LOCAL PRESS

Brnabic: “Vucic made brave move – before, Kosovo was Serbia, period” (Tanjug)

Serbia will never recognize Kosovo’s independence, PM Ana Brnabic has said, and stressed that this would not be a compromise – something Belgrade favors. She stressed that a compromise would also not be possible if Serbia continued to insist that Kosovo belongs to it, Tanjug cited Germany’s broadcaster Deutsche Welle, which quoted Brnabic’s statement made for Germany’s Welt newspaper. Brnabic also said that “relations with Pristina for us, Serbs, are difficult and emotional.”

“President of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic has made a brave and responsible step when the inter-regional dialogue was launched. Before that, any conversation was taboo. Kosovo was Serbia. Period. Now we must find a compromise. Serbia will never recognize an independent Kosovo. This would not be a compromise. And if we continued to insist that Kosovo belongs to Serbia, a compromise would not be possible,” the Serbian prime minister has been quoted as saying. She added that “both sides” had to leave the comfort zone of their ingrained way of thinking.

“But I do not think that Pristina has done it so far,” Brnabic said.

She recalled that Pristina has not started implementing the backbone of “Brussels agreement” – i.e. the establishment of the Community of Serb Municipalities (ZSO), and added that the number of attacks on Serbs in Kosovo has increased.

“There were 14 assassinations in May, which suggests that the intention of Pristina could be to expel all Serbs – which we will not allow. Serbia is ready for talks. But we need a partner for that,” Brnabic has been quoted as saying.

DSS: Brnabic’s statement scandalous (Danas)

President of the Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS), Milos Jovanovic, said that the statement by Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic that Kosovo was Serbia is “scandalous, embarrassing and absolutely unacceptable”.

Jovanovic, according to the DSS, stated that this statement of Ana Brnabic, not only confirms that she is unworthy of the function in which she has found herself, but also that the government that she’s heading is preparing for capitulation, not for a compromise.

In an interview with the German Welt, Ana Brnabic also said that “relations with Pristina for us, Serbs, are difficult and emotional, and that Serbian President Aleksandar has made a brave and responsible step when the inter-regional dialogue was launched.

“Before that, any conversation was taboo. Kosovo was Serbia. Period. Now we have to find a compromise. Serbia will never recognize an independent Kosovo. It would not be a compromise. And if we continue to insist that Kosovo belongs to Serbia, compromise will also not be possible “said Ana Branbic.

Vucic wonders if Albanians would like piece of Hungary, too (Tanjug)

“An exchange of territory with Kosovo” is out of the question, according to Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, who spoke on Tuesday. Vucic made this comment after Kosovo president’s adviser Rexhep Hoti said on Monday that “a partition of Kosovo is not on the agenda – but if it was then Kosovo should take Sandzak and a part of southern Serbia.”

Vucic reacted to this by asking ironically whether Pristina wanted Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban to also “give them Kecskemet (a town in central Hungary).”

“Have they considered Vojvodina at all, Belgrade – Sumadija, that goes without saying… let’s ask Orban if he’ll give them Kecskemet… what can I say to that, of course I’m joking,” the President replied to reporters.

He then warned that there is “the need among a part of Albanians” to form the so-called Green (Muslim) Transversal – “and the north of Kosovo lies in its path: between southern (Kosovska) Mitrovica, Vucitrn, Srbica, on the other side, Ribaric, Novi Pazar and the central part of Serbia, Raska.”

“That’s why the territory of northern Kosovo bothers them so much,” said Vucic, adding that he “cannot always comment on that, because somebody could misunderstand.”

“And when I speak about their ‘hunger’ to occupy the north of Kosovo I always have all these arguments, both Gazivode and Valac, for that need of theirs to maintain that line which they’ve always insisted on, and no politician can hide it any longer – even if it’s no longer about the Albanian question,” said Vucic.  “That is what we have seen, what we know and what we feel. And it is something that will not happen,” he said.

Asked what would happen if Albanians were to “storm” the north of Kosovo and Metohija, the president replied by saying that he had “posed this question publicly, but received no answer.”

All the same, he stressed, it was his job “to do everything to preserve peace, secure stability and guarantee safety to our people in Kosovo and Metohija.”

Vucic said that “for the most part we have managed to do that so far, despite numerous organized incidents – because there are no accidental incidents with them.”

“Those are fairy-tales, they do that on command and always have, but it still hasn’t taken on dramatic proportions – it isn’t of small and insignificant proportions either, but it isn’t dramatic,” he said. Vucic added that the reason for this was “us managing to conduct a responsible and smart policy.”

Ljajic: Hoti’s adventurous border mapping (RTS)

Deputy Prime Minister and President of the SDPS, Rasim Ljajic, on the occasion of the statement by Thaci’s adviser, Redzep Hoti, in which he said that the division of Kosovo meant that the parts of Sandzak should belong to Kosovo, said that such an adventurous border mapping led to the wars of the 1990s, and that the region and peoples of this region now need new investments, better infrastructure and a higher standard of.

Rasim Ljajic said that Hoti is looking for a solution to the current problems in the past, in a completely wrong way, both historically and politically.

“If Hoti’s recipe was applied, no border, not in the region, but in the world, would remain in its place. This is in direct contradiction with the internationally proclaimed principle of inviolability of borders, and violation of that principle would bring the whole world into conflicts and global instability, “said Ljajic. He also pointed to the fact that from Pristina, voices can be heard that sometimes use historical, and sometimes ethnic criteria for resolving current political problems, depending on which one suits them the best.

The new format of Kosovo dialogue includes America and Russia, Germans looking for a special negotiator instead of Mogherini (Blic)

In anticipation of a continuation of the dialogue in Brussels, behind the scenes within the European Union, the cards are again being mixed up again – Germany has the suggestion that instead of the head of the EU diplomacy, Federica Mogherini, negotiations should be led by a special representative of the EU, reads Blic daily.

The dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina since the first round, held in March 2011, is led by Brussels. In recent months, it has been said that it could be continued in a new format, in which America would be included as a consultant, which would be suitable for Pristina, but also Russia, which is the idea of ​​Belgrade. The Blic source says that some countries are also looking for a special representative to be involved.

“Germany wishes that the Special Representative, which would be appointed by the EU foreign minister Federica Mogerini, takes over the role of a negotiator in the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina. The reason for this is that Mogerini deals with more jobs at the same time and does not have time to devote full attention to the dialogue and solve the problems that come to light during the negotiations. That is why the idea is to take on the special representative – says the source. The proposal, as our interlocutor adds, is explained by the acceleration of the dialogue.

“The idea is that the head of the EU diplomacy would determine who will be that special representative. However, the question is whether this will happen in the coming period” says the source.

These claims are confirmed by the head of Serbian diplomacy Ivica Dacic, who says that the question is what kind of benefit Serbia would have from it.

“I doubt that Serbia would benefit from it, we know the position of the West towards Belgrade and the status in the dialogue. The question is who would be that special representative and what is his position towards Serbia. It is clear that the aim of this proposal is to resolve the issue of Kosovo as soon as possible, that is, to increase the pressure, of course more on Belgrade than on Pristina” says Dacic.

The commotion regarding the change in the format of the dialogue began alongside with a criticism of some EU countries that the public is not sufficiently aware of what is happening in the negotiations. Also, Federica Mogerini has been criticized that she set the deadline for the signing of the agreement by the end of next year, for her personal benefit, in order to coincide with the end of her mandate and serve as a stepping stone for further career development.

Commenting on the developments in the dialogue, the Director of the Forum for Ethnic Relations Dusan Janjic says that the representatives of Germany and the United States will most probably be involved in the dialogue in the coming period.

“From the Kosovo side, the negotiating team is already known, it is called “team of unity”. The political negotiator is most likely going be Blerim Shala, Thachi‘s advisor, and Thachi as the president of Kosovo. In the upcoming period, we need to make a political platform for the negotiations and pass it through the Assembly – says Janjic.

According to the announcements by Brussels, the next round of dialogue should be held by the end of June, and the emphasis should be on the establishment of the Community of Serb Municipalities with the Serbian majority.

It is interesting that Serbian ministers increasingly refer to the division of Kosovo as a solution that Serbia could agree to. After Ivica Dacic, who talked about this several times, ministers Rasim Ljajic and Aleksandar Vulin also expressed the same position.

