LOCAL PRESS

Vucic calls Serbs to vote for the Serb List (RTS)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has called the Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija to use their right and to vote for the Serb List. “The Serb List is experiencing real political terror and persecution in Kosovo and Metohija, organized by the institutions of the so-called parastate, supported by part of the international community. This terror is composed from the following – only the representatives of the Serb List cannot get the support from anyone from Serbia proper, from anyone from any side. The Bundestag MPs and many others can give support to the Albanians. Only the Serbs are forbidden to support their Serb List,” notes Vucic. He recalled that the Serb List was banned to have an election video, where their guilt lies only in the fact that it was stated “Serbia is calling”. “You will not believe on whose appeal it was forbidden – on BIRN’s appeal, just as in 2017 this video was banned. The great BIRN objected because it invokes hatred. Yet, it is not invoking hatred when the party led by Rada Trajkovic and Rasic states in Albanian that the Serb List is a monster. At the same time, when they shoot videos, they are doing so in front of the Serbian church which they don’t allow to be Serbian, but are using it as a public toilet,” said Vucic. “They set aside three million Euros for buying Serb votes. It is no coincidence that Albin Kurti said – we want with the Serbs, but without Serbia. They are trying to make for themselves suitable Serbs, and only Serbia is the forbidden word,” said Vucic. “There are two possible options of great manipulation. One of these options is theft by way of letters and we will request the OSCE to guard letters and mail, because we know that nobody would ever vote for these people. On the other hand, there are everywhere invalid ballots, Albanians parties in agreement will transfer them into votes for obedient and suitable, for them, Serbs who otherwise recognize the newest state of Kosovo, as they themselves say, and wish reconciliation. As if we do not want reconciliation who are still fighting for Serbia and our people,” said Vucic. These are the two options, he says – one by way of letters and the second by way of invalid ballots. “The real Albanians will never vote for them. They are thus making an alibi for getting false votes for themselves from invalid ballots. That is why I am calling the Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija to counter them with pencil and paper, to turn out in large as ever numbers. Let us show Serb unity and that they can’t separate Serbia from Kosovo and Metohija,” said Vucic. “The foreigners had all this time been leading a campaign against the Serb List, because they were bothered by the fact that the Serb List is referring to Belgrade. They wish to exclude Belgrade, they only want obedient and suitable Serbs whom foreigners could eventually rule a bit, and Albanian politicians a bit. That is the key,” said Vucic.

Dacic: Macron told me – he would fulfill all promised to Vucic (Blic/Beta)

Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic told  Blic that French President Emanuel Macron stressed that he would actively engage in the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue as soon as the Kosovo parliamentary elections are over. “Macron himself told me to convey to President Aleksandar Vucic that he would do everything he promised during his visit to Belgrade, that he was just waiting for the Kosovo elections to end and that he would then actively engage in the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue,” Dacic said. Referring to a brief meeting with Macron and his wife Brigitte on Thursday in New York on the sidelines of a UN General Assembly session, Dacic said the French President was still under the impression of a two-day visit to Serbia in mid-July. “He is so thrilled to have talked about it with his wife Brigitte. He told her how he spent great time in Serbia, how we sang, and that he had never had such a good time in any visit to any foreign country,” Dacic said. He added that he had told him that it was the best visit of a statesman to Serbia. “I praised him in front of his wife saying that she had an exceptional husband, and she confidently said she is aware of that,” he concluded.

Zelenovic: Foreign observers ready to turn a blind eye to violations of democracy and human rights when it comes to Kosovo (RTV)

The leader of the Together for Serbia party and the mayor of Sabac Nebojsa Zelenovic said on Monday the government’s measures for improving the election process were nonsense which hasn’t scratched the surface. He said the measures did not cover the role of the Regulatory Body for Electronic Media (REM), the Election Commission and Anti-Corruption Agency, the institutions the opposition saw as crucial issues in the election process. Commenting on possible negotiations between the regime and opposition mediated by the EU as suggested by David McAllister, the chairman of the European Parliament (EP) Committee on Foreign Affairs, Zelenovic said the opposition group Alliance for Serbia (SzS), which his party is a member of, would not take part. He said the foreign observers were ready to turn a blind eye to the violations of democracy and human rights when it comes to Kosovo.

