LOCAL PRESS

Dacic: Countries can’t be Serbia’s partners and work against us (Tanjug)

Serbia sticks to its policy, and everyone thinking to the contrary must decide whether they’re our friends and partners, or will work against Serbia, Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic said this on Thursday in regard to media reports that France plans to send protest notes to countries that withdraw their recognition of Kosovo’s self-proclaimed independence. “It seems to me that both are not possible,” Dacic said in response to questions from journalists, while visiting the town of Sevojno. He recalled that Serbia has been facing the problem of recognitions of Kosovo’s unilaterally declared independence for years – but that the government will continue to pursue its policy, which means agreements and compromise, but not abandoning of state and national interests. “We will not be intimidated by anyone blackmailing us. We will continue to explain to everyone that the case of Kosovo is about violent secession and separatism, which is contrary to international law. That fake state Serbia does not recognize,” Dacic said. He stressed that Serbia will succeed in reducing the number of countries that recognize the unilaterally declared independence of Kosovo. “That irritates terribly those who think this issue has been resolved and that this is an irreversible process – but you see it is reversible,” Dacic concluded.

Djuric: If this is EU’s position – then it’s all meaningless (B92)

The Head of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija Marko Djuric on Thursday reacted to a statement made by head of the EU Office in Pristina Nataliya Apostolova. Apostolova said earlier in the day that Pristina should do more to convince states that did not recognize Kosovo’s independence to do so in the near future. “This statement represents a direct blow to the negotiating process. She unambiguously abandons and attacks the principle of status neutrality by inviting EU member states that have not recognized Kosovo’s independence to do so,” Djuric said. He said it was a fact that the head of the EU Office in Kosovo and Metohija supported Pristina’s resolution demanding that the negotiations must be dictated to produce Kosovo’s independence as their result. “This makes it impossible for us to talk, it is impossible to create any viable solution. If that is the position of the EU, then such a move renders the negotiations meaningless and abandons the principle of status neutrality,” Djuric said. He added that he wanted it to be crystal clear that Apostolova supported Kosovo’s aspiration for independence.

“She sided with Pristina. All the worse if this is the position of the EU – then it’s all really meaningless,” Djuric concluded.

Stefanovic: Around 800 terrorists from Western Balkans have joined IS (Tanjug/FoNet)

The Serbian Interior Ministry said in a press release that Serbian Interior Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic told a conference on terrorism in Sochi, Russia, that most of the combatants that the Islamic State recruited were from Bosnia and Kosovo with about 800 of them going to Syria and Iraq.  “Terrorism has significantly changed the international security scene and we have to adapt to the new reality in which terrorists can attack virtually anyone, anywhere and at any time to cause the maximum damage and kill as many people as possible,” he said.  He said the security situation in Kosovo is especially challenging for Serbia because of the large number of extremists with links to the Islamic State. “The international community has mainly ignored that fact despite its active role in Kosovo,” Stefanovic said and added that the key element in Serbia’s fight against terrorism is constant, intensive cooperation with other countries and international organizations.

Ljajic: CEFTA in crisis (Beta/RTS)

The Western Balkans region has stopped its economic integration because of the serious crisis facing the CEFTA free trade area, Serbian Trade Minister Rasim Ljajic said at the Sarajevo Business Forum on Wednesday. “The CEFTA agreement has allowed a free market between six Western Balkans economies but it seems the success list ends there because we have stopped the economic integration that should lead us to something that the Baltic and Nordic countries have,” Ljajic said. He said the reasons are political and economic because the region is still dealing with the consequences of the wars and unresolved issues from the 1990s along with other open questions which are hampering its full political stability and because of the customs barriers that are in place between those six countries. “We want to defend our own economies even though we can’t expect markets this small with small populations to secure higher competitiveness, productivity and economic recovery,” Ljajic said. He warned that the countries of the region are highly creative in inventing new obstacles to stop lorries at border crossings. He said that lorries spend an average of 20 hours at border crossings at a cost of $158, meaning that logistics expenses stand as high as 16 percent of the GDP or twice the average in the EU. Ljajic said the CEFTA area states are each other’s top trade partners after the EU.

Kosovo in the clutches of daily politics (Betaweek)

Populism as a political weapon

Repeatedly unsuccessful in identifying a mutually acceptable solution for Kosovo over the past twenty years or so, Serbia’s political elites would bury the failures in a cluster of daily political idioms, “the will of the people” being the favorite one. Having absorbed the messages from the political leaders, the people would always want Kosovo to be an integral part of Serbia, under firm Serbian authority. The more pragmatic politicians were swept from the political scene, and their opponents capitalized abundantly on the presumed “will of the people.” Yet polls are showing that the people are now aware that Serbia can no longer control Kosovo, but, still

quite emotional about it, they tend to opt for rather contradictory solutions. While most of them describe an independent Kosovo as “a realistic future,” they still believe that substantial autonomy within Serbia would be the best outcome, but not at the expense of any personal sacrifice – this was one of the findings in a research carried out by the Open Society Foundation, released in Belgrade last week. The views expressed during the research are “not firm and consistent, but rather shaped by individual events, emotions and views in the community,”

explains a representative of the Ipsos Strategic Marketing, Srdjan Bogosavljevic. When asked if Serbia should remain part of the EU integration process at the cost of recognizing Kosovo’s independence, 42 percent of the respondents said that Kosovo had been lost already, and that the focus should remain on the EU accession, while 36 percent felt that Serbia’s EU accession wasn’t particularly useful for the country, and that the country shouldn’t make any compromises as to Kosovo. More than 40 percent of the citizens describe the politician that would recognize the independence of Kosovo as brave and worthy of popular respect, but most think that the move would be his/her “political suicide.” Understanding the reality of the situation aside, the

idea that Serbia should recognize the independence of Kosovo would hardly survive a referendum on the status of the territory. “The number of citizens refusing to accept a compromise is growing, but fewer people are prepared to sacrifice for keeping Kosovo within Serbia. Those who are, would accept a decision to cancel visa-free access to EU states or the existing standards of living to preserve Kosovo,” Bogosavljevic said.