Vulin: KFOR is Serbia’s sole partner in securing administrative line between Serbia and Kosovo (Beta)

Serbian Defense Minister Aleksandar Vulin said that the KFOR was the sole partner of the Army of Serbia in securing the administrative line between Serbia and Kosovo, and that it was hence impossible to transfer the duty to any other institution or organization. The defense ministry quoted Vulin as saying so at a meeting with director of the Romanian Intelligence

Service Eduard Hellvig, whom he also thanked for his professional engagement, and for the contribution of the Romanian KFOR contingent to security in Kosovo.

The two officials agreed that there were many opportunities for the development of cooperation between the two national defense sectors, as well as bilateral military-economic cooperation. They discussed the situation in the region, too, underlining the importance of developing good relations, especially amid what they described as “growing challenges and threats Europe and the world are facing.”

Idea to build migrant camp in Balkans “taken off table” (RTS)

Head of the UNHCR office in Belgrade Hans Friedrich Schoder says there is no agreement to build a reception camp for migrants outside the EU. “This idea has been taken off the table, I do not want and should not speculate,” Shoder told RTS. He stressed that there had been “no progress” with this idea and that all countries, including EU members, have an international obligation to receive migrants in accordance with asylum procedures.

“There can only be an agreement on this issue with the consent of a third country, and this is only possible if everything is to be done in accordance with European and international laws,” Schoder said. He added that states have the right to manage their borders as they wish, but he assessed that closing the borders is not a solution. Schoder also said that the situation in Serbia, when it comes to the migrant crisis, is stable, and that the number of migrants in the country’s reception centers has been halved, from 6,000 to 3,000.

International media in the past days reported that EU countries were looking for a suitable location in Europe, outside the EU, to build a large reception camp for migrants unwanted in the EU, with the Western Balkans mentioned in this context.

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Representatives of SDA, SBB, SDP and DF in Federation of B&H HoR sign proposal of law on constituencies and number of mandates in Federation of B&H Parliament (FTV)

The representatives of SDA, SDP, DF, SBB and ‘Our Party’ signed the proposal of the law on the number of mandates and constituencies in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina Parliament in Sarajevo on Tuesday. The proposal was sent to urgent parliamentary procedure and a request was made for an urgent scheduling of the House of Representatives session. This was an attempt to solve the problem of implementing original results after the October elections.

The opinion of the five parties that singed the proposal of the law is that it is in accordance with the Federation of B&H Constitution and the Election Law of B&H, and that it is not the only possible solution, but currently it is the most acceptable one because blockades in the election process are not the interest of anyone.

HDZ Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) claims that they have not received the proposal of the law. They do not know the contents of the proposal of the law, but they consider it to be unacceptable, because they assume that it is the same proposal of the law that was proposed by DF and SDP during the end of the last year, which served as a basis for the current proposal of the law. HDZ B&H claims that the Federation of B&H Parliament does not have jurisdiction over this issue. Head of the HDZ B&H Caucus in the Federation of B&H House of Representatives Jozo Bagaric stated that the state is the one that has jurisdiction over this issue. Bagraic commented that the proposal of the law seems to show that there is a united Bosniak front aimed against Croats. He added that he hopes that the situation is not like that, but if it is, the Croat people have a prepared answer.

Head of the DF Caucus in the Federation of B&H House of Representatives Dzenan Djonlagic said that HDZ B&H’s claims are false and that the proposal of the law is not an electoral law. The five parties argue that the RS has a set of laws regulating the number of mandates and constituencies while the Federation of B&H and B&H do not and that adoption of this law represents an essential obligation of the Federation of B&H Parliament.

Head of the SDA Caucus in the Federation of B&H House of Representatives Ismet Osmanovic stated that there are speculations that the Federation of B&H President Marinko Cavara from HDZ B&H might prevent adoption of the proposal of the law by refusing to sign the decree on proclamation of the law. He added that if he were to do that he would be violating his constitutional powers.

Head of the SBB Caucus in the Federation of B&H House of Representatives Nasir Beganovic stated that a possible blockade of election results’ implementation would prove to be disastrous for both Federation of B&H and B&H, which is why the five parties have decided to sign this proposal of the law which would prevent that blockade and possible damage.

Croat politicians slam Proposal of Law on Constituencies in Federation of B&H (Vecernji list)

Vecernji list daily carried the reactions of Croat officials to “an attempt of Bosniak parties” to adopt the Law on Constituencies in the Parliament of Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

HKDU President Ivan Musa said the Bosniak parties want to implement a project of one people dominating Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H), which is something Croats will resolutely go against. Leader of the Croat Republican Party Slaven Raguz stresses that HDZ B&H made a mistake by accepting inclusion of the Venice Commission into the talks on changes to the Law on Elections of B&H, arguing that the aim of the Bosniak parties is to continue the chaos, continue to elect Croat representatives and turn Croats into ethnic minority. Leader of HDZ 1990 Ilija Cvitanovic stresses he fears that Bosniak parties do not want to reach a solution at all, arguing that their proposal is against the letter and the spirit of the decision of the Constitutional Court (CC) of B&H (in ‘Ljubic’ case). “Croats will certainly now allow adoption of a solution that would allow Bosniak parties to impose political representatives to Croats”, added Cvitanovic. Deputy Speaker of the B&H House of Peoples Barisa Colak (HDZ B&H) underlines that the Bosniak parties are using all ways to trick the CC’s decision in the ‘Ljubic’ case. Leader of HSP B&H Stanko Primorac says that all Bosniak parties are, unfortunately, unanimous in obstruction of the CC’s decision.

CEC of B&H organizes conference ahead of elections (Hayat)

A two-day conference entitled ‘Ahead of General Elections 2018’ has begun in Sarajevo on Tuesday. The conference was organized by the Central Election Commission (CEC) of Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H), with the support of the Council of Europe (CoE). The topics of the conference include the amendments to the bylaws of the B&H CEC, the timeline of electoral activities, the accreditation of observers, the admission of electoral material, the election day and the proper unification of election results.

According to representatives of the B&H CEC, the aim of the conference is to inform the election participants with amendments to the by-laws related to the electoral process, the forthcoming activities for the implementation of the elections and exchange of views on the current challenges in the 2018 electoral process. The conference will gather around 150 participants, representatives of municipal and city election commissions from 143 municipalities and cities in B&H.

President of the B&H CEC Irena Hadziabdic reminded that the B&H CEC deals with preparations for the elections and that it has received a record number of applications from political entities this year. “In terms of protection, we are trying to find ways to reduce manipulation in the 5 percent of the polling stations where we have had problems before. At 95 percent of the polling stations we expect to receive results around midnight, when we are required by law to publish those results”, said Hadziabdic. Hadziabdic reminded that on Tuesday the deadline for application of the coalitions has expired.

B&H Minister of Security Mektic informs EU Commissioner for Migration and Home Affairs about migrant crisis in B&H (N1)

The Western Balkan Ministers of Interior discussed illegal migrations with EU Commissioner for Migration and Home Affairs Dimitris Avramopoulos at the meeting in Brussels on Tuesday. Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) Minister of Security Dragan Mektic, who also attended the meeting, informed Avramopoulos about the current situation in B&H and conclusions of the latest meeting of B&H Council of Ministers (CoM) on the migrant crisis in B&H.

The Ministers stressed on this occasion that efficiency in controlling the borders, the fight against human trafficking and joint suppression of illegal migrations represent top priorities of the EU. Mektic said that successful fight against this problem is possible only through unity.

Addressing the press conference after the meeting, Avramopoulos said: “We have indeed seen increase of the number of migrants who cross the border. This affects B&H in particular, but Montenegro and Albania as well. Although these numbers are still not worrying, our talk was focused on preventive actions, directing of our resources and avoiding the escalation. All Western Balkan partners recognize importance of the future joint cooperation when it comes to identifying the risks and illegal migrations, with an aim to maintain the free visa regime.”

Map with placement of 34,000 migrants (Dnevni list)

Belgrade-based Danas daily published a map with placement of migrants in Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H), according to which bigger cities/towns in the Federation of B&H would accommodate about 23,000 migrants, whilst cities/towns in Republika Srpska (RS) would accommodate about 11,000 migrants. According to the map, for example, Banja Luka and Gradiska would accommodate 1,500 migrants each, Bijeljina and Trebinje would accommodate 2,500 migrants (each), whilst Zvornik and Visegrad would accommodate 2,000 and 1,000 migrants respectively. According to the map, Mostar would accommodate 3,000 migrants, whilst Siroki Brijeg, Capljina and Livno would accommodate 2,000 migrants each.

Deputy Speaker of the RS National Assembly Nenad Stevandic said that it seems as if everyone but Serb representatives in B&H Council of Ministers (CoM) heard about the plan on permanent placement of migrants in B&H. “Serb representatives in Sarajevo will do what they will be ordered to do and they do not have the legitimacy among Serb people from whom they keep hiding the information”, Stevandic noted.

Director of the Service for Foreigners Affairs Slobodan Ujic claims there are no maps with placement of migrants.

The daily speculated that, following requests from The Hague and solving of Kosovo issue, Serbia might face yet another precondition on its way to the EU, i.e. it might have to bear majority of the burden of migrant crisis. Namely, according to latest speculations in diplomatic circles, the EU is looking for a favorable place in the Western Balkans to accommodate thousands of migrants while Albania, Serbia and B&H are most often mentioned as possible locations for “mega-camp” for the migrants. Both Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic and Serbian Minister of Interior Nebojsa Stefanovic said that Serbia is willing to accept fair solutions for migrants but warned that it cannot be left to solve this problem on its own.

Croatia

PM applauds EC’s decision to remain neutral on Slovene lawsuit (HRT)

On Monday the European Commission (EC) decided to not take sides or assume a public position regarding Slovenia’s legal suit against Croatia regarding the Zagreb’s refusal to implement the border arbitration ruling. Commenting on the EC’s move, Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said that it was the logical course of action for the commission to take. “I think the commission made the right decision, to not get involved in this kind of dispute, is the best thing it could have done.”

Plenkovic added that Croatia is committed to resolving the border issue with Slovenia, adding that this is not such an obstacle that it should affect the two countries otherwise friendly and good neighborly relations. “Quite the contrary, as soon as a new government is formed in Slovenia, we will endeavor to continue dialogue with our partners and find a solution. I think that pursuing further legal action is not a good course for partner countries in the European Union and allies in the NATO alliance to take. This is why we will once again offer our friends in Slovenia a solution, one that I feel could later be adopted by Croatian Parliament, Plenkovic said.”

Prime Minister hosts Dragan Covic in Zagreb (HRT)

The Croat member of Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) presidency, Dragan Covic, met with the Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic and Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandrokovic in Zagreb. Discussions on Tuesday in Zagreb at the government building focused mainly on the upcoming parliamentary elections in B&H on October 7th. Other points of interest were the equal status of Croats in B&H and their joint effort in combating illegal migration.

The Croatian Prime Minister once again voiced his compete support for B&H on their path to European integration. He also underlined how important it was for the potential changes to the election laws in B&H be conducted in line with the country’s constitution.

Montenegro

“We will not be in the working group of the US Embassy” (RTCG)

The Democratic Front will not accept the platform for overcoming the crisis proposed by Democratic Montenegro and URA, DF official Milan Knezevic, said. He reminded the Parliament that he spent three months in prison.

“After three months in prison, I came to the conclusion that I got out of one prison and moved to another one that is much worse, in which we were all sentenced to five more years of Milo Djukanovic‘s rule.  At the end of that time period, we will mark the anniversary of his 35 years in power. I have no dilemma that, all these years, we are in the prison. While some are fine with that, DF will not agree to be humiliated as some of the 21st century opposition MPs.  I guess that it is clear for everybody that, after the presidential and local elections, DPS and part of the opposition have only one goal – to destroy DF as the only dam of the free Montenegro, “said Knezevic. Knezevic believes that the platform to overcome the crisis has been written in US embassies.

“We did not give up one inch of our national program believes. President Dusko Markovic was the only one who accepted the Democrats and URA Platform.  DF will not be part of the Working Group of the US Embassy and Markovic. Prisons can’t break us.”

Parliament Speaker Ivan Brajovic said that the most important thing is that DF is in the Parliament again. “I hope that others will see that the boycott is unnecessary and that the rest of the opposition will return to the Parliament, because, if we want to solve the problems, we need to talk about them,” Brajovic said. Minister of Justice, Zoran Pazin, also greeted the return of a part of the opposition to the Parliamentary bench.

Becic and Abazovic with Han today (RTCG)

Leaders of the Democrats and the URA Aleksa Becic and Dritan Abazovic will stay in Brussels for the next two days, at the invitation of the EU Commissioner for Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement, Johannes Hahn, announced the Democratic Montenegro.

Besides Becic and Abazovic, Boris Bogdanovic, Secretary General of the Democrats, and Milos Konatar, vice president of the URA, are also going to Brussels, and they will meet with Hahn today.

“Hahn’s invitation came after the two leaders presented to the domestic and international public the Electoral Reform Plan, with its seriousness demonstrated not only by wider approval by relevant domestic and international addresses, but also by this visit of Becic and Abazovic to Brussels, within which they will present to the Commissioner Hahn the Electoral Reforms Plan and its elaboration, as well as all the circumstances that led to the need for such a resolution of the current political situation in Montenegro, ” the statement said.

They remind that the Electoral Reforms Plan, which is offered to other opposition parties, as well as the NGO sector, envisages finding sustainable solutions related to the Judicial Council, the RTCG Council and a comprehensive electoral reform that implies the implementation of OSCE- a / ODIHR recommendations.

fYROM

MPs give green light for the fast-tracking of Agreement with Greece (Meta)

At the 51st Parliamentary session, MPs supported the fast-tracking of the draft-law on the ratification of the agreement with Greece, which was signed on Sunday by the foreign ministers of Macedonia and Greece. The law was explained by Foreign Minister Nikola Dimitrov, who said that it is more than necessary for Parliament to consider the fast-tracking of this law in order to meet the upcoming deadlines for the EU and NATO summits.

“Greece has an obligation to inform the President of the EU Council, that Greece fully supports Macedonia’s bid for EU membership and to notify the NATO Secretary General regarding an invitation to join the Alliance. The June summit lies ahead, these dates are crucial to a European future of our country. In order to achieve these results, I propose that Parliament adopts this bill while employing a fast-track procedure” said Dimitrov.

In support of the proposal, 69 MPs, that is, MPs from the majority and all Albanian parties, voted in favour, while MPs from the opposition, VMRO-DPMNE voted against with 40 votes.

The coordinator of the largest parliamentary group from the opposition, Dragan Danev, said that the deal presented before MPs was an act of capitulation by the government. According to him, the agreement represents a latter-day genocide of Macedonian rule of law and an attempt to deny our existence.

VMRO-DPMNE’s parliamentary group will not take part in Parliament’s efforts concerning the agreement over the name with Greece. Any further participation will be decided by party organs, said MP Antonio Miloshoski. According to him, the agreement is not a compromise but blackmail, which someone had to sign, either because of previous actions or future rewards. “Legally, the agreement is anti-constitutional, and is a national humiliation”, said Miloshoski. He blamed the abuse of the European flag of the law, thus the violation of all procedures.

Zaev: Citizens to have the final say; If necessary, impeachment of Ivanov (MIA)

I believe that our people will take a wise decision. I am a politician serving the citizens. I made a deal, it was not easy, many negotiated before me and would have reached an agreement if it had been easy. Now citizens have the chance to go out at a referendum. I am sure an enormous majority will support these perspectives at Macedonia’s reach, Prime Minister Zoran Zaev told on Tuesday.

“As never before, citizens know the facts in order to decide. The referendum result will be mandatory, irrelevant of it being a binding or consultative one. This means that if the majority of citizens vote ‘for’, then the agreement is valid, but if the majority votes ‘against’, then the agreement’s ratification or the agreed name is not valid,” explains PM Zaev.

According to him, the referendum is the peak of democracy, where citizens decide over the country’s direction.

“SDSM was against a name referendum in the past, now we are in favor of it, VMRO-DPMNE has always wanted a referendum. I hope the opposition will find the strength for this and that President Gjorge Ivanov will not obstruct the processes to follow. A way should be found of not cancelling the Parliament’s decision by using a ‘pocket veto’ as was the case with the law on languages,” says Zaev. He adds that the criticism of opposition parties in Macedonia and Greece shows that both sides have won and lost something.

Zaev said that if necessary, he will launch a procedure for the impeachment of the President Giorgio Ivanov, so as not to “allow anyone to hinder Macedonia on the European path” and that he will initiate the procedure for the removal of Ivanov only if they have to.

The PM says this is not the first time that Macedonia has accepted the erga omnes aspect. “(Former PM) Nikola Gruevski accepted a name for all uses Upper and North Macedonia back in 2012 and 2013, but Greece did not accept this because it was provoked by the Skopje 2014 project and the renaming of the airport and highway,” stresses Zaev.

He says that the agreement is an enormous benefit for Macedonia, which is finally a country recognized by the entire world, a country of the Macedonian people speaking the Macedonian language.

“The times when our language is referred to as the language of your country, the people as the people of your country, while the country as fYROM come to an end” says Zaev.

He notes that citizens can now be hopeful in their own country, securing the future of their children and generations to come.

“I believe in this agreement, I know it is not easy, it hurts the soul because of the constitutional revision. But at the end of the day, it is a fact that the we are in the north of the geographic region of Macedonia. Greece has recognized the people and the language – Macedonian, Macedonian language. We finally get what our ancestors aspired for – an independent country recognized by all,” says Zaev. He adds that the constitutional revision had to materialize.

“This was the only way that Greece could accept the agreement, thus finally building friendship with our neighbor. There is no NATO or EU if this problem is not solved. I urge citizens to carefully read the agreement and see that we have a just and smart solution,” says Zaev.

Regarding the protests in front of the Parliament building, he once again condemns the violence.

“Violence is not the solution. The right for free expression of a stance during a protest is a democratic right. The police reaction was justified and cautious,” adds Zaev.

Asked if early elections would be held in parallel with the referendum, the PM says the polls are in their favor, while early elections are not good for the economy.

“Frequent elections damage the economy. It is good to have a full term, because businessmen can then plan and invest,” underlines Zaev.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA SOURCES

Serbia Fails to Welcome Macedonia-Greece Name Deal (BIRN)

While all other leaders of Balkan states have offered congratulations on the historic ‘name’ deal between Macedonia and Greece, Serbian officials have so far remained publicly silent. Serbia remains the only Balkan state which has not yet publicly congratulated its neighbor Macedonia and Greece on their signing on Sunday of a landmark agreement aimed at finally resolving their decades-long dispute over Macedonia’s name.
Bojan Klacar, director of the Centre for Free Elections and Democracy, CESID, said that it was very telling that there has been no public reaction so far from Serbia to one of the most important events in the region, which ended the bitter row between Macedonia and Greece.
“As reasons for the absence of official reactions from Belgrade, at this moment, two can be mentioned: first, relations between Serbia and Macedonia since the arrival of [Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev are not good, and we have often witnessed bad bilateral relations between the two countries,” Klacar said.

Zaev’s government came to power last year, replacing the VMRO-DPMNE party, whose administration failed to make progress in the dispute with Athens.

In August 2017, Serbia pulled its embassy staff out of Skopje after President Aleksandar Vucic claimed Belgrade had to have obtained “evidence of very offensive intelligence against the institutions of Serbia” from the Macedonian side, alleging that unnamed “foreign powers” were also involved. Media reports have speculated that one of the factors in the diplomatic incident was a Serbian intelligence officer, Goran Zivaljevic, who worked as an adviser at the Serbian embassy in Skopje.

Zivaljevic was present during a violent episode on April 27 last year, when a group of men stormed the Macedonian parliament in Skopje in an attempt to prevent Zaev forming an administration. Zivaljevic told Serbia’s Tanjug news agency on August 23 that he had the approval of the Macedonian authorities to be in the parliament building that night – although Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov’s office denied this.
Eventually, Serbia decided to return its diplomats to Macedonia and officials from the two countries agreed to maintain friendly relations.
Klacar suggested that the second reason for Serbia’s ignoring the ‘name’ agreement was that it could clear the path for Macedonia to join NATO.
“The signing of the agreement opening the way to NATO for Macedonia is an additional challenge for Serbia, especially in the context of relations with Russia and Russian interests in the Balkans,” he said.

“In the end, it seems that Belgrade, especially some ministers, as well as a large part of the public in Serbia, is more sympathetic to the previous Macedonian Prime Minister VMRO-DPMNE’s Nikola Gruevski and not to Zaev,” he added.
Both Vucic’s Serbian Progressive Party and Gruevski’s VMRO-DPMNE are members of European People’s Party, the transnational conservative political body. The Progressive Party is an associate member, while the VMRO-DPMNE has full membership.
Gruevski led the VMRO-DPMNE until 2017, when he became honorary president of the party.
The European People’s Party however has welcomed the agreement reached between Greece and Macedonia.
Macedonian and Greek ministers on Sunday signed the landmark agreement aimed at finally resolving their dispute.

Zaev said the deal had “turned an enemy into a friend”.
Greek Prime Minister Tsipras called the agreement “patriotic”, and one that “respects the fundamental values of both countries”, adding that both governments now need to work on its implementation.

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