LOCAL PRESS

Brnabic: I don’t expect an agreement by October (RTS)

Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said she did not expect any solution to the Kosovo issue by October, adding the pressures were increasing, and the delineation was never on the negotiating agenda but was just an option. “That suggestion has never been on the table. Do I expect a solution by October? No. There is no reason to believe that since I think we are further from the dialogue and possible solution,” Brnabic told Radio Television of Serbia (RTS) on the margins of the Jahorina Economic Forum, asked to comment on some media reports mentioning that time framework. She reiterated that the Belgrade’s red line was the 100 percent taxes. “We don’t like pressures; all our partners understand that pressures on Serbia don’t work. We are a reliable and serious partner, and they treat us accordingly,” Brnabic said.

Brnabic: Preserving memory of employees killed at Radio Television of Serbia (RTS/Tanjug)

Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic stated at the international conference “End of Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists” that the bombing of the RTS building, in which 16 employees were killed, was a barbaric act for which there is not a single justification. At the event, organized by the Association of Journalists of Serbia (UNS) and RTS, on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the bombing of the RTS, Brnabic pointed out that this is a brutal, uncivilized murder of which most of those countries which today talk about the freedom of the media should be ashamed.

They responded to a television broadcast with bombs, she said, adding that, unfortunately, there will never be a trial for those who ordered tis killing, as well as those who bombed the building of the RTS and killed innocent people at their workplace. According to her, our remembrance and preventing this event from fading into oblivion is a kind of verdict, not an official and lawful one, but the one that says that we know what happened to us and who did it. I also experience this gathering as a cry of one nation, one profession, for justice. As a necessity for the world to be fair, regardless of power, size and politics, to prove nevertheless that justice is needed and that there are those who will not cease to seek it. And, no matter how strong and powerful you are, some things are simply unacceptable, and the standards that apply to the powerful should be valid for all the others, she said. Serbia at least convicted someone for not having evacuated employees from the building, she at least tried to find a part of fault in herself, in her mistakes and paranoia of a difficult and bad time, Brnabic noted. Expecting other, official structures to do the same today is not realistic. But we will continue to remind ourselves and all the others, that a crime is a crime, that a murder is a murder, regardless of who committed it and with what motives, she stressed.

Mali: Steely friendship, strategic partnership with China (RTS)

A Serbian delegation headed by President Aleksandar Vucic will be in China from Wednesday for the 2nd international Belt and Road economic forum, where more than 10 agreements will be signed, says Serbian Finance Minister Sinisa Mali. Sino-Serbian relations have never been better and are characterized by a steely friendship and a strategic partnership, Mali told the RTS. The April 25-27 Belt and Road forum will be attended by 60 heads of state and government. Mali said the forum would be an opportunity for a sixth meeting between Vucic and Chinese President Xi Jinping, as well as for Vucic’s 16th encounter with Russian President Vladimir Putin. “It is a great honor for our country, but also a great opportunity to reaffirm that friendship and find a way to improve the cooperation, especially economically,” Mali said.

Djilas: To me, Kosovo is a part of Serbia (N1)

The leader of the newly formed Party of Freedom and Justice (SSP) Dragan Djilas told N1 on Tuesday the current ruling coalition would lose the first fair and honest election when it held: “Nothing that was promised in the last seven years was fulfilled. More children were born during the (1995-1999) wars, and more people are leaving the country now. We have to raise salaries for people to see some future,” he added. Djilas said there were no freedoms in Serbia, “media are not free” and agreed the regime changed in elections, “but under fair conditions.” “Anyone who is not for dialogue can say what’s a solution. I won’t call for a violent protest… As politicians, we have to accept criticism. I’m aware that not everything was ideal, that mistakes were made, but the protest goes on,” Djilas, who joint politics in 2004, said. He added that the time between 2000 and 2012 was a period of democracy during which four governments changed, media were free, criminals were behind bars. Nothing of that exists today. Regarding the Kosovo issue, Djilas said he was against Pristina’s UN membership because “there is no basis for that.” “Everyone uses Kosovo as a tool in their internal policies. When it’s a word about bad life in Serbia, they (the authorities) switch to Kosovo. To me, Kosovo is a part of Serbia. The reconciliation is not about status. The day when the Serbs in Kosovo will have high salaries… we will solve the problem,” Djilas said.