Serbia to open new chapters in EU talks by end-year (Tanjug)

Finland, which holds the EU presidency, plans to host by the end of 2019 an EU-Serbia intergovernmental conference to open new chapters in the accession talks with Belgrade, Tanjug learns. The six-month EU presidency ends in three months. According to Finnish diplomatic sources, in July, when it assumed the EU presidency, Helsinki had plans for Serbia’s EU approximation process to be continued and to hold an intergovernmental conference within six months. At this time, there is speculation about opening two negotiating chapters, Tanjug sources in Brussels said Monday. “Implementation of this plan is in the hands of Serbia and EU member states,” one of the sources said. In late June, during Romania’s EU presidency, Serbia opened Chapter 9 in the accession talks. Serbia has opened 17 and provisionally closed 2 of the 35 chapters since the talks began in 2014.

REGIONAL PRESS

B&H HoR Collegium fails to reach agreement on convening session of B&H HoR (N1)

The Extended Collegium of the Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) House of Representatives (HoR) held a session in Sarajevo on Monday to discuss the issue of blockade of work of the B&H Parliament. The Extended Collegium convened at the initiative of Speaker of the B&H HoR Denis Zvizdic (SDA). On this occasion, the Extended Collegium failed to reach concrete solutions for ending the blockade but they unanimously concluded that a joint session of Collegiums of both Houses of the B&H Parliament should take place and that it should be dedicated to unblocking the work of the B&H institutions. The Extended Collegium also concluded that the B&H Presidency members should be invited to the joint session. Addressing media after the Extended Collegium’s session, Zvizdic stated that preconditions to hold a regular session of the B&H HoR have not been created, but also that it is still necessary to form the parliamentary commissions. “We will continue to work on attempts to harmonize the stances and, in a way, to realize our demands towards the Serb Caucus and the SNSD Caucus, which have not submitted their proposals of members of the commissions,” the HoR Speaker underlined, urging the Serb Caucus and the SNSD Caucus to submit their proposals. Head of the Serb Caucus in the B&H HoR Nenad Stevandic (United Srpska) assessed that the cause of the political crisis in B&H is in the B&H Presidency, where Chairman and Croat member of the B&H Presidency Zeljko Komsic (DF) and Bosniak member Sefik Dzaferovic (SDA) refuse to endorse appointment of the SNSD’s candidate for the B&H Council of Ministers (CoM) Chairman-designate Zoran Tegeltija until their conditions are met. Stevandic assessed that, therefore, the B&H Presidency was unable to adopt the proposal of the CoM convocation, which is violation of all norms based on the Constitution and the Rules of Procedure. “That is where it comes to a problem that prevents formation of the commissions,” he added. DF’s representative in the B&H HoR Dzenan Djonlagic warned that the Serb Caucus cannot use work of the B&H Parliament as a condition for formation of the CoM. SDP B&H’s representative in the B&H HoR Sasa Magazinovic expressed discontent with the fact that there is still no agreement on formation of the commissions, or on convening the B&H HoR’s sessions. “The Collegium is obliged to arrange a meeting with members of the B&H Presidency to bring that story back to the institutions.”

Dodik: We will condition authority formation with removal of foreign judges from B&H CC (Dnevni avaz)

Member of the B&H Presidency and SNSD leader Milorad Dodik stated that the Serb officials intend to condition formation of the Council of Ministers of B&H with removal of the foreign judges from the Constitutional Court of B&H. “Just like some others, now we are going to start conditioning authority formation,” said Dodik and noted that the Bosniak politicians gathered around SDA have started conditioning the authority formation process with the NATO integration, which is unacceptable for Serbs.

