “staged”. “I did not expect the Progressive Party to announce there will be an election [but] they are probably getting ready for them,” Stojanovic said. He claims that the ruling party needs the parliamentary elections to give them a boost in Belgrade, where some analysts claim that the Progressives could lose power. Analysts have said that linking the local Belgrade elections to national elections would enable the Progressives to harness Vucic’s personal popularity ahead of the city vote, something any other Progressive candidate would struggle to do. Early elections would also be an excuse to stall negotiations with Pristina, since forming a new government would take several months, Stojanovic added.

Constitutional reform on hold

In order to implement the judicial reforms necessary to be admitted into the EU, Serbia has to amend its constitution, which includes holding a referendum on the proposed changes.

Stojanovic says that so far the public debate on constitutional changes has not addressed the crux of the issue. “The debate has been pretty sluggish, and invisible [to the public],” Stojanovic told BIRN. The deadline for amending the constitution has already passed, according to the European Movement in Serbia. Even though recommendations for amendments were laid out by the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission in 2007, no changes have yet been implemented.

The Council of Europe recently announced that the Venice Commission will be involved in drafting recommended constitutional changes that it hopes will pave the way for judicial reform in Serbia in 2018. In its opinion published in 2007, the council states Serbia’s constitution, which was passed the year before, had “all the hallmarks of an over-hasty draft”. “The main concerns with respect to the constitution relate, on the one hand, to the fact that individual members of parliament are made subservient […] to party leaderships and, on the other, to the excessive role of parliament in judicial appointments,” the document said. The commission said that judicial independence is “wholly necessary to ensure that the constitution is not merely a paper exercise but will be enforced in practice”. “Yet the National Assembly elects, directly or indirectly, all members of the High Judicial Council proposing judges for appointment and in addition elects the judges,” it said. It criticised the lack of opportunity for public discussion and said the procedure raised “questions of the legitimacy of the text with respect to the general public”.

The Venice Commission found it “particularly surprising” that the constitution is “extremely rigid and that large parts are very difficult to amend”. In its written response to BIRN in November, the press service of the Council of Europe also said it had agreed with the Serbian Justice Ministry to send a former member of the Venice Commission as an adviser to Serbia. They will assist the ministry in drafting constitutional amendments. Stojanovic, however, says that staging early parliamentary elections could push implementing constitutional changes back “a couple of months”. “However, I don’t think that [the ruling coalition] sees this as a factor that would make them postpone the elections,” Stojanovic said.

Zakharieva: EU is not sufficiently present in the Western Balkans (RFE/RL, 23 January 2018)

BRUSSELS – Bulgaria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Ekaterina Zakharieva warned that there are foreign actors in the Western Balkans that have a strong impact on some countries, but the responsibility for this lies with the European Union because it was not “sufficiently engaged” in the region. “There are foreign influences in the region. That is our fault. We are not sufficiently present and sufficiently engaged in the countries of the Western Balkans. If we are not there, then someone else has the opportunity to influence these countries, someone who is not part of our European family, nor is it part of NATO,” Zakharieva underlined. The head of Bulgarian diplomacy addressed the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET), where she confirmed that the Western Balkans are the most important priority of the six-month Bulgarian presidency of the European Union. According to Zakharieva, the region is very important for the entire continent. “We firmly believe there is no stability or security in Europe without stability and security in the Western Balkans,” Zakharieva said.