Dveri Movement’s parliamentary group no longer exists (Tanjug/B92)

The Dveri Movement group in the Serbian parliament no longer exists, Tanjug is reporting on Tuesday, citing information coming from the parliament to say that Srdjan Nogo and Zoran Radojicic have left the group. The Dveri MPs – Marija Janjusevic, Dragan Vesovic, Ivan Kostic, Bosko Obradovic, and Zoran Radojicic – are now listed as people’s deputies who are not members of any group. Earlier, Miladin Sevarlic also left the club.

REGIONAL PRESS

Dodik will have to “swallow a frog” when it comes to NATO (FTV)

Representatives of SDA and DF reiterated on Monday that formation of the authorities at the Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) level has to be completed by mid-May. Meanwhile, positions on B&H’s NATO path remain the same. DF leader and Croat member of the B&H Presidency Zeljko Komsic stated that it is possible to appoint the B&H Council of Ministers (CoM) Chairman-designate. “However, in that case SNSD leader Milorad Dodik and SNSD, pardon my expression, will have to swallow a frog when it comes to NATO… I believe that it (formation of the authorities) has to happen no later than mid-May because there are certain deadlines that people from the European Commission (EC) gave us when it comes to the further path of B&H towards the EU,” Komsic underlined. Although no one wants to discuss the names of future ministers at this point, there are speculations that post of the B&H Minister of Security should belong to SBB B&H. Bosniak member of the B&H Presidency Sefik Dzaferovic (SDA) said that this issue has not been completely defined yet. “I said that SBB B&H should take part in the authorities and I, as B&H Presidency member, even called on (SBB B&H leader Fahrudin) Radoncic to be part of the coalition. I believe that we need a strong pro-Bosnian political bloc,” Dzaferovic underlined.

Dodik responds to NATO path-related statements of Presidency members Komsic and Dzaferovic (Glas Srpske)

Chairman of the Presidency of B&H Milorad Dodik reiterated on Monday that path to NATO cannot be a condition for formation of authorities at the level of B&H, saying that conditions set by B&H Presidency members Zeljko Komsic and Sefik Dzaferovic are inappropriate and unacceptable. Commenting on Komsic’s and Dzaferovic’s statements related to NATO path of B&H and the formation of authorities at the level of state, Dodik told daily that they are not in a position to lecture him. “What they are saying speak more about them then about me. To say that Membership Action Plan (MAP) and NATO are conditions for formation of the Council of Ministers is a deception of public, because officials of countries which are not members of NATO, as well as officials of NATO member countries, have said that MAP is not a condition for formation of the Council of Ministers,” said Dodik. He added that even the President of Turkey has called on the Council of Ministers to be formed as soon as possible. Furthermore, Dodik also said that it is possible to immediately convene session and unblock the process of formation of the Council of Ministers without any additional conditions. “All they need to say is that they are ready to make that move,” concluded Dodik. The daily learns that the Council of Ministers of B&H in technical mandate will hold no more sessions, because Croat ministers Vjekoslav Bevanda, Marina Pendes and Josip Grubesa – all from HDZ B&H – will not attend them. In order for the B&H CoM session to take place, at least one representative of each constituent people needs to be present. SNSD Spokesperson Radovan Kovacevic stated that Sefik Dzaferovic and Zeljko Komsic know SNSD’s stance very well. “Republika Srpska (RS) officially changed its stance when it comes to MAP and the NATO membership. The RS and all its officials are bound by the Resolution on Protection of Constitutional Order and Military Neutrality of the RS, and that is not going to change. Gentlemen from Sarajevo should finally stop with political blackmail and stop demanding undoable things from us,” said Kovacevic and pointed out that unless the Federation of B&H officials change their approach, the RS will resume on its path independently.

Federation of B&H Parliament’s Commission for Security to convene on Tuesday to discuss decision of RS parliament to adopt law stipulating possibility of formation of reserve police unit (N1)

After the Republika Srpska (RS) parliament adopted legislation enabling formation of reserve police unit in the RS, some political parties in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina called on for introduction of reciprocal measures in this entity. The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina Parliament’s Commission for Security will convene on Tuesday to discuss current situation, i.e. abovementioned decision of the RSNA and possible the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s response. According to N1, representatives of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina Ministry of Interior (MoI), the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina Police Administration (FUP), the Office of High Representative (OHR) and the European Commission will attend this session. Head of the Commission for Security Damir Masic (SDP) said that besides SDA’s statement requesting formation of reserve police unit in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, no written initiative requesting same thing was submitted. “It is not in our interest to make relations additionally complicated. Our goal is to stop this. Two subjects can stop it: the RS institutions and the OHR” explained Masic. Representative in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina House of Representatives Petar Galic, HDZ Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H), who is also a member of the Federation of B&H Parliament’s Commission for Security that will meet today (Tuesday) to discuss issues pertaining to possible formation of reserve police forces in the Federation of B&H. Asked what he expects from Tuesday’s session of the commission, Galic notes that, unfortunately, his expectations are not optimistic in terms of normalization of relations, instead he expects decision that would cause additional strain, divisions and radicalization. Asked what his and the Croat side’s position will be (at the commission’s session), Galic says that he personally believes there are many more important issues at the moment, such as restoring trust among people, creating jobs and attracting new investments. Pushed to say what the Croat side will decide in terms of what the daily called “rattling with weapons from both sides”, Galic said the Croats will side with “turning to the future, Euro-Atlantic integration, in other words, as I said, creating better living condition and better investment climate” “That is why I believe we must sit at the same table and continue together in spirit of tolerance, peace and good relations, to benefit of all” added Galic. Asked how ‘the Croat cantons’ will act in case there is decision on formation of reserve police forces, Galic said that one such decision will have to be sent to cantons for discussion because it is cantons that have the competence.

Lukac: Ambassador Ivantsov supported formation of reserve police force of RS (FTV)

RS Minister of Interior Dragan Lukac met with Russian Ambassador to B&H Petr Ivantsov on Monday. Lukac confirmed that Ambassador Ivantsov supported the formation of reserve police force of the RS. Lukac informed Russian Ambassador about activities of the RS Ministry of Interior in prevention of consequences of migrant crisis. Ivantsov expressed support to activities of the RS MoI. Lukac also said that “the RS, as well as entire B&H, needs additional security forces, in other words more police officers who need to contribute to better security situation”. When author noted that the Federation of B&H has already announced formation of its own reserve police forces, Lukac said that there is no need for them to threaten with formation of reserve police forces, because he welcomes “every new police officer in the streets of the entire B&H, because it only means increased security of all citizens”. “By doing this, we are helping Federation of B&H as well, especially our colleagues in the Una-Sana Canton, because by strengthening control of illegal entries at the eastern border of RS, we will reduce the number of migrants arriving in that canton” explained Lukac. He added that decision to establish reserve police unit in the RS was not made overnight; instead, it is a result of years-long discussion, which started as soon as the migrant crisis escalated and persons of suspicious past started arriving in the RS and B&H. Lukac noted that there are approximately four million persons in migrant camps across Turkey, and that B&H would find itself in trouble if only some of them decide to go to Western Europe – as it is clear that they will go through B&H. Lukac reiterated that migrant crisis is one of the main reasons for formation of reserve police forces, “but of course that some will always look for some hidden motives, regardless of the fact that everything is completely transparent”.

Call of leader of Anti-Dayton Group Sarajevo Alickovic’s for Bosniaks to arm themselves provokes fierce reactions in RS (ATV)

The leader of the Anti-Dayton Group Sarajevo Nihad Alickovic called for Bosniaks to arm themselves. Alickovic published on Sunday a video, commenting the announced formation of the RS reserve police units and called on Bosniaks to get armed and to be very careful. Experts for security issues assessed that he is an extremist and that these kinds of radical standpoints should be sanctioned. ATV reminded that Alickovic does not hesitate to speak such things publicly for media in the Federation of B&H. During one of the interviews, he claimed that the Anti-Dayton Group Sarajevo received around 10,000 requests for membership in the past month. Alickovic said that other, similar movements are also being formed in the Federation of B&H. The public heard about Alickovic in Potocari in 2015, when during the commemoration to Srebrenica’s victims, he was one of the leaders of the attack on Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic. Expert for security issues Slobodan Zupljanin told that consequences of Alickovic’s actions may be devastating even for the Federation of B&H. According to Zupljanin, it is unacceptable that such figures have total freedom to act in media and in practice. Zupljanin said: “Actions that he does are most certainly not in line with international standards and laws, or with laws in B&H, laws of the RS and the Federation of B&H”. Expert for security issues Dzevad Galijasevic assessed that Alickovic must be sanctioned. Galijasevic said that crazy people like Alickovic must be silenced in a way to ban them from such actions taken over the radical organization such as the Anti-Dayton Group Sarajevo. Galijasevic asked what B&H Ministry of Justice and the Federation of B&H Ministry of Justice are doing.

UK does not support change of power in Montenegro (CDM)

The government of the United Kingdom believes that there’s no need to change power in Montenegro, the UK Ambassador to Montenegro, Her Excellency Ms. Alison Kemp, said in an interview with the CDM portal. She emphasized that Montenegro is an ally, a partner and a friend of the United Kingdom. Ms. Kemp declared that there are more British investors in Montenegro than it’s generally thought and that the British businesspeople always say that Montenegro is a great country in terms of investment. The Ambassador continuously encourages British tourists to come and visit Montenegro and get acquainted with the country’s beautiful land. During the interview, Ambassador Kemp highlighted that as long as the UK is a member of the EU, it will constructively and actively assist Montenegro in the process of reforms, adding that even after leaving the EU, United Kingdom will continue to support Montenegro’s prosperity. According to Kemp’s words, the Government of the United Kingdom will remain committed to supporting Montenegro in implementing reforms to strengthen the rule of law, democracy and human rights. Commenting on recent protests in Montenegro, the Ambassador emphasized that the United Kingdom supports the right to peaceful protests and that she supports the confirmation of such a statement by the Montenegrin Government, expressed during the in-country protests. “I do not think that the boycott of the parliament is the most effective way in which opposition parties can represent the interests of their voters. I consider it’s important that everyone advocating for better future and strengthening of democracy is committed to supporting meaningful reforms and strengthening independent institutions,” said Kemp.

Canak: If the EU doesn’t want to deal with the Balkans, others will interfere (Dnevne novine)

President of the League of Social Democrats of Vojvodina, Nenad Canak, says that the EU has to turn to the Western Balkans, and that exactly should be the message conveyed at the meeting with the leaders of the region held in Brussels and initiated by the German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President, Emmanuel Macron. Canak points out that ever since 2002, he has been indicating the phenomenon of clero-fascism in the Balkans, especially in Serbia.

“Back then, it was visible because of the painful relationship between the government and Serbian Orthodox Church and through the politicizing and direct organization of different groups that were created to be church police. The same goes for the surrounding area, Balkans, that is, and such relationship can lead to disaster and suffering of the citizens of Serbia, Montenegro, Kosovo and Albania. And that must not be allowed,” says Canak. He points out that protests in Podgorica, Belgrade and Tirana that almost happen at the same time, aren’t accidental at all.

“Protests in Montenegro, Serbia and Albania are not civil protests at all. It’s obvious that it’s quite the same matrix – at the beginning, protests are presented as civil, young people appear, families with children, there’s a lot of optimism, famous people that have nothing to do with politics speak up… And, then, the opposition parties turn up, and gradually, it becomes a political protest while people become part of huge mass that is rebelling against the government,” pointed out Canak. Such scenario in Serbia is more difficult to identify, he adds, because of everything that happens with Kosovo. “Leaders of the Alliance for Serbia are doing their best to present their engagement as some sort of defense of Kosovo. To me, this looks like a good management of some eastern secret services that are aimed at destabilizing the Balkans and turning specific countries into peacemakers,” says Canak. Apparently, it’s quite clear what is going on. However, nobody expected that the Government of Kosovo will derange everything with the introduction of customs duties. “That’s how Ramush Haradinaj stopped the negotiations. If they hadn’t been stopped, they would have brought results and created the atmosphere for the “general public outcry in Serbia”. That would definitely reflect in other countries where protests are taking place. Since that scenario isn’t possible now, there are some hunger strikes in Serbia and other makeshift things. The objective is to keep the tensions on so that they are able to work out their plan”, concluded the leader of the League of Social Democrats of Vojvodina.

Pendarovski and Siljanovska head to runoff – tight race (Nezavisen vesnik)

The results of Sunday’s presidential elections in North Macedonia suggest that governing coalition candidate, Stevo Pendarovski and opposition backed candidate Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova will head to runoff. With 100% of votes counted, results suggest that Pendarovski has taken 323.846 votes or 42.84%. The opposition candidate Gordana Siljanovska Davkova has taken 319.240 votes or 42.24%, while the third candidate backed by the Alliance for Albanians and Besa, Blerim Reka has taken 79.915 votes or 10.57%. Turnout in the elections was 41.81%.

Governing coalition candidate Pendarovski said that he was happy with Sunday’s electoral process, underlining that he’s confident that he will come out victorious in the second round.

The opposition candidate Siljanovska-Davkova said that the battle has just started and that she’s expecting to receive broad support. On the other hand, the Albanian presidential candidate, Blerim Reka said that this result means that there will soon be a general election. Reka said that he will be backing none of the candidates in the runoff. PM Zoran Zaev said that the elections were free and fair. According to him, the governing coalition’s candidate will win in the second round. Leader of VMRO-DPMNE, Hristijan Mickoski also announced a victory of these elections. He accused the government of corruption, while calling on everyone to unite for the second round.

Zaev: We need Reka’s votes, yes, we need them all! (Republika)

SDSM leader Zoran Zaev addressing Monday evening the public debate in Skopje said that the citizens who did not exercise their right to vote sent a clear message to the government, calling them to vote in the presidential runoff. Zaev is convinced that in the runoff, presidential candidate Stevo Pendarovski will win with a difference of 100 thousand votes. This is not a fight for Zaev, it’s not a fight for SDSM, it is a fight for the homeland. The closeness of the votes says “Gruevski returns, the regime returns”, nobody wants that, the voters of VMRO-DPMNE don’t want that, the SDSM leader pointed out. He pointed out that they acknowledged where mistakes were made and, as he said, they can be fixed, because they are not like the ones that the 11-year regime had made. He said that Pendarovski needs the votes of the presidential candidate Blerim Reka, who dropped out in the first round of presidential elections. We need Reka’s votes, yes, we need them all. We invite them to join us in the concept of unity that brings us to the modern European world, Zaev said.

EU calls on voter turnout in presidential runoff (Republika/MIA)

The first round of presidential elections took place in a peaceful and transparent manner, however additional reform of the electoral law is needed, MIA’s Brussels correspondent reported. EU Spokesperson Maja Kocijancic told MIA that according to a report by the OSCE/ODIHR observation mission, “the fundamental freedoms of assembly and expression were respected” in the first round of presidential elections yesterday and that the overall assessment was positive. It is necessary to complete the started reform of the electoral law, Kocijancic noted. The European Union calls on the citizens to exercise their voting right in the May 5 runoff and to turn out in large numbers. We encourage citizens to use their democratic right and to turn out in large numbers in the May 5 runoff in order to have their vote valid, European leaders said. In addition, Brussels urges all sides “to secure the necessary conditions for a credible and transparent electoral process and general political stability,” reads the EU’s reaction on the first round of the presidential elections.

Date of next opposition’s protest announced (ADN)

The next opposition protest will be held on 11 May at 18:30. This was decided during leader of Democratic Party (DP) Lulzim Basha‘s meeting on Monday with his political allies. The place where the protest will be held is not made known yet, while this will be 10th united opposition’s protest. Since the decision to relinquish opposition’s MP mandates and ordering the candidates of awaiting lists to do so, the opposition’s leaders have declared that there will be no dialogue with the Socialist Party unless Prime Minister Edi Rama resigns. Deputy Prime Minister Erion Brace has reacted on Monday after the Democratic Party (DP) Leader, Lulzim Basha declared of another protest on 11 May. According to Brace, DP Leader Basha should let Tirana breathe and stop with organized protests. “Tirana is full and there is no place for you. In Bulevard, between the headquarters of the government and parliament, there are three large groups of tourists. Leave Tirana live and breathe. You did a lot of attacks. Stop damaging people and their economies. You have made your money as a ruler. You abused for as much as you wanted. Now stop attacking ordinary people and their economy,” said Brace.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA SOURCES

China In Europe: Greece Joins The 17+1 Network (The Corner, by Jens Bastian via Macropolis, 22 April 2019)

In the course of the past decade, China has invested in and provided loan funding for infrastructure projects across Central, Eastern and Southeast Europe. During this period Beijing has also established an institutional architecture across countries in these three European sub-regions. Founded in 2012, the 16+1 network organizes annual Central and Eastern Europe–China Summits. In practice, the network provides the institutional setting for China to engage on a bilateral basis with countries from different regions in Europe and with a diverse set of membership affiliations. The network is a hybrid amalgamation of states from Riga, Latvia in the Baltics to Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina in the Western Balkans. Apart from China, which stands for the number one, the political and economic platform included (until a week ago), 13 NATO members. Eleven of these countries are also EU members, five of which are also euro area members, as well as five countries from the Western Balkans. The network’s secretariat is headquartered in Beijing. It is a top-down, state-driven, leader-to-leader network that negotiates project cooperation on a transactional basis ranging from transport infrastructure over educational initiatives to industrial park construction. The first 16+1 summit was held in Warsaw in 2012. The following summits were held in Bucharest (2013), Belgrade (2014), Suzhou (2015), Riga (2016) and Budapest (2017). In July 2018, the 16+1 members met in Sofia, only a few days after Bulgaria concluded its six months stewardship of the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union. In April 2019, the 16+1 caravan moved to Dubrovnik on the Adriatic Sea in Croatia. This 16+1 summit turned out to be the last one in its current composition. Greece applied in 2018 to join the 16+1 network and was now accepted as its seventeenth member. Thus, another country that is simultaneously a member of the EU, the euro area and NATO joined the renamed 17+1 network. In 2020 China will host the first 17+1 summit. One can expect that Greece will try to showcase its new membership by seeking to host the 17+1 summit in Athens in 2021. For some Greece observers and various China analysts the decision by the Greek government to join the 17+1 network came as a surprise. They shouldn’t have been taken aback. What is rather astonishing is the muted response by Brussels, Berlin and Washington. The move by Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras was a calculated strategic decision and at least a year in the making. Three aspects are noteworthy. They place the government’s integration into the 17+1 network in a wider context of recent developments in foreign economic policy making in Athens.

• Since the end of the third macro-economic adjustment program in August 2018, the Greek government repeatedly argued that it now has regained “national sovereignty” and autonomy of decision-making. This additional policy leverage is visible in foreign policy making, including European affairs.
• Since mid-2015, the Tsipras government has assiduously courted the previous Obama and current Trump administrations in the US. The depth of improvement in US-Greek bilateral relations extends beyond security and defence matters, including regional energy cooperation. Repeatedly praised by the US Ambassador to Greece Geoffrey Pyatt as a “regional anchor of stability”, this development has been an impressive policy U-turn by the Tsipras government. It has thereby gained respectability on the international stage and can leverage its newly-acquired political capital in different directions.
• The June 2018 Prespes Agreement with North Macedonia is the most frequently quoted example that policy makers and commentators abroad point to as a Greek achievement in recent years. With this agreement to solve a 27-year dispute with a neighbouring country, prime minister Tsipras did what was needed to gain further recognition on the international stage. In the corridors of Brussels, Berlin and Paris, his move was praised as an unprecedented “success story”.

These three developments, while unrelated to Sino-Greek relations and the 17+1 network, provided political reassurances to potential doubters that the Tsipras government could from now on be relied upon. In practice, the new respectability of the political authorities in Athens gave them enough flexibility to move forward with its membership application for the 17+1 network. This newly-available political space and the absence of public criticism by the European Commission against the Greek government for wanting to join the 17+1 network is instructive for another reason. It stands in sharp contrast to how various EU governments and the Brussels executive reacted when the administration in Rome announced in March 2019 that it would sign an MoU with China on the latter’s Belt and Road Initiative. However, Greece’s welcome in the 17+1 network should not be seen as a risk-free endeavour. In late March 2019, the European Commission and the EU’s diplomatic unit, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, issued a joint communication regarding EU-China relations. The strategic outlook provided by both European institutions stated that “all Member States, individually and within sub-regional cooperation frameworks, such as the 16+1 format, have a responsibility to ensure consistency with EU law, rules and policies” [emphasis added]. The fact that two EU institutions have to explicitly state the obvious, namely that membership in the 17+1 format comes with regulatory strings attached, can be read as a stern reminder to established members and newcomers. Since 2017, the Commission itself has an observer status in the 17+1 network. It is therefore in a position to monitor deliberations of its members inside the network, even if it does not conclude any policy agreements with China therein. The management of expectations what Athens could gain from its membership in the 17+1 network represents a key challenge for the Greek government. China can claim that its institutional footprint in Europe is further expanding through the MoU with Italy and Greece’s integration into the 17+1 network. It is much less clear how Rome or Athens can garner tangible benefits from high-profile agreements with Beijing. Such accords are heavy on symbolism and framing political narratives. Yet, they carry political risks and may yield little in terms of a feasible return on investment.

*Jens Bastian is an independent economic analyst and financial sector consultant, based in Athens, Greece.