LOCAL PRESS 

Vucic: Pristina side came with intention not to have dialogue (Tanjug/RTS/RTV) 

Addressing the media, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic pointed out that he had convened a conference to report to the citizens on yesterday’s session and announced that a Serbian parliament session would be held on 22 June where he would discuss in detail, thoroughly and absolutely of key significance for the situation in Kosovo and Metohija, plans and ideas of Serbia, but also the objective situation we are facing in the international community. “Yesterday, the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina continued under the EU auspices. It was the strangest phase so far. After a sleepless night, I can confirm that with certainty, almost complete certainty, that those who came from Pristina wanted to make us leave. That is, there should be no dialogue. Everything they did, asked for, said meant ‘we want to avoid dialogue, conversation’,” he explained. Vucic pointed out that only one topic was discussed in a serious way, and this was briefly, and that was missing persons. He warned that what he described as the lack of Pristina’s constructiveness could lead to an escalation of the situation in Kosovo and Metohija and called on the international community to prevent any incident, anything that could endanger peace and stability in the region. “We want to reach every kind of agreement on this issue, to show people that we do not want to hide anyone, and at the same time we manage to get the Pristina side to allow us and international institutions access to certain places in Kosovo and Metohija so we can carry out certain excavations,” he said. He added that he was told that there should be no provocation from the Serbian side, such as “holding liturgies in Serbian churches that received property during the rule of Slobodan Milosevic” and that he remained completely silent. “It is not a provocation that graffiti is written on the church, to urinate on the churches, it is a provocation that a religious observance is served, a liturgy in the Serbian Orthodox Church,” said Vucic and announced meetings with representatives of the Serbs from Kosovo and Metohija. He said that they wanted to talk about energy, but that no one wanted to talk about these important issues, that Pristina had several requests and that Albin Kurti said ten times recognition of Kosovo and asked: “When, when, when” and that he got one “strong and firm”: “Never”. Vucic stated that Pristina’s delegation proposed in Brussels for CEFTA to change its name to SEFTA, and behind that lies the intention to change the label to “Republic of Kosovo”, while in CEFTA Kosovo is with an asterisk, which Belgrade has no problem with. Behind each of their demands is actually just a question of recognizing the self-declaration of independence, Vucic explained.

They said: recognize Kosovo’s independence; I’ve never experienced anything like this (TV Prva/B92) 

Serbian Foreign Minister Nikola Selakovic, being hosted on TV Prva, commented on the latest conversation between the delegations from Belgrade and Pristina. Selakovic revealed what was happening behind closed doors in Brussels. After the talks, it is known that both delegations rejected the proposals made by the opposing parties, and the only thing that is certain is that the dialogue will continue in July. “The President is someone who continuously attends talks with representatives of Pristina, and I have been present many times, but I have never experienced something like this,” he said. He said that the Pristina delegation did not show the slightest constructiveness. “They said openly: recognize an independent Kosovo, further, they are not interested in the MSC. When it comes to missing persons… So you have Mr. Lajcak and Mr. Borrell, who have a constructive approach, and you have a situation where Lajcak reads the agreement on missing persons, and read that Serbia examined all locations, and then read 10 locations in Kosovo and Metohija, of which only one was examined, then no more, and then after that Lajcak read what are the principles of the agreement we have already agreed on,” Selakovic said. Selakovic explained that the delegation from Pristina was not at all constructive on this issue either. “Lajcak reads, the president says – we essentially agree with that and then from Pristina they say: Veljko Odalovic cannot be there, and what can you say there,” said Selakovic. The only agreement reached is for the members of the delegations to meet again in July, Selakovic explained. He added that despite Lajcak’s constructive approach, he could not agree that this conversation was successful in any sense.

Desecration of graves and churches in Kosovo and Metohija 

The photo of the freshly desecrated graves in Orahovac provoked public condemnation, and the minister says that, unfortunately, there is no condemnation from the international community. “They do not react to it the way we expect them to react. We should not be mistaken. This happened three days ago, these are fresh graves. Since the beginning of the year, 13 Serbian shrines, churches or monasteries have been desecrated or set on fire in Kosovo and Metohija without any condemnation or reaction of the officials to that,” said Selakovic.

For Serbia, dialogue has no alternative 

He reiterated once again what is the priority of Serbia and what the Serbian delegation will strive for in the next period as well. “We have shown that we are a serious state that wants to solve the problem responsibly. For us, dialogue is something that has no alternative. We are here to fight for our people in Kosovo and Metohija,” Selakovic concluded.