Speaking of each Western Balkan country individually, the Bulgarian Foreign Minister announced a “realistic possibility” that during the Bulgarian presidency, Montenegro would open two more chapters in the accession negotiations with the EU. She welcomed the involvement of Podgorica’s authorities in the reform process and promised Sofia’s support for opening of new chapters. Referring to Serbia, she stressed that in Belgrade there is a willingness to open three new chapters. Zakharieva pointed out that the Bulgarian presidency was encouraged by the negotiations between Macedonia and Greece, which could result in the opening of accession talks between Brussels and Skopje. She said that for Bosnia and Herzegovina it is more important that the answers on the questionnaire of the European Commission are of quality, and she urged the Sarajevo authorities to seriously engage in the drafting of this document. Reflecting on the lack of a single voice in the European Union over Kosovo, Ekaterina Zakharieva underlined that it is important that the Brussels institutions set clear goals for this country as well. In this regard, she underlined that the Kosovo authorities must be aware of the necessity of the reform process, especially in the field of the rule of law, as well as the conditions that must be fulfilled in order to achieve the goals. “One of the important conditions is ratification of demarcation with Montenegro,” Zakharieva said, stressing that the European Union will no longer tolerate the admission of new members without previously resolved open bilateral issues.

US Pulling the Strings of Power in Kosovo – Expert (Sputnik, 24 January 2018)

US Ambassador to Kosovo Greg Delawie recently slammed Kosovar politicians advocating for the abolition of the special court established to prosecute former Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) members for wartime and post-war crimes. The Assembly of Kosovo failed to convene for a vote on the revocation of the special court, according to local media. Speaking to President of Kosovo Hashim Thaçi, Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj and Chairman of the Parliament Kadri Veseli, Delawie reportedly warned that the government of Kosovo may share the same fate as “the Milosevic regime.” In the official statement published on the embassy’s website, the ambassador toned down the rhetoric, only saying that tolerating impunity shouldn’t be the norm in Kosovo as it was during the era of former President of Serbia Slobodan Milosevic. He did, however, caution Kosovar politicians about the possible consequences of attempting to thwart the actions of the court. “This effort is a terrible example of self-interest prevailing over the common good and over Kosovo’s interests as a state. And let me be clear: MPs who support this initiative — and the politicians who lead it, despite their denials — will be subject to specific and harsh consequences should the initiative succeed,” the statement said. Serbian political analyst Aleksandar Pavic described Delawie’s remarks as outrageous, saying that the US ambassador is aware he is dealing with criminals, but if they do what the US wants them to do, there will be no retribution. “Milosevic is a paradigm for them now. It sounds like ‘share the same fate as Hussein or Gaddafi.’ But the truth is that the Special Court to try KLA members for war crimes will be nothing but a political tool in the hands of the American diplomats, similar to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY). It has nothing to do with justice,” Pavic said.

A renowned attorney in Belgrade, Toma Fila, told Sputnik that the US is threatening Kosovo with what they earlier did in Serbia without acknowledging it: “The Slobodan Milosevic regime was toppled with major financial support from abroad. Everyone from the Democratic Opposition of Serbia (DOS) was funded from abroad and everything was done to push people to take to the streets. They now threaten Kosovar Albanians that they will fund alternative parties and ignite unrest, if necessary,” he said. “Or, for that matter, they’ll support Moscow’s idea to have this court function under the authority of the UN, which would automatically deprive Pristina of any control of it,” Fila said, implying the January meeting of US diplomat Stephen Banks with Haradinaj, during which Banks said that Washington would not block a Russian initiative to create a similar court in the UN Security Council if the KLA court is abolished, as reported by Kosovo newspaper Koha Ditore. Americans are the true owners of Kosovo, Fila said. “Haradinaj told us… that the then US ambassador literally pulled out from nowhere the name of Atifete Jahjaga [former President of Kosovo] and told us to go to the parliament and appoint her as president. And the lawmakers elected Jahjaga although they virtually never heard of her,” the attorney said. The expert pointed out that Thaçi and Haradinaj are pushing for the abolition of the special court because of pressure from members of their inner circle who fear they may end up on the wrong side of the witness stand. If that happens, they will not keep silent — they will say who was giving orders. “Take the Hague Tribunal for example: not a single politician was sentenced for ordering the killing of someone. They were sentenced for being part of the government when the crimes were committed. We are talking about collective responsibility — because Haradinaj may eventually have to answer for all troops he was a commander of, for everything those soldiers have done,” Fila concluded.

The views and opinions expressed by Toma Fila are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Sputnik.