B&H and Finland’s Ministers of Foreign Affairs discuss bilateral relations and EU path of B&H (BHT1)

B&H Minister of Foreign Affairs Igor Crnadak held a meeting with Finnish Minister of Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto in Sarajevo on Monday. The two officials mostly discussed bilateral relations between B&H and Finland, a country that currently presides over the Council of the EU. Addressing a press conference after the meeting, Crnadak noted that they discussed political relations and economic cooperation between the two countries, as well as relations in the region. They concluded that political relations between B&H and Finland are extremely good, but it is necessary to improve economic cooperation between the two countries. “Finland strongly supports the progress of the region towards the EU. In this way, it is positively changing the perception on enlargement of the entire EU. As for continuation of the EU path and things that matter to us, I once again underlined that we find it the most important for the EU to have a firm attitude towards our institutions,” Crnadak said. Haavisto said that, on behalf of the EU, he would be very glad if new authorities in B&H were formed as soon as possible so that they can fulfill the conditions and tasks referred to in the European Commission’s (EC) Opinion. “We are expressing our readiness to improve this cooperation in any of the fields, the fields of environment, education, rule of law and all other fields we discussed today,” Haavisto was quoted as saying. After the meeting with Crnadak, Haavisto also held a meeting with a delegation of the B&H Presidency. Chairman of the Presidency of B&H Zeljko Komsic met with Haavisto. Haavisto said that Finland supports B&H on its road to EU and the process of approval of the candidate status. The two officials have agreed that the European Commission’s Opinion on B&H’s request for candidate status adopted in May should be used as a guideline by the country’s institutions, underlining that it is necessary to speed up the reform processes and implement the recommendations from the Opinion. The meeting was also attended by Bosniak member of the Presidency of B&H Sefik Dzaferovic and advisor Nina Sajic in the place of Serb member of the Presidency of B&H Milorad Dodik.

Esper: Russia failed to destabilize region and Montenegro (Pobjeda)

Russia’s destabilizing activities resulted in a complete failure in this region, which is best confirmed by the coup’s failure in Montenegro and the successful conclusion of the Prespa Agreement, with Macedonia being renamed North Macedonia, assessed the US defense secretary, Mark Esper, reported Pobjeda daily. The Pentagon chief said this before the U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services on 17 July, when he was elaborating on his future work. He swore in as the new secretary of defense in late July after the Senate had confirmed his election on 23 July. On the KFOR’s mission, that includes the Montenegrin soldiers as well, Esper said “it continues to provide key assistance in preventing Russia’s meddling into the region.” When asked to comment on the main challenges in the Western Balkans and the Pentagon’s role in resolving them, he said “the WB has been extremely important for Europe, which is complete, free and in peace with its neighbors.” The Balkans, according to him, has been under the impact of migration flows and radicalization, which represent a challenge for every nation as it has to respond to them simultaneously preserving the defense obligations.

Zaev-Tsipras meeting at the PM’s Government office: Prespa changed the reality between the two countries (Nezavisen vesnik)

The Prespa Agreement deserves all the support from the two countries, concluded North Macedonia’s PM Zoran Zaev and Greece’s ex-premier Alexis Tsipras, who is in Skopje for Tuesday’s Western Balkans Summit, organized by The Economist. At a cordial meeting, the two officials discussed the benefits of the Prespa Agreement, the government said on Monday.

“The solution, reached under the deal signed in Prespa, has changed the reality between the two countries, creating a new, positive dynamic in the relations between the countries in the region,” Zaev and Tsipras concluded. After 17 June 2018, the countries have started strengthening cooperation, based on the agreement for new friendship and strategic partnership, it was concluded. At the meeting, said the press release, Zaev and Tsipras detected a number of benefits, including rising trade by 20% in under a year, ongoing procedures for new border crossings, close defense cooperation as part of NATO’s air policing mission, and strengthening of cooperation in several areas. “Meeting at the PM’s office, they welcomed the country’s upcoming achievement of becoming a full-fledged NATO member, whose final stage – ratification of the Accession Protocol, began in Greece’s Parliament,” said the press release. Zaev and Tsipras welcomed the strong support for start of negotiations between North Macedonia and the EU, saying it would come as a result of not only the Prespa Agreement and the positive effects of the name issue settlement, but also of the efforts made to implement reforms, reads the press release.