Irresponsible statements hinder normalisation of Belgrade-Pristina relations (Tanjug) 

Serbian Foreign Minister Nikola Selakovic said today that member of the European Parliament Viola von Cramon, when commenting on yesterday’s meeting that was held as part of the Brussels dialogue, made a serious political and diplomatic breach. Selakovic underlined that she tried to playdown the importance of and defend Pristina’s total unwillingness to talk in a constructive way about any topic whatsoever and implement the obligations it had assumed. According to Selakovic, introducing the principle of “nothing has been agreed on until everything is agreed on” into a process that is based on clearly defined deadlines for the implementation of agreements is nothing else but an attempt at ruining the dialogue. He said that such a view of the Brussels dialogue would also free Belgrade from all obligations to act in line with the agreements made in the previous years, with the mediation of the European Union and guarantees from Brussels that those agreements would be implemented. Selakovic voiced hope that von Cramon does not recommend any such thing. We are faced one more with an absurd situation that a person that builds its political capacity on the fact that he or she is a member of an EU institution undermines processes that are guaranteed precisely by the EU, and it is high time that the increasingly overt lobbying of von Cramon for the self-proclaimed Kosovo were sanctioned at the institutional level, he pointed out. According to him, the process of normalization of relations between Belgrade and Pristina is delicate and must be carefully managed, of which the European Commission and the European External Action Service are aware as any irresponsible behavior in that process could worsen the situation on the ground and cause destabilization. For this reason, Selakovic called once again on all those who follow the development of the Brussels dialogue to measure their words carefully because the consequences of their irresponsibility can be far-reaching. He recalled that soon it will be 3,000 days since Pristina committed itself to enabling the formation of the Community of Serb municipalities, but now not only is the fulfilment of this obligation not in sight, but Pristina openly tells EU representatives that it is not interested in doing any such thing.

Odalovic: Kurti’s statement for daily use, he did damage to the search for the missing (RTS) 

The Chair of the Commission for Missing Persons Veljko Odalovic told the morning news of Radio and Television of Serbia (RTS) that the insult sent to him by the Prime Minister of the provisional institutions in Pristina Albin Kurti was only an indication that Pristina did not want to deal with the issue of missing persons in Kosovo and Metohija, assessing that this statement was part of the “staging” so that the dialogue would not continue. Odalovic, commenting on the fact that Albin Kurti called him “Goebbels and Goering” and a persona non grata during the talks in Brussels, said that he had nothing to defend himself from and that he did not care what Kurti speaks. “Albin Kurti’s statement was for daily use. I have nothing to be ashamed of, on the contrary. I am someone who had several calls from Pristina yesterday and last night from Albanians who simply expressed concern about what will happen with the process, because this Mr. Kurti’s message and this kind of behavior actually did the most damage to the process of searching for missing persons because the families are now worried about both Serbs and Albanians,” Odalovic said. Speaking about the missing persons, Odalovic pointed out that the Serbian delegation was absolutely prepared, that it had information and documentation, and stated that at issue was the disappearance of 1,639 persons. He added that the list includes 570 missing persons, including not only Serbs, but also non-Albanians and Kosovo Albanians who were forced to leave Kosovo and Metohija and who were most likely liquidated by the KLA. Odalovic reminded that last year constructive talks were held between Belgrade and Pristina on the topic of missing persons, and that certain activities were agreed upon then. “We have taken on all obligations and with an additional search of the archives, we have collected more information about everything that the Pristina side requested. Pristina has received our requests, however, no location has been searched since then,” Odalovic said. He points out that Serbia has so far made all information about missing persons public, and that it has searched the locations in a transparent manner in the presence of international officials. He states that among the searched locations are Batajnica, Petlovo selo, Perucac, Rudnica, Kizevak … He points out that Serbia has clear demands regarding the missing, to which Pristina has not responded to date.

Serbia has nothing to be ashamed of when it comes to search for missing persons 

He says that he initially believed that their demands were being delayed in Pristina due to technical procedures, but that “brutal politics” was at work, after all. He also said that Serbia has nothing to be ashamed of when it comes to the search for missing persons. “Everyone in Kosovo and Metohija knows that we have very clear and precise information, specific requests, information gathered from various sources. Pristina’s avoiding acting on them is an excuse that they will not do this be because of me. I used every opportunity to be very open and I am talking about this issue in Pristina and everywhere, to call everything by its real name,” he said. He also points out that Belgrade has fulfilled all the obligations set before us, responded to all requests in an extremely transparent manner in the presence of representatives of the Pristina working group and all those international officials who showed interest and had a mandate to be with us. “What we expected and what we agreed on last year in Brussels when it came to the issue of missing persons, to make a dynamic of some activities according to our requests that Pristina was supposed to carry out, it became clear to me yesterday that they don’t want that,” Odalovic said.

Drecun: Preparation for the meeting not done properly (RTS) 

The Chair of the Serbian parliamentary Committee for Kosovo and Metohija Milovan Drecun told RTS on Tuesday evening that there was a setback, not progress, in Brussels, and he believes that Matthew Palmer and Miroslav Lajcak totally missed the preparation for the meeting.

“Preparations for the meeting were not done properly because Kurti had to be put in a position that he would suffer certain sanctions if he continued like this,” Drecun points out. He says that today we had the culmination of several months of systematic, and very well-designed campaign of Pristina to make the conversation meaningless and to prevent progress. “Kurti reversed the agenda and the content of the talks. The technical teams discussed the formation of the Community of Serb Municipalities, they refused. There were four issues – economic cooperation, the issue of missing and expelled, financial claims and property. They won’t talk about it, maybe only on the issue of the missing,” opines Drecun. He says that Kurti refused to excavate nine locations where, as it is suspected, the bodies of the killed Serbs are, with the explanation that Veljko Odalovic cannot do that, because he knows that his whole story about the missing will fail because there are many Albanians killed by the KLA. He points out that Kurti is a Greater Albanian separatist whose goal is the unification of Albania and Kosovo, and that, if he goes that way, it must lead to the failure of the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina.

Serbia took all steps to speed up EU integration (RTS/Tanjug/Beta) 

Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic and Minister for EU Integration and Chief Negotiator Jadranka Joksimovic met on Tuesday with the Head of the EU Delegation to Serbia Sem Fabrizi and ambassadors of the EU Member States, whom they informed about all the most important steps taken by Serbian government to speed up our country’s accession in the EU.

Brnabic recalled that Serbia accepted the new, improved methodology of the EU enlargement policy and was the first of all countries in the negotiation process to adjust its structures for conducting negotiations, in order to reach the criteria in the continuation of the accession process faster. Speaking about the European Commission’s Semi-Annual Report on the Rule of Law in Serbia, she emphasized that she believes that this document provides the necessary balance as a condition for further progress in the process. She pointed out that it states the significant results that Serbia has achieved in the past period, although it was burdened by the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic. Brnabic especially pointed to the fact that our country, with the goal of faster accession to the EU, is initiating important projects of regional cooperation and that we continue to improve our economy, so that we could be in line with European values ​​in that segment as well. Joksimovic pointed to the importance of regular strategic communication of all actors in the negotiations, primarily with EU Member States and the European Commission. She especially underlined that all necessary activities have been carried out in order to make our negotiation positions covered by cluster three – Competitiveness and Inclusive Growth and cluster four – Green Agenda, digitalization and sustainable connectivity available to the European Commission within the set deadlines. She also expressed her belief that there were many elements to start applying the new methodology in full, but that Serbia understands the holding of the political Intergovernmental Conference announced for next week, as a partial valorization of what we have achieved so far and an incentive to further strengthen our reform course. Fabrizi and the ambassadors of the EU Member States expressed their gratitude to the Prime Minister and the ministers at the meeting, and welcomed Serbia’s commitment to the path of European integration. They also welcomed the decision to hold the next Intergovernmental Conference in Luxembourg next week, the first since the adoption of the new negotiation methodology. Fabrizi noted the great work that has been done in a short period of time in various areas of reform, especially welcoming Serbia’s efforts to meet the criteria for opening clusters three and four. He especially highlighted the need to use the good momentum in the negotiation process and the huge opportunity presented by the Intergovernmental Conference next week to provide the necessary political direction to continue joint work on accelerating the accession process. He encouraged the Serbian government to continue making concrete results in reforms, especially in the field of the rule of law. Fabrizi also underlined that the cooperation with Serbia regarding the implementation of programs and projects financed by the European Union is proceeding according to joint plans and that our country and the Western Balkans region will continue to receive development assistance from the Instrument for Accession Assistance and the Economic and Investment Plan for the Western Balkans. It was jointly concluded that this support is necessary to accelerate reforms, enhance regional economic integration and support the transition to a green and digital economy. The meeting was also attended by the coordinators of all six clusters, representatives of the competent institutions who informed the ambassadors about the activities and results within all groups of chapters for which they are in charge.

REGIONAL PRESS 

Turkovic, Dzaferovic welcome NATO declaration; Other reactions to NATO declaration (N1) 

The NATO summit which took place in Brussels on Monday continues to be in the focus of the region. N1 recalled that Croatian President Zoran Milanovic asked NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg to include the Dayton Peace Agreement (DPA) and electoral reform in the joint declaration of NATO which was adopted at Monday’s summit in Brussels. However, constituent status of peoples which Milanovic advocated was not mentioned in the NATO declaration. The Croatian public cannot seem to decide whether Milanovic won a victory in Brussels, or embarrassed himself. Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) politicians also cannot seem to agree on the matter. Namely, while part of the B&H politicians claims that Milanovic’s plan against civic B&H failed, others do not agree with that. B&H Minister of Foreign Affairs Bisera Turkovic is satisfied with the messages from NATO. “Extremely important messages from NATO leaders for B&H. Support to B&H’s territorial integrity, reforms and partnership with the NATO are of vital importance for peace, security and progress of B&H and the region as a whole” Turkovic wrote on Twitter. Croatian citizens do not agree either whether Milanovic succeeded in his intentions, threatening to block the NATO declaration if it does not treat B&H. Former Croatian minister of foreign affairs Vesna Pusic stated that she believes that the DPA cannot be the foundation of B&H’s future. “I believe that it is crucial for B&H that all its citizens are identified with B&H and the future of their country,” Pusic underlined. Bosniak member of the B&H Presidency Sefik Dzaferovic was quoted as saying: “The message of the Declaration and the clear definition of B&H as an aspirant, i.e. as a country striving for NATO membership, by which NATO clearly stated that it recognizes the status of B&H defined by the ANP, is very important”. Representatives of certain political parties in B&H have previously announced a boycott of the upcoming general elections in B&H, unless amendments to the B&H Election Law in which certain criteria will be met are agreed. Representatives of the EU have again called on B&H negotiators to use this non-election year for a final agreement.

Komsic: Constituent status of people in B&H is not in accordance with NATO values which is why this was not brought up; Dodik, Pendes disagree with Komsic’s statement (ATV) 

Chairman of the B&H Presidency Milorad Dodik commented on the statement made by Croat member of the B&H Presidency Zeljko Komsic regarding the final declaration of the NATO adopted at Monday’s annual summit of leaders. Namely, Komsic said that the declaration which mentions B&H does not discuss the constituent status of people in B&H. Dodik answered this, saying that the constituent status is implicitly mentioned with the mentioning of the Dayton Peace Accords (DPA) which defines this. He commented on Komsic’s policy, saying that he does not have his own and he conducts the policy of someone else instead. Dodik believes that Komsic did not read the final declaration thoroughly and it is logical that the constituent status is implied with the mentioning of the DPA. On Monday, Komsic said that the constituent status of people in B&H is not in accordance with the values of NATO which is why this was not brought up. Federation of B&H (FB&H) media interprets the declaration as the announcement of future B&H membership in this alliance. Dodik stressed that the stance of Republika Srpska (RS) is clear and that the Program of Reforms does not prejudge the NATO accession of B&H. He added that this decision cannot be made without the RS. Dodik said that Komsic opposes Croats because they dispute his legitimacy and that he acts like the second Bosniak member of the B&H Presidency. Komsic stressed that the constituent status of peoples – which Croatian representatives insisted on – is not mentioned in the NATO declaration, noting that this is another delegitimization of the outdated ethnic concept on the international scene. “Regarding the inclusion of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in B&H, support to this is expected, constant and nothing new. Some expected the inclusion of the so-called legitimate representation of the constituent peoples. But that did not happen because it would be contrary to the fundamental values of the NATO,” Komsic was quoted as saying. Dodik does not agree with Komsic who he says is an unfit politician for such challenges. Members of HDZ B&H do not agree with Komsic either and they believe that even if the status of the constituent peoples is not emphasized, it is being naturally implied. Member of HDZ B&H Marina Pendes said that they will continue to insist on this issue. Pendes said that this is untrue adding that these are political platitudes of some political leaders and some parties adding that in this way, they want to annul the will of the entire Croat people which in her opinion cannot happen.

EUD: 2022 general elections should be held in line with improved constitutional and electoral framework (Dnevni list) 

After the EU Delegation (EUD) to B&H stated on Monday that each boycott of the 2022 elections would be unacceptable and after which they called on political stakeholders not to missing opportunity to implement necessary reforms in 2021, the EUD reminded for N1 on Tuesday that 2021, as non-election year, is a unique opportunity for implementation of necessary constitutional and electoral reforms. According to the EUD, the reform process is necessary in order to secure equality and non-discrimination of all citizens of B&H, with full implementation of judicial practice of the European Court of Human Rights in the Sejdic-Finci case and to remove shortcomings in the election process by applying recommendations of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and relevant opinions of the Venice Commission. The EUD went on to say that the role of the EU and its international partners is to provide technical and expert assistance to this important process, stressing that they expect that the 2022 general elections should be held in line with improved constitutional and electoral framework.

Nelson: IAWG should overcome political discussions and focus on concrete proposals in order to reach wider consensus on much needed election reforms (FTV) 

The US Ambassador to B&H Eric Nelson stated that the Inter-Agency Working Group (IAWG) should overcome political discussions and focus on concrete proposals in order to reach a wider consensus on much needed election reforms. According to Nelson, changes to the Constitution of B&H will also be necessary. Nelson stated: “Their implementation and elimination of discriminatory aspects of the Constitution of B&H will demand a limited reform of the Constitution and this limited reform of the Constitution will require two-third majority in the parliament which means that the opposition must also be involved, all parties must take part in this process. We need a wider consensus in order to reach an agreement on reforms that wait for too long to empower democracy in B&H and to restore hope to citizens and voters in this country”. Nelson stated that a clear message of NATO’s support to sovereignty and territorial integrity of B&H, as well as dedication of NATO members to B&H’s progress and achieving of NATO standards, was conveyed from Brussels. He stressed that 2021 is a year which provides huge chance to B&H to implement reforms that will show the EU that B&H is a credible candidate for the future EU membership. “EU set 14 key priorities which need and can be solved this year. The most important thing is strengthening the rule of law, improving of business environment, significant changes to Election Law. Unfortunately, we did not see much progress and it is already June and these reforms are something to focus on and which demands clear dedication and political will and consensus in order to implement them,” said Nelson.

Borenovic: All political elites must accept reality of DPA which created B&H as it is today; Election Law must be amended in order to have fair elections which reflect true will of voters (Dnevni list) 

PDP leader and member of the B&H House of Representatives Branimir Borenovic stated that all political elites should accept organization of B&H based on the Dayton Peace Agreement (DPA). Commenting the debate on whether DPA should be mentioned in the NATO Summit declaration or not, Borenovic said that DPA is a reality and its mentioning in any document about B&H or the region should not be questioned. “Reality is that B&H in the current form was created in Dayton, it got its Constitution and framework within which it operates, and of course, the constituent status and everything that makes B&H the kind of state it is was defined in Dayton – a state in which both the RS and the FB&H have their clear competences, and the joint institutions,” said Borenovic. According to him, discussions about DPA represent an attempt to shift attention away from real issues such as corruption, education, economy and employment. Speaking about the interfering of the neighboring countries in B&H’s internal matters, Borenovic said that many political stakeholders wish to amend B&H Election Law to suit their own interests. Speaking about his own party’s interests vested in Election Law reform, Borenovic said: “We want changes to Election Law in order to have fair elections, in order to have election rules which will allow us to ultimately have election results which truly reflect the will of voters, and not the will of those who count the ballots, who manipulate and engage in some kind of election fraud”. He noted that HDZ B&H wants to ensure election of legitimate representatives, which is why HDZ B&H insists on introduction of several different constituencies. However, he underlined, more than six months have passed without any concrete results, and there is the impression that the ruling parties do not want to amend the Election Law. According to Borenovic, the international community often welcomes minor, cosmetic changes in B&H legislation, and mentioned the Law on Public Procurement as an example. Borenovic noted that the opposition parties are right when they claim that there the ruling parties and the international community work in a synchronized manner to present minimum changes as major improvements.

Representatives from Croatia fail to support report on B&H that AFET established (FTV) 

Representatives from Croatia failed to support a report on B&H that the European Parliament Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET) established. The report mentions the 14 priorities that the EU set to B&H. The EU strongly supported sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of B&H and the EU condemned undermining of the statehood and called on domestic politicians to adopt a Constitution that will be in line with the European Convention on Human Rights. The report includes seven chapters: reconciliation (abolish “two schools under one roof”), functioning of democratic institutions (empower state authority), rule of the law (reform the High Judicial and the Prosecutorial Council), basic human rights (implement rulings of the European Court of Human Rights, the first Pride Parade welcomed), socioeconomic reforms (centralize and harmonize procedures for registration of companies), connection, energy and environment (improve air quality and end use of thermal power plants), foreign policy and security (solve open issues with Serbia, Croatia and Kosovo). The report was adopted despite the opposition of Croatian MEPs Zeljana Zovko, Suncana Glavak and Tonino Picula. Picula stated that he voted against this, as well as the previous report, because the text did not mention the principle of federalism or subsidiarity, as well as reflection of concept of constituent peoples. “Concretely, I asked for including of a formulation that it is necessary to continue with constitutional, political and electoral reforms in B&H, which would transform B&H into efficient, inclusive and fully functional state, which would guarantee equality and democratic representation of all its constituent peoples and citizens, based on principles of federalism, subsidiarity and legitimate representation, in line with the principles expressed in earlier resolutions,” said Picula. He stressed that regardless of the report, he will continue to strongly support Euro- integration path of B&H: “However, in order to help B&H make progress on this path, we cannot ignore its constitutional organization and political reality”.

Cvijanovic: Final version for talks on future of B&H will be sent to representatives of authorities in FB&H soon (RTRS) 

RS President Zeljka Cvijanovic announced that the final version for talks on the future of B&H will be sent to the representatives of the authorities in the FB&H soon. Cvijanovic stressed that it will be seen then whether the RS has a partner and interlocutor for that story. Cvijanovic pointed out that the RS does not agree with a fictitious and distorted Dayton Peace Agreement (DPA), but to its original Dayton concept. “When we speak of B&H, one is saying that we must have legitimate representation which I support. The Croat agenda is as such, and I support for people to have the right, until they agree differently to do what the Dayton gave us. Ultimately, we all agreed to the Dayton concept, not to this fictitious and distorted one, we never agreed to that. I respect something like that. But let us also apply it to another field. I guess the Serbs then have the right to constituent status in the FB&H,” Cvijanovic underlined. Cvijanovic also stated that the political system in B&H can change only if there is political will on all sides, i.e. if it is the result of an agreement between three peoples and two entities. Cvijanovic added: “What seemed quite inappropriate to me, and what I heard in conversations with some ambassadors and colleagues from Sarajevo, was that they said: ‘You want to make a team for negotiations on a peaceful separation’. Such a thing was not mentioned anywhere. We are talking about the future, about what the two entities and the three constituent peoples should talk about, because we in B&H function on the basis of that matrix”. Cvijanovic assessed that it would have been good if the two entities, even without the conclusions of the RS parliament, talked many years ago. Cvijanovic claims that she is not an optimist and that it is not likely for the FB&H officials to recognize the opportunity to discuss the future of B&H in accordance with the conclusions adopted by the RS parliament.

Milanovic: Any changes in B&H must not happen without Croatia and Serbia, original signatories of DPA (Hina) 

Croatian President Zoran Milanovic said in Bratislava on Tuesday that any changes in B&H cannot be adopted “under the radar” and any changes in this country have to include Croatia and Serbia, as original signatories of Dayton Peace Agreement. (DPA). Milanovic stated that some Western countries, including Germany and Italy, opposed the inclusion of the DPA in the NATO declaration, which was adopted at the NATO summit in Brussels on Monday. Milanovic reiterated that it was only after six days of insistence that Croatia managed to include a reference to the DPA in the final declaration of the NATO. “That should not have happened, it should have been resolved a week ago. Someone opposes it, so someone has a problem with Dayton, they want to dismantle it” Milanovic was quoted as saying. He added that countries that want this are criticizing Serb member of the Presidency of B&H Milorad Dodik for violating the DPA. “That is a completely disturbed logic, something is not normal there,” Milanovic was quoted as saying.

Milanovic: Reference to Dayton was opposed by Germany, Italy and other states (Hina) 

President Zoran Milanovic said on Tuesday that the reference to the Dayton agreement in NATO’s communique adopted on Monday had been opposed by Germany, Italy and some other Western countries, and added that possible changes in B&H must not happen without Croatia and Serbia. Milanovic made the statement in Slovakia, where he participated in the GLOBSEC 2021 Forum and met with Slovakian President Zuzana Caputova and Polish President Andrzej Duda. He discussed with them the NATO summit held in Brussels on Monday, at which Croatia, Milanovic said, managed to have a reference to the Dayton peace agreement incorporated in the summit’s closing declaration only after insisting on it for six days. “That should not have happened, that should have been resolved a week ago. Somebody is against it, has a problem with the Dayton agreement and wants to dismantle it,” Milanovic said, adding that at the same time those countries were criticizing the Serb B&H Presidency member Milorad Dodik for violating the Dayton agreement. “Something is not right about that way of thinking,” he said. Milanovic noted that a number of countries – Germany, Italy and some other Western countries – had been opposed to mentioning the Dayton peace agreement in the communique. “Western Europe – and I’m not talking about the leaders, definitely not about Angela Merkel, is acting foolishly, undermining one of the foundations of B&H, which, regardless of how imperfect it may be, protects it against destabilization,” he said.

Criticism of German diplomacy 

Milanovic went on to say that talks on the communique had not been conducted by the German chancellor but by the German foreign ministry which, he said, was headed by a political camp different from Merkel’s and one he felt close to, “namely by people who in their fantasy are prone to making silly experiments.” The current German foreign minister is Heiko Maas, a member of the Social Democrats who are part of the coalition government with Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU). Some Western European countries advocate a so-called civic model for Bosnia and Herzegovina to replace the concept of three constituent peoples envisaged by the Dayton peace agreement. Commenting on that on Monday, Milanovic said that “it sounds very noble but is actually a hoax.” “They should do it back at home. B&H is as it is, we share a long border and we will soon have to guard it for the Schengen area” he said. Milanovic stressed that plans for B&H could not be made “under the radar” and that any changes in the neighboring country had to involve Croatia and Serbia, co-signatories to the Dayton agreement, adding that he had explained this to his Slovakian and Polish counterparts. “That is how things are done in diplomacy, as far as I can remember. I used to be a diplomat and I never caused a scandal. Then I entered politics and in politics you have to cause scandals to be heard,” he said.

Djukanovic: Great comeback of a friend, partner and ally (CdM) 

The message of Joe Biden, suggesting that Article 5 of NATO founding treaty is a sacred commitment, is a strong message sent by the US President, Milo Djukanovic, the President of Montenegro, assessed. “Article 5 is a sacred commitment,” Biden said, pointing out to the provision of NATO’s founding treaty – that an attack on one member country would be considered an attack on them all. “I wish Europe knew that the US is with it,” President Biden said.

Djeljosaj to visit the US and discuss relationship between Krivokapic’s govt and minority nations (CdM) 

The President of the Municipality of Tuzi and the Leader of the Albanian List Nik Djeljosaj will pay an official visit to the United States next week, the CdM portal has learned. He plans to meet with Montenegrin diaspora in the US, congressmen, senators and State Department officials. It will be an opportunity to present development of the Municipality of Tuzi as well as the status of Albanians in Montenegro having in mind the latest circumstances and the change of power in Montenegro.

The government is tarnishing the country’s reputation (RTCG) 

The President of Montenegro, Milo Djukanovic, called on the government of Montenegro to suspend or withdraw demanded accreditation for ambassadors who did not receive the consent of the head of state, and to respect national laws and international conventions. This is stated in the reaction of the advisor for foreign policy of the President of Montenegro Tamara Brajovic, regarding non-compliance with the procedure for appointing an ambassador. The reaction also states that non-compliance with the procedure represents discreditation of Montenegro’s reputation, in which, as she adds, the President of Montenegro will not participate. According to Brajovic, after the parliamentary elections on August 30, 2020, the constitution of the new convocation of the parliament and the election of the government, Montenegro has entered a new phase of political and democratic life, which includes cohabitation. “In accordance with the Constitution of Montenegro, the President, the parliament and the government participate in the process of electing the heads of diplomatic and consular missions Article 95, paragraph 6 of the Constitution stipulates that the President of Montenegro appoints and recalls ambassadors and heads of other diplomatic missions of Montenegro abroad, at the proposal of the government and with the opinion of the board of the Assembly responsible for international relations,” Brajovic points out. Although the competence in this area is clearly defined by the Constitution, the election of new top diplomatic representatives of the country and their recall, in the current conditions of cohabitation, as Brajovic adds, is not proceeding without complications and attempts to circumvent the procedures required by the Constitution of Montenegro, Law on Foreign Affairs and the good practice of consulting top officials that has been created over 15 years after the independence was regained.

Lukovac: Ministry of Foreign Affairs seriously damages Montenegro’s reputation (Pobjeda) 

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Zdravko Krivokapic’s government keep ruining the reputation of Montenegrin diplomacy. According to Pobjeda daily, the afore-mentioned ministry has already sent agreements for the candidates whom the President of Montenegro Milo Djukanovic hadn’t approved of. Of 18 candidates suggested by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, President Djukanovic, in line with his legal and constitutional competencies, gave his consent for 7 diplomats.  An experienced Montenegrin diplomat and ex-minister of foreign affairs in our country Branko Lukovac says that such a gesture of both the government and the ministry “is something beyond the established principles and practice”. Unfortunately, he notes, the ministry is now being run by a man lacking experience and it’s made many moves in defiance of the provisions of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and the global diplomatic practice.

The opposition left the Committee on Electoral Reform (CdM) 

Opposition members of the Committee on Comprehensive Reform of Electoral Legislation will no longer participate in the work of that body until, as they announced, an environment is created in which dialogue and compromise will be more important than particular narrow party interests based on the principles of desirable and undesirable partners. This was announced by the representatives of the opposition in the Board, Draginja Vuksanovic Stankovic, Kenana Strujic Harbic, Genci Nimanbegu and Boris Mugosa. “The complexity of the socio-political environment and the need to improve the electoral environment require moving from the field of discussing reforms and the necessary dialogue to concrete actions, shifting the focus from mere form to essence,” opposition MPs said. As they say, they will inform the EU Delegation to Montenegro and the President of the parliament about the whole issue, in order to create all necessary preconditions for possible further work of the Committee on Comprehensive Electoral Reform, i.e. their participation in its work because, as they say, without opposition representatives the body does not have a quorum. The Committee for the Comprehensive Reform of the Electoral Legislation, as they say, should have been a place of agreement, compromise and affirmation of the democratic and political seriousness and responsibility of the actors on the political scene. “We, the members of the Committee from the opposition, have shown a very dedicated attitude towards all its tasks from the very beginning. This is evidenced, among other things, by the fact that within the working groups of the Committee, the most was done in the one led by a member from the opposition. Also, we attended all sessions of the Board with the aim of creating the necessary preconditions for its quality, i.e. efficient work,” the opposition says.

MPs to discuss Leposavic’s dismissal (CdM) 

Today, MPs are to discuss the proposal of PM Zdravko Krivokapic for the dismissal of Minister of Justice Human and Minority Rights Vladimir Leposavic. On 6 April, Krivokapic submitted to Parliament a proposal for the dismissal of Leposavic. In his explanation he stated that Minister Leposavic’s public activities, from the election to the post of minister until the day of submitting the proposal for his dismissal, largely deviated from the official positions of the government of Montenegro and the agreement signed in September last year. DF MPs have said that they will not vote for the dismissal of Leposavic, while Democratic Montenegro has announced that it will not vote for his dismissal if the DPS supports it. URA Civic Movement support for Krivokapic’s initiative has been announced.

Soreca meets Basha (Radio Tirana) 

The EU Ambassador in Tirana Luigi Soreca held a meeting with the newly elected leader of the Democratic Party Lulzim Basha in the office of the latter. Soreca has revealed that the discussions with Basha were about the current political situation on the eve of the new legislature and the process of Albania’s EU integration. “After his re-election as Chairman of the Democratic Party, I met today with Lulzim Basha to discuss the current political situation on the eve of the new legislature starting next September, as well as important next steps in the process of Albania’s EU integration,” Soreca wrote on Twitter.

Albania and Greece agree to speed-up negotiations for maritime-dispute (Tirana Times) 

The Albanian Prime-Minister and his Greek counterpart have agreed to speed-up negotiations regarding a long-running maritime dispute between the two states. In October 2020, Tirana and Athens jointly announced that they would submit the long-running dispute to the International Court of Justice for a resolution. The dispute should be formally submitted to the ICJ at the end of the negotiation proceedings. The Albanian Prime-Minister has previously stated that the submission of the dispute to the ECJ would ensure a mutually beneficial and impartial resolution to a highly contentious matter. The Albanian and Greek governments had previously signed an agreement regarding the maritime border dispute in 2009. At the time, the Socialist Party contested the legal validity of the agreement which it saw as unduly advancing Greek interests at the expense of the interests of the Albanian government. Shortly thereafter the agreement was declared legally void by the Albanian Constitutional Court. In 2009, the Socialist Party repeatedly attacked the government in light of the lack of transparency regarding the negotiation process which led to the 2009 agreement and the lack of publicly available information relating to the position of the Albanian government in this matter. Today, the Socialist Party has been subject to the same kind of criticism by political commentators and members of the DP and SMI. The referral to the ICJ of what is in essence a highly complex maritime dispute is a much-welcomed move. The Albanian government should however be fully transparent when it comes to the position it intends to represent in the submissions to the ICJ, so that the public may judge whether the long-term interests of the Albanian state are being properly represented. In the long run, a lack of transparency may serve to increase tension between Greece and Albania, especially if the Greek or Albanian people feel that the Resolution of the ICJ will produce a result that unduly favors the interests of the other side.