Populism

Milan Jovanovic, an assistant professor at the Faculty of Political Sciences in Belgrade, argues that it’s a tangled historic, ethnic, religious, economic, geostrategic and identity knot behind the “Albanian minority’s refusal to accept Serbia as their state.” In addition, Serbia has failed to “find a solution for the disgruntled minority to be integrated” into the society and political community. “The context has actually transformed the Kosovo problem into a perennial

theme on daily political agendas. Politicians routinely use such themes for their daily political actions, marketing, propaganda and showdowns,” Jovanovic explains. The assistant professor admits though that daily politics and populism cannot be the only rationale behind the Kosovo problem. “To be honest, there have been attempts to solve it. Political initiatives include Rambouillet, Vienna and Brussels, the latest. Force was used as a solution, too… Both strategies

are basically political, and both have fueled daily politics not only in Serbia, but in a series of other states, the United States, for instance. Just like with other ‘eternal’ problems of this kind, individual actions are quickly forgotten. Except for experts, hardly anyone can remember what caused the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” Jovanovic warns. Hiding behind the deafening media and political cacophony they are creating, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and his ruling Serbian Progressive Party are developing and implementing a new strategy for the Kosovo affair. As opposed to the central mantra by the previous authorities that Serbia must not make a single step that might be interpreted as a direct or indirect recognition of Kosovo’s independence, the current government maintains that Serbia’s chief goal is to protect the Serbs in Kosovo and their interests. Today’s Belgrade shares the position of the Brussels agreement, opening the door to regulating the Belgrade-Pristina relationship. Jovanovic says it’s an important shift. “The Brussels agreement and the policy built around it have created the shift. Not only a desire for a compromise has been expressed, but tangible actions have been launched to demonstrate readiness for a durable solution. For the time being, the Albanian party sees it as a transitional phase leading to actual recognition, unwilling to build a compromise. On the other hand, a good part of the Serbian opposition boycott it as well, undermining an internal Serbian debate on Kosovo, and threatening to turn the search for a solution into a daily political event,” Jovanovic

has cautioned.

Perspectives

Quite expectedly, President Vucic, who started very serious talks to normalize relations between

Belgrade and Pristina, inherited a difficult burden from the populist and routine political approaches to the Kosovo issue, which he, too, helped create during and after the 1990s as a senior official of the Serbian Radical Party. Vucic is very careful to avoid potential traps, not even trying to explain to the public the devastating consequences of populism and attempts at degrading state politics to customary political recriminations. Quite the contrary, he’s using

populism as a major campaign weapon at home. Vucic’s formula is very simple – he’s allowing the media and close allies to criticize the West incessantly, herald new conspiracies against Serbia and the Serbian president, while repeating how hard his choices are, and that there isn’t a solution good enough for Serbia. He’s actually telling Serbia that the national authorities have to handle requests by the world powers ready for anything, and that Serbia has to compromise to survive. In his public appearances, there has been hardly any criticism or serious consideration of the policy on Kosovo. Since there’s no broad campaign to clarify the substance of the problem, many citizens are rather confused, which the latest poll has made very clear. This may expose voters to manipulation, while the ruling elite wastes enormous energy in perpetual campaigns, designed to eliminate political opponents. Such campaigns do not contribute to a profound understanding of the problem, while increasing animosities in society and creating concerns and discontent, especially with the more educated middle class. Jadranka Jelincic, executive director of the Open Society Foundation, says that the citizens do not know how much Kosovo costs Serbia, or how much it can earn from the resources in Kosovo, or how the Serbs in Kosovo actually live. “The citizens don’t know anything about the content and consequences of the solutions offered to them, they don’t know what the normalization of relations means under the

Brussels agreement. This doesn’t speak very well for the political elites that have ruled Serbia since the dialogue in Brussels was launched, but it says more about their credibility than Serbia’s places in different global rankings,” Jelincic says.

(This text is part of a series on the key issues pertaining to the relations between Belgrade and

Pristina, normalization of their relations, and the internal dialogue. The series is supported by the

Open Society Foundation, Serbia.)

European integration and Kosovo (Betaweek)

Voter confusion

When asked to connect the issue of Kosovo with Serbia’s admission into the European Union, Serbian citizens have been demonstrating much confusion for years now, which experts view as a consequence of the insufficiently clear state policy and a lack of a real debate about the two important political issues. “The most shocking thing is that there is no shocking news… More than anything else, there is a stable instability in the people’s minds,” said Srdjan Bogosavljevic of YPSOS Strategic Marketing, in an attempt to briefly describe the results of some sixty opinion polls about Kosovo, which his agency carried out over the past two decades. As many as 60 percent of those interviewed by YPSOS in 2012 said they would not accept Serbia’s admission into the EU if Kosovo were the “price.” In a recent poll of the same agency, however, 36 percent

(almost half the above number) gave that answer, believing that Serbia would have no benefit from entering the EU and that it should not compromise over Kosovo. The change in stands is a result of the ruling coalition’s increased attempts to turn toward a compromise with Pristina, and the campaign which the authorities and the media close to them are conducting with that purpose, but the approach of many voters is still rather confused. What certainly contributed to that confusion is the fact that, for a long time, the European Union had been assuring Serbia that the issues of Kosovo and of EU membership were separate processes, i.e. that they would be solved “on two separate tracks.” The authorities in Serbia had also kept those issues separate for years, believing that future solutions for Kosovo could not affect Serbia’s progress on the path to EU membership. Things changed with the proclamation of Kosovo’s independence, and

especially as of 2010, when the “two tracks” began to slowly converge. One of the first hints about the tracks’ converging came from the then ambassador of Great Britain in Belgrade, Stephen Wordsworth, while almost everybody in the authorities in Belgrade dismissed

that possibility. The then chief of the government’s office for European integration, Milica Delevic, however, was a little more cautious. She said at the time that she did “not believe that one could speak about the formal connecting of the two processes, which are essentially separate,” but that “the context of one could affect the other.” The tracks formally converged on Jan. 24, 2014, when the negotiations about Serbia’s admission were opened, with the last of the 35 negotiation chapters being about solving the issue of Kosovo. Since then, Kosovo has been the main political condition for Serbia’s overall progress towards membership and, according to the recent statement of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, 80 percent of all his talks with European officials are about Kosovo. It is thus not easy for Serbian citizens to have clear opinions about these two very important political and social issues. This is largely because the dominant discourse in politics, the media and public debates does not offer clear and precise frameworks for their stands to be formed. As for the political forces which advocate this path, they have been dominant on the political scene for years now, which speaks about the very clear political consensus regarding EU membership. In one period, from 2014 to 2016, all 250 deputies in the Serbian Parliament were from parties that advocated Serbia’s admission into the

EU, i.e. there were no opponents to Serbia’s European integration.

(This text is part of a series on the key issues pertaining to the relations between Belgrade and

Pristina, normalization of their relations, and the internal dialogue. The series is supported by the

Open Society Foundation, Serbia.)

REGIONAL PRESS

New meeting on changes to B&H Election Law ends without concrete results (FTV)

A new round of talks on changes to the Election Law of Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) was held in the residence of US Ambassador to B&H Maureen Cormack on Wednesday afternoon. This meeting was organized by the international community and it was attended by delegations of SDA, SBB B&H, DF, SDP and HDZ B&H. Following the meeting, participants confirmed that no compromise was reached in regards to changes of the election legislation. Participants of this meeting said that HDZ B&H requested the issue of election of members of B&H Presidency to be a part of negotiations on changes of the Election Law. Following the meeting, Vice President of SDP Zukan Helez said that although he was optimistic that progress in harmonization of stances of political subjects will be made, he became a pessimist after learning stances of HDZ B&H concerning this issue. SDA’s Sefik Dzaferovic underlined that the International Community (IC) is a good host and it has been providing assistance to B&H in resolving of election legislation issue. He went on saying that according to some proposal presented during the Wednesday meeting, Venice Commission and international experts should be called to engage in providing assistance to B&H in resolving of this issue. Dzaferovic stressed that presence of Venice Commission and State Department representatives in these talks would be a rather positive thing. Representatives of the IC expressed hope that B&H politicians will reach an agreement on necessary changes of the Election Law, emphasizing that they will not be proposing any solutions, because this is the issue domestic politicians need to resolve. A new meeting on changes of election legislation that will be held under mediation of the international community is scheduled for May 3 and it should be attended by leaders of the abovementioned parties.  Head of the EU Delegation to B&H Lars-Gunnar Wigemark said that it is important to resume with the abovementioned process. He added that no one should be using this situation to score some political points. The US Ambassador Cormack stated that compromise in this case means that every party will have to give up on something in order to enable reaching of the solution.

Visit of Russian delegation to B&H continues to spark reactions (ATV)

The visit of the Russian delegation, led by President of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation Valentina Matviyenko, to Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) continues to spark reactions. Republika Srpska (RS) President Milorad Dodik said on Wednesday that visit of the Russian delegation was very successful for the RS citizens. “The episode that happened in Sarajevo was not important to them. They cannot prevent our love towards Russia by saying whether something should have been said or not,” Dodik underlined.

SNSD representative in the RS National Assembly (RSNA) Vanja Bajic believes that everyone will benefit from a visit at this level, adding that Russians advocate stability and progress of the entire B&H and not just in a declarative way. “This visit to both Sarajevo and Banja Luka represents support to the development of not only the RS, but also of B&H,” Bajic stressed. Meanwhile, members of the Caucus ‘Domovina’ in the RSNA rejected claims that they did not attend Tuesday’s special session of the RSNA at which Matviyenko addressed the representatives at the orders that came from Sarajevo. Head of Caucus ‘Domovina’ Admir Cavka stressed that they drew the line at interference with internal matters of B&H. “The reasons why Coalition ‘Domovina’ failed to attend the special session were messages of Mrs. Matviyenko who directly interfered with internal matters of Bi&. That was related to the Court and the Prosecutor’s Office of B&H,” Cavka said, adding that he believes these are issues that B&H officials need to deal with. Speaker of the RS Assembly Nedeljko Cubrilovic assessed that the RS will now be visible on the political scene in the Balkans and worldwide, regardless of how the visit is being perceived. RS Minister of Industry, Energy and Mining Petar Djokic stressed that the RS loves Russia and its people regardless of the comments coming from official Sarajevo. “I do not know why it bothers them when a Russian delegation comes to Banja Luka. I have never heard anyone here bothered by visit of a Turkish delegation,” Djokic said. According to ‘Prva SDS’, the attitude of official Sarajevo is not surprising at all. ‘Prva SDS’ leader Radomir Lukic assessed that the visit represents an important international and political event, in which Russia proved to be interested in fair solutions for relations in B&H and preservation of the Dayton Peace Accords (DPA).

Erdogan’s rally on May 20 in Sarajevo; Dodik: I am aware of Turkey’s aspirations in B&H but I do not accept meddling with RS’ relations with Serbia and Russia (N1)

According to Turkey’s Yeni Safak daily, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is going to pay a visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H), where he plans to hold a pre-election rally at the end of May. B&H could thus become a replacement for the Netherlands, Germany and Austria, the countries that banned the rallies of this kind. Erdogan himself confirmed that he will attend a meeting in one of the European countries: “I will be attending an event organized by an international organization in a sports hall with the capacity for 11,000 people, and I will address my Turkish citizens there. We will most likely gather Turks from Europe and deliver them a speech there.” Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim also announced in Sarajevo last month that Erdogan is going to visit B&H by mid-2018. Turkish Embassy to B&H has not officially confirmed the information on the visit of Turkish President, but it stated that details of the visit will be revealed as soon as they are specified. RS President Milorad Dodik said on Wednesday that the RS is aware of Turkey’s aspirations in B&H and its support to Bosniaks, but that it is unacceptable “for them to meddle in the love of the Serb people towards Serbia and Russia.”

SDA leader and Chairman of the B&H Presidency Bakir Izetbegovic failed to comment on the information that Erdogan will arrive in B&H in May. But, representatives of certain political parties from Sarajevo stressed that it is no coincidence that SDA plans to announce the name of its candidate for the post of Bosniak member of the B&H Presidency immediately after Erdogan’s visit to B&H. Our Party stated that the announced event must be seen in the light of October elections in B&H, underlining that they cannot believe SDA leadership cannot see the disaster this rally is going to cause, as it will be seen as a provocation of the EU and certain political forces in the country.

Dodik: RS has right to have its army; I do not discuss sanctions with Vucic and have no need to agree with him; I do not accept EU which acts in interventionist manner here (Dani)

Republika Srpska (RS) President Milorad Dodik, asked about his elections promises, particularly about forming of the RS Armed Forces, which is in collision with Dayton Agreement, said that it is not their intention to form Armed Forces, but the Constitution and DPA give their right to have an army. He reminded that forming of the Armed Forces of B&H was agreed through a special agreement and the RS is not content by functioning of B&H and as contractual side, they have prerogative to withdraw their signature. Dodik stressed that things need to return within framework of the contract. “Nobody is stupid. Foreigners here, through various intervention measures destroyed complete military industry in the RS and there is no single weapon or ammunition factory… In the Federation of B&H you have six factories which deal with weapon production and now I hear from Bakir Izetbegovic they produce heavy weapon as well. Nobody in my place should ignore that. I do not believe in possibility of any war”, said Dodik. He explained that he does not believe that Izetbegovic, or anyone else is crazy enough to use paramilitary formation here. Dodik also confirmed his earlier statement and intention to abolish RS Ministry for Refugees, stressing that there will be a department dealing with the issue of return process. Asked to comment the statement of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, upon return from Germany, when he said that Serbia is facing some difficult decisions or whether this referred to Kosovo. Dodik said that he is not Vucic’s spokesperson and Serbian policy towards Kosovo never changes since Slobodan Milosevic. Asked about the fact that he revived the thesis about compensation with the RS for Kosovo and the fact that unlike him, Vucic is always speaking about integrity of B&H, Dodik admitted that they do not agree, but they do not discuss and debate this. He noted that regardless of Vucic’s stance, all Serbs agree that international policy was unfair towards Serbia and Serbs in Kosovo. He stressed that he has no need to agree or disagree with Vucic and deems that he has right to present his stance, which is that this issue is not resolved and the time will come for detailed solving of this issue. Asked if he is talking about “exchange of territory”, Dodik said that he is speaking about the need to talk, stressing that interventionism of the High Representative brought nothing good and the address for solving things are not foreigners. To author’s note that local officials have not tried to come to mutual solution, Dodik said that nobody is content here, pointing out example “of legal violence carried out by High Representatives”, most notably Paddy Ashdown and abstractly he can accept living in apathetic society for the sake of peace. “However, I believe that reasonable people should sit down and see what our experience is in these 20 years of functioning in peace. In a way, the war did not end in our heads. There were some courts and someone is content and someone is not, with The Hague or the others, but as for the lead actors, the job is done… Whoever is content or not, the story about the war is done”, said Dodik. He argues that he deems that now comes the time to see what was gained in these 20 years from the DPA and what can be changed. “I think we could find internal strength for the sake of future as well, to position things in this order: first thing has to be peace, the second one is for nobody to interfere with nobody’s business and that can be done. If the RS is asking for something to be solved and this does not bother the Federation of B&H, then this should not be stopped for any reasons, nor would the RS, as it never did, stop a single thing related to B&H”, said Dodik. Dodik underlined that Serbia’s choice between Russia and the EU is without realistic grounds. He argues that it is impossible to avoid cooperation with anyone, including Russia and accession to the EU does not mean the end of cooperation with anyone else. He noted that he understands that this region belongs to Europe, but he cannot accept the EU which acts in interventionist manner here. “I do not accept this EU and that is true”, said Dodik, adding that he fully accepts European values as civilization and peace building project. “But Europe proved that it was not consistent in many issues in B&H. And something else- forgive me I have to say this- this EU is our delusion. This Europe that we declared towards ten years ago, does not exist anymore”, said Dodik and reminded of statements of French President Emmanuel Macron that there will be no enlargement before the EU reforms itself.

Serbian tanks aim their guns at Catholic cathedral in Novi Sad (Index.hr)

On the occasion of the Day of Serbian Army, the Serbian authorities have organized a celebration in Novi Sad, the capital of the province of Vojvodina. On the square in front of the Catholic cathedral in the town, they displayed several tanks and other heavy weaponry. Interestingly, a gun of one of the tanks was for a while pointed towards the entrance of the cathedral. The incident has been confirmed by a number of witnesses. “During the marking of the Day of Serbian Army in Novi Sad, guns of the tanks, located only ten meters from the Catholic cathedral, were directly aimed at the entrance of the church for a while. “I do not know if this command was a fruit of mental labor by Serbian Defense Minister Vulin or of Vulin’s ‘supreme commander,’ but I know that both of them would issue threats through their tabloids and television stations if tanks in Zagreb, Sarajevo or Pristina were to be placed close to a large Serbian Orthodox church, with guns pointed to it. Most Catholics in Vojvodina are Croats and Hungarians. According to citizens, the tanks were displayed at the square for three days, and these photographs were taken on the last of those three days in the afternoon. They added that the tanks were not photographed while they were leaving the square, but while they were standing still. This incident comes at the time of heightened tensions between Croatia and Serbia. In the last several days, a visit by Croatian parliamentary delegation to Belgrade was abruptly cut short after Vojislav Seselj, a convicted war criminal and an extremist member of the Serbian parliament, trampled on the Croatian flag and cursed at members of the Croatian delegation. Seselj was recently convicted for giving inciting statements against Croats living in the Vojvodina region in the 1990s. Several days later, Serbian Defense Minister Vulin, known for his inciting statements often aimed against Croatia, announced he would come to Croatia to a commemoration for World War II victims. After Croatian officials said he should not come due to the tensions, he said that the decision on his potential arrival to Croatia would be made only by the “Supreme Commander of the Serbian Army,” meaning Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, and not by Croatian politicians. Croatian government reacted by declaring Vulin “persona non grata” in Croatia and saying that he would not be allowed to cross the border. When Serbian President Vucic visited Croatia in February, it was believed that the visit would usher an era of improved relations between the two countries. This was initially confirmed by successful meetings between presidents and representatives of NGOs, as well as between government ministers. Unfortunately, the improvement in relations was short-lived.

President to visit Macedonia and attend Brdo-Brijuni Summit (Hina)

President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic will officially visit Macedonia on Thursday and on Friday she will attend the annual meeting of leaders of the Brdo-Brijuni Process, the Office of the Croatian President said in a press release Wednesday. Grabar-Kitrovic is scheduled to meet her Macedonian counterpart Gjorgje Ivanov, Parliament Speaker Talat Dzaferi and Prime Minister Zoran Zaev on Thursday. She will also meet representatives of the Croat community in Macedonia. On Friday, the President is expected to meet Croatian business people and representatives of the Croatian companies in Macedonia, as well as Croatian police officers, members of the 51st Contingent of the mobile unit for monitoring the state border who have been helping their Macedonian colleagues prevent illegal migrations since December 2015.

The annual Brdo-Brijuni Process meeting will be held in Skopje on Friday. European Council President Donald Tusk and Bulgarian President Bojko Borisov will attend Thursday’s meeting, in addition to the co-chairs of the initiative – Croatian President Grabar-Kitarovic and Slovenian President Borut Pahor – and host, Macedonian President Ivanov, as well as the presidents of other Brdo-Brijuni Process participant countries (Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo and Albania). The Brdo-Brijuni process was launched in 2013 by Slovenia and Croatia in order to further stabilize conditions in Southeast Europe through regional cooperation and solving outstanding issues.

Slovenia ready to block Croatia’s entry into Schengen (Hina)

At the end of a summit meeting of the Southeast Europe Cooperation Process (SEECP) held in Slovenia’s resort Brdo Pri Kranju on Tuesday and attended also by Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic, Slovenian Prime Minister Miro Cerar did not rule out the possibility of blocking Croatia’s entry into the Schengen area if Zagreb doesn’t agree to implement an international arbitration ruling on the two countries’ border dispute. Cerar’s statement was a response to Plenkovic’s statement that Slovenia, by announcing lawsuits against Croatia over the border issue and a dispute regarding the transferred savings of Croatian clients of the now defunct Slovenian bank Ljubljanska Banka, did not choose the right path and that moves such as a possible blockade of Croatia’s entry into the Schengen area were not good for the solution of those issues either. Plenkovic said that Croatia would meet technical conditions to enter the Schengen area and that it should be in Slovenia’s interest for that to happen as soon as possible because it would make it easier for Slovenia, too, to control illegal migrations without a razor fence on the border with Croatia. “It is critical for Slovenia to react to all these cases in the right way. In case of mediation or appropriate agreements regarding the arbitration with the help of the European Commission, a new process will start in terms of getting closer to a solution. However, if there are no appropriate reactions, Slovenia will have to take legal action in both cases,” Cerar said. He said his government insisted on the position that declining to implement the arbitration ruling was a violation of the rule of law and that countries doing that cannot be part of the Schengen area.

Brussels denied those who wish to stop the integration (RTCG)

With the latest progress report Brussels denied all those who would like to halt or slow Montenegro’s path to the EU, Prime Minister Dusko Markovic said. During the Prime Minister’s hour session, he called on the civil sector to sit at the same table. The president of the Social Democratic and Liberal Party caucus, Mico Orlandic, asked Markovic to evaluate Montenegro’s progress in the European Commission’s report, as well as which were priority areas in the coming period. “The EC report shows that Montenegro is the leader in the region, when it comes to reforms that we are implementing in the right direction,” Markovic said in the Assembly. He also said that the report denied all those who thought that they could stop or slow our path to the EU. “Clear message to citizens is sent about who it is who cares about their interests and who is partner with Brussels. In both cases, those are the government, the Assembly and other state organs, which are leading this process. This detail also points to those occurrences and forces in Montenegro that put individual interests ahead of the interests of citizens and Montenegro,” Markovic said. The guidelines given in the report are more detailed, because, as Markovic says, we have progressed the most in negotiations and have approached the EU significantly. By the end of the year, we will open the remaining chapters, Markovic repeated. “I invite NGOs and civil society organizations not to seek support for joint work at other addresses, but at legitimate and domestic ones. The doors of the Cabinet and the Government are always open for them and for the citizens. I invite them to sit at the same table with us and to consider further possibilities of cooperation on the road and the goal that are common,” Markovic concluded.

Zaev: Government reshuffle after Labor Day (MIA)

Talks for the imminent government reshuffle are about to be concluded, Prime Minister Zoran Zaev said Wednesday. He said he would reveal the changes in his government as well as fresh appointments of heads of several institutions after May 1. “Talks and negotiations are under way. I spend my weekends focused on government reshuffle. I hope we will be wrapping up this coming weekend, the last one in April. After Labor Day May 1^st I plan on informing both the public and the Parliament about the changes in my government and also about the appointment of new directors of several institutions,” Zaev said answering journalist questions.

Failing to give any precise details, he said the bodies of the parties would reach decisions in line with a defined procedure. “We are only individuals, because ultimately it is the bodies that need to make the decisions depending on the scope of the changes that are about to happen,” stated the Premier.

Nimetz: Both sides committed to solution, talks to continue (MIA)

UN envoy Matthew Nimetz said after a meeting with Macedonian and Greek Foreign Ministers, Nikola Dimitrov and Nikos Kotzias respectively, that they held intensive talks during which both sides showed mutual respect. “Both sides are committed to reaching a solution and the process will continue in the coming weeks,” said after the meeting that took place in the UN Office in Vienna. He added these meetings have intensified in recent months, while issues discussed are already familiar. FMs Dimitrov and Kotzias failed to give media statements after the three-hour talks. Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Zoran Zaev said he expected a step forward to be made at the Vienna meeting. ‘There is progress that gives us a reason to believe that a step forward could be also made today in Vienna. I believe in the creativity of both FMs and their teams. I and (Greek PM Alexis) Tsipras also offer support and encouragement for finding constructive, creative solution that would literary meet the expectations of and be dignified for both countries and their citizens,’ Zaev said.

Athens made concessions, now Skopje should follow suit – Greece’s gov’t spokesman (MIA)

Greece has made concessions in the name talks and now Skopje should do what’s necessary for reaching an agreement, Greek government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos told a press briefing on Wednesday, MIA reports from Athens. Asked about his expectations from today’s fresh round of name talks in Vienna,Tzanakopoulos reiterated Greece’s positions for possible settlement of Athens-Skopje row over Macedonia’s name, i.e. a compound name and its overall use at home and abroad (erga omnes). ‘These two preconditions for settling the dispute are logical and righteous for a mutually acceptable agreement that will bring about a solution to the problem that has been tormenting both countries for over 25 years,’ Tzanakopoulos said.

Don’t turn your back on us, Albania PM tells EU (ADN)

Denying Albania the prospect of one day becoming a European Union member could fuel Muslim radicalization in the Balkan country, endangering regional stability, Prime Minister Edi Rama said. Rama is in Berlin to lobby for the opening of accession talks after the European Commission gave its go-ahead last week, also condemned European politicians who stoked anti-Muslim sentiments, labeling them “investors in radicalization”. Ahead of a meeting later with Chancellor Angela Merkel, Rama warned that Russia was also intent on radicalizing Albania’s Muslims, and urged the EU not to “leave a space for other countries to fill”. The EU’s executive is keen to offer the prospect of membership to six Balkan states, including Albania, seeking to counter growing Russian and Chinese influence in the region. The EU’S chief executive, Jean-Claude Juncker, said last week that the bloc needed to accept new members from the Western Balkans to avoid the risk of a new war there. But member governments, mindful of popular skepticism about opening the EU’s doors to more poor countries, are more cautious. From Britain to Hungary, populist parties have made electoral gains by playing on the alleged dangers of large-scale Muslim immigration, while the opening of west European labor markets to poorer new members has been blamed for stagnant wages. “Statistically, Albania is a Muslim-majority country, but I would say the main religion in Albania is Europe,” Rama told Reuters. “So all these forces, they are practically the main investors in radicalization from the side of Europe. So I abhor them.” The closing off of a European perspective for Albania would also leave a gap that Russia was poised to exploit, he added, warning that Moscow’s alleged interference in Montenegro’s 2016 election could be repeated elsewhere in the Balkans. European officials have praised Albania’s progress in strengthening the independence of its judiciary, combating corruption and embedding its democracy, but many in Brussels have been stung by perceived democratic backsliding of Hungary and Poland since joining in 2004. Acknowledging that Albania could not guarantee it would not follow suit, Rama said his country had no alternative to pursuing European integration. “It’s like what you ask of people when they get married,” he said. “You can’t ask more than their commitment to be together for the rest of their lives – and then things happen. “It is important that our idealism about Europe be respected and not taken as naiveté,” he added.

Rama-Merkel, preconditions for the opening of accession talks (ADN)

German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, has stated her support for Albania on Wednesday in a press conference, after the meeting she had with the Prime Minister Edi Rama, for the opening of Albania’s accession negotiations with the European Union.  But according to her, Albania must fulfill some certain preconditions before a final decision from them, because the real backdrop is the fight against corruption and organized crime. “Germany wants to support and be useful. There are a number of preconditions for the opening of accession negotiations. We will form our final opinion over the coming weeks if there are still things to do and if there is enough progress, because the real backdrop is that of fighting corruption and organized crime,” declared Merkel.

She assessed that Albania has dealt with a number of reforms, such as the re-evaluation of prosecutors and judges, and reiterated her confidence in all Western Balkan countries, which should have a European perspective on EU membership.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA SOURCES

Serb President Delays Kosovo Deal to Give It a Better Shot (Bloomberg, by Gordana Filipovic, Misha Savic and Jasmina Kuzmanovic, 25 April 2018)

Two sides still far apart, President Vucic says in interview

Vucic says any resolution would require approval by referendum

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said a deal with Kosovo, the biggest hurdle to his country joining the European Union, isn’t imminent as both sides remain far apart, forcing him to delay his goal to unveil the proposal within weeks. Vucic said more time was needed to get world powers — including the EU and the U.S. — to pressure Kosovo into agreeing to concessions, so he can present the deal to his Balkan nation of 7 million people without feeling “humiliated.”

The president last year started an “internal dialog” over Kosovo, whose 2008 split from Serbia followed the NATO bombing campaign that forced out late Serb President Slobodan Milosevic’s forces in 1999. The deal is crucial for the stability for the western Balkans, repeatedly torn apart by bloody wars. “It’s better to wait,” Vucic said Wednesday in an interview in the Presidential Palace in Belgrade, the capital. “No more deadlines. But I thought we were closer” to a solution “than we are.” In Serbia, where the 48-year-old president’s party controls nearly two-thirds of parliament, most citizens would prefer a frozen conflict to a resolution, a situation that would pose a threat that the region can’t afford, he said.

‘Political Mistakes’

“If you have a frozen conflict, someone will defreeze it,” Vucic said. “And that will be the end of normal life for the entire region.” Democratic and living standards in the former Yugoslavia’s largest state deteriorated in the bloody Balkan wars of the 1990s that saw tens of thousands of people killed, tortured and raped. “We need to realize when you make terrible political mistakes that you need to pay the price,” he said. “But at the same time, all the others need to learn that you can’t humiliate one nation.” Vucic has morphed from a nationalist politician in the 1990s, when he served as information minister to Milosevic during the war with Kosovo, to one pledging to lead Serbia into the EU and at the same time keeping close ties with its ally Russia. He became the prime minister in 2014 and won presidential elections last year. Once in the EU, Vucic hopes Serbia will be helped economically as it still struggles with 13 percent unemployment and living standards below those of Bulgaria, the bloc’s poorest member. Membership — penciled in for around 2025 — will halt also Serbia’s brain drain, he said.

European Council President Donald Tusk said in Tirana, Albania yesterday that the road to the EU will be tough and will resemble “more a hurdles race than a motorway.” Tusk is meeting with Vucic in Belgrade on Wednesday. A decade after the population of overwhelmingly ethnic Albanians declared its independence from Serbia, Kosovo is still seeking to be recognized and hopes to join the EU in the next decade, President Hashim Thaci said on Wednesday, according to GazetaExpress. Serbia’s refusal to recognize Kosovo is backed Russia, China and others.

A Serb official was detained and expelled from Kosovo in March after he ignored warnings not to hold meetings with fellow Serbs in a divided town. Any resolution will require backing from a referendum because it would change the constitution, which still calls Kosovo an integral part of Serbia, according to Vucic. “If we see that this is by far the best solution for the Serbia’s future, and if Serbia isn’t humiliated, and if Serbs get all the guarantees for their better life, I will fight for that,” he said. “No doubt about it.”

The Brief – Macron pulls the Balkan rug (EurActiv,by Zoran Radosavljevic with Sam Morgan, 25 April 2018)

Playing fast and loose with the Balkans is not a great idea. The EU has already found that out the hard way, more than once. Now the region needs clarity and supervision in order to gradually progress towards mainstream Europe. Apparently Emmanuel Macron missed that memo. Just when it looked like the six Western Balkan countries were turning a corner (enlargement is back on the EU’s radar, accession perspectives are taking a more concrete shape and timeline), in walked Macron to shatter the illusion. In comments to MEPs in Strasbourg, curiously under-reported by the media, Macron – the EU’s latest great white hope – said he was not in favour of more EU enlargement for the foreseeable future. He said France would only support bloc expansion when there is first “a deepening and a reform of our Europe”, sounding the common refrain of his vision (which, by the way, never mentioned enlargement until last week). “I don’t want a Balkans that turns toward Turkey or Russia, but I don’t want a Europe that, functioning with difficulty at 28 and tomorrow as 27, would decide that we can continue to gallop off, to be tomorrow 30 or 32, with the same rules,” the French president said. The Commission’s new enlargement strategy has timidly proposed 2025 as the year when Balkan frontrunners Montenegro and Serbia might possibly join. Connoisseurs of EU affairs know that every ambitious reform of the bloc takes more than a decade – such is the nature of the complex EU beast. So, if Macron’s words are to be taken seriously, enlargement could once again become an option after 2030. To make the irony more poignant, Macron’s comments came on the same day that the Commission recommended opening accession talks with another two Balkan countries, Albania and Macedonia. As every step of the accession process needs to be approved by all member states, one might rightly wonder if France will agree to open talks with two new candidates. Or perhaps, it might opt to stall them but keep encouraging Montenegro and Serbia, with which it has had traditionally friendly relations. Whichever way the cookie crumbles, the precedent of publicly discouraging enlargement is already there. When Jean-Claude Juncker took the reins of the Commission in 2014 and said there would be no enlargement during his mandate, the entire region responded by slowing reforms and sinking back into political stalemates and ethnic tensions. Juncker has learned his lesson since. In Strasbourg, where he shared the limelight with Macron, he said: “If we remove from these countries, in this extremely complicated region, I should say tragically, a European perspective, we are going to live what we already went through in the 1990s. I don’t want a return to war in the Western Balkans.”

While a new war in the impoverished region may not be very likely, there are other dangers lurking with Russia, Turkey and China eager to get a foothold there. The EU-Western Balkans summit in Sofia on 17 May may be the last chance to reassure the Balkans that Europe is serious about enlargement. And that it speaks with one voice.

The Roundup

Bulgaria’s media freedom is the worst in the EU and plenty of fake news has been thrown around since a controversial youth forum in Sofia drew the ire of many of the participants.

EU enlargement chief Johannes Hahn has been told to keep his nose out of the Macedonian name dispute. The Austrian Commissioner said a solution could be found within two weeks but was told by both Athens and Skopje to stop meddling in the UN-led talks.

McAllister: Rule of law and fundamental rights priority for Serbia (European Western Balkans, by Nikola Burazer, 26 April 2018)

The European Commission adopted last week its annual Enlargement Package, including seven individual reports, assessing the implementation of the European Union’s enlargement policy which is based on established criteria and fair and rigorous conditionality. The European Western Balkans spoke with David McAllister, German MEP, Chair of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and EP’s Rapporteur for Serbia on this topic.

European Western Balkans: How do you see the European Commission report on Serbia? Are you satisfied with the assessment of progress?

David McAllister: I read the European Commission’s report on Serbia from the first to the last page and I believe that the assessment is very balanced and accurate. The report rightly underlines Serbia’s position as one of the two frontrunners in the enlargement process. The government in Belgrade has adopted important economic reforms that continue to produce results. Addressing and implementing reforms in the area of the rule of law and fundamental rights remains the most important task for Serbia. Moreover, Serbia and Kosovo have to substantially deepen their engagement in the Dialogue.

EWB: Despite much talk about the importance of media freedom, the latest report, just like the last one, claims that no progress has been made in this area. It also states that “this lack of progress is increasingly a matter of concern”. Do you agree that the EU institutions should do more to address this issue?

DM: The European Commission’s report is very clear on the lack of progress in guaranteeing media freedom. Moreover, the 2018 World Press Freedom Index, which “Reporters without Borders”  presented this week, confirmed the Commission’s assessment – Serbia fell from position 66 down to 76. This issue remains, also for the European Parliament, indeed a serious matter of concern.

EWB: The Serbian government is not satisfied with the assessments of progress made in normalization of relations with Kosovo in the EC reports for Serbia and Kosovo. How do you see the state of the normalization process?

DM: A comprehensive, legally binding normalisation agreement is urgent and crucial so that Serbia and Kosovo can advance on their respective European paths. In this respect, I agree with the assessment of the European Commission that Belgrade and Pristina have to substantially deepen their engagement in the Dialogue. The initiative of President Aleksandar Vučić to launch an internal Serbian Dialogue on the future of the relations with Kosovo is very important. Without the effective and comprehensive normalisation of their relations through the EU-facilitated Dialogue there cannot be lasting stability in the region.

EWB: How do you see the statement by French President Macron about the need for reforming the EU before further enlargement in possible? Could it threaten the EU prospects of Western Balkan states?

DM: There is a broad consensus among the EU member states as well as in the EU institutions that our Union must be stronger and more solid, before it can eventually be bigger. However, I am convinced that the reform of the EU and the accession process are not in any kind of conflict. They can go hand in hand. The “Western Balkan six” have a clear and firm EU perspective. The door of the EU is open to further accessions when the individual countries have met the criteria.

EWB: There were negative reactions in some German media about the recommendation to open EU accession negotiations with Macedonia and Albania. Do you think that Germany might became more careful with supporting enlargement in the future?

DM: The Western Balkan countries remain on the German foreign policy agenda. Chancellor Angela Merkel is dedicated to support the Western Balkans in finding sustainable solutions for the challenges the region faces. In Berlin and especially among the responsible members of the German Bundestag, I do not witness a decrease of support for the EU’s enlargement policy as such. Nevertheless, politicians in Berlin pay attention to the fact that candidate countries meet the well-established membership criteria and implement comprehensive reforms in crucial areas.