Borissov: North Macedonia can count on Bulgaria for the EU (Nezavisen vesnik)

We have always said that North Macedonia can count on Bulgaria for the EU, but we have never said that we unconditionally support country’s EU accession. The future of North Macedonia is in the EU and they should not miss the opportunity, said Bulgaria’s PM Boyko Borissov following the consultative meeting convened by President Rumen Radev that was attended by FM Ekaterina Zaharieva and Defense Minister Krasimir Karakachanov. “Up until yesterday, we were saying that we are fraternal nations, let not the propaganda of fratricidal war continue in Skopje, because we have no closer people. To block North Macedonia on the road to the EU, it will be recorded in the history that all 27 EU member states supported them, and only Bulgaria blocked them. We also want Albania along with North Macedonia to open EU accession talks. However, we have never said that we unconditionally support country’s EU accession. There are 71 negotiable instruments available in the chapters. They should not play with history and the past and to focus on the future,” Borissov said. Moreover, Karakachanov following the meeting and several days ago, said that Bulgaria cannot unconditionally support North Macedonia and should set very clear conditions. He also considers that the best option would be for North Macedonia and Albania together to open EU accession negotiations. “We are absolutely unanimous that despite certain progress achieved by the Joint Multidisciplinary Commission of Experts on Historical Issues between the two countries, things are not satisfactory, and the reason for this is Skopje’s policy of delaying and buying time. We agreed that support cannot be unconditional,” Karakachanov said. “A swift solution to the open issues with Bulgaria is possible. We have signed an agreement in which we accepted the fact over our common history. Of course, a portion of that history is individual for both countries and therefore I believe the committee will find a solution,” said Zaev on Monday. “The committee is comprised of experts and it has been established to define things. We would like to see bold steps, steps based on facts and truth, and we are urging for a solution. I believe Bulgaria should also demonstrate will as we have done,” Zaev told reporters. He added that the currently discussed chapter of history would be overcome, with four periods in history already settled, including 6-7 individuals from those times that the two countries have agreed to jointly celebrate. “We have shown through the friendship treaty that we want cooperation with Bulgaria and we will continue on this path. I believe the history chapter currently debated will be overcome. Our objective is to enhance friendship and good-neighborly relations. I expect a solution. Bulgaria is one of our biggest champions in the EU and I believe it will demonstrate this in the decision to open the accession negotiations for North Macedonia after 15 years as candidate. There is no need for concern, we are receiving the alarm and messages from Bulgaria. The committees are already working, we will hold other meetings and highlight that the ultimate goal is for both sides to be satisfied from the solution,” underlined Zaev.

German Ambassador Zingraf: Solution to political conflicts must come from politics itself (Radio Tirana)

“The reforms undertaken by Albania in the political and social life should go deeper”, that is the statement issued by the German Ambassador in Tirana Peter Zingraf at the opening of “the German October” conference. “The German Bundestag gave a ‘yes’ to Albania, it plays a powerful role and the federal government needs this decision of the German Bundestag, this is a proof that Albania will be accepted into the European Union. The Bundestag has set conditions. Some of them have to be met in the first stage and others in the second one,” Zingraf said.

Among other things, the German ambassador to Tirana also commented on the political crisis in the country, reiterating that the solution should come from politics itself, and urged the parties to sit at the dialogue table. “I am convinced that the solution to political conflicts must come from politics itself. I don’t see Germany as a kind of mediator. We have spoken with representatives of political parties, we have provided our technical support, even for the electoral reform,” said Ambassador Zingraf, considering the round-table on electoral reform a few days ago as a positive signal. “Let all parties sit down together. We have spoken to the parties and provided technical support and within the electoral reform commission. A German expert has collaborated by putting on the table a draft on which we can continue to work,” added Zingraf.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA SOURCES

Zaev, Tsipras urge EU to set date for start of North Macedonia’s EU talks (ekathimerini, 30 September 2019)

North Macedonia’s Premier Zoran Zaev and SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras called on the European Union to set a date for the start of EU accession talks in October, during a meeting in Skopje on Monday afternoon. Zaev and Tsipras said the two countries overcame nationalism and political introversion through the signing of the Prespes name deal in 2018 (when Tsipras was prime minister) and “it is time for the EU to do the same, giving a green light for the start of accession negotiations for Northern Macedonia,” according to state-run news agency ANA-MPA. Tsipras is in Skopje to attend a conference organized by the Economist magazine, titled “Western Balkans Summit – Enhancing the momentum for European integration.” On Tuesday, Tsipras will speak at the event on the next steps to European integration for the Western Balkans, and discuss the Prespes Agreement with the participation of Zaev, and the former President of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz.