LOCAL PRESS 

Vucic, Rama and Zaev urged movement of people, capital, goods and services (Tanjug/RTS) 

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic attended a conference on the Mini Schengen initiative on Tuesday via a video link. Besides Vucic, the conference was attended by the PMs of Albania and North Macedonia, Edi Rama and Zoran Zaev. The three leaders discussed further steps in regional cooperation as a process that is vital for progress in the Western Balkans and on the European path as a whole. The parties agreed that Western Balkan countries needed EU membership but that the EU needed the Western Balkans just as much, since the region is surrounded by EU borders and because the aspiring EU members share common European values, the press office of the Serbian president said in a statement. Vucic, Rama and Zaev urged the soonest possible start of implementation of four European freedoms – movement of people, capital, goods and services – across the region and said they would fully support the concept of a common regional market at a 5 July Berlin Process summit. They agreed to meet in Skopje on 29 July to review the progress on implementation of initiatives and projects to date and sign additional trilateral agreements related to fulfillment of obligations from the Berlin Process, cooperation and assistance in case of natural disasters, as well as to facilities for trade, imports and exports. They concluded that only regional connectivity supported by the EU could help general stability and progress in the entire region and Europe, the statement said.

Dacic: There is space to accelerate progress on EU path (Tanjug/RTV) 

Urging stepped-up cooperation between the Serbian parliament and the European Parliament, Serbian parliament speaker Ivica Dacic said on Monday in Brussels there was space to accelerate Serbia’s progress on the EU path. “The main impetus comes from us and we are aware that this can go faster, but there is space for greater efficiency also within the EU and the European Parliament,” Dacic said. Addressing the EP’s Committee on Foreign Affairs, Dacic called for stronger communication between parliaments in the Western Balkans and the EP, as well as for improvement of cooperation among parliaments in the region. “I believe we need to build partnerships that will be based on mutual trust and understanding and contribute to a faster European integration process for us,” Dacic said. Parliaments are the “main hubs” on the path to EU membership and all reform processes must be given a legislative form through the parliament, he said. Dacic said a procedure was underway in the Serbian parliament to amend the section of the constitution dealing with election of judicial officers and added this was one of the more important criteria for Serbia’s EU accession. “We expect the text of the constitutional amendments soon, a new vote in our parliament and then a referendum in which our citizens will also vote on the amendments. I am confident we will soon have new constitutional solutions in the judiciary,” Dacic said. He added that, with EP support, an interparty dialogue on election conditions was also underway in the Serbian parliament ahead of the 2022 elections in Serbia.

“The discussions are proceeding in a democratic atmosphere, with a large number of political organizations participating in them, and I am optimistic that we will achieve a solution that will improve the democratic quality and transparency of our election process even further,” Dacic concluded.

Selakovic: Strong support of V4 for European perspective of Western Balkans (RTS/RTV) 

Serbian Foreign Minister Nikola Selakovic participated on Monday in Poznan at the meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the Visegrad Group (V4) and the Western Balkans. Selakovic said that today’s meeting was an opportunity to reaffirm V4’s strong support for the European perspective of the Western Balkans and point out the need to continue reforms of our societies with all understanding of the obstacles that are in front of us. When the V4 member states – Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland – were negotiating about EU accession, they knew precisely that, once reforms have been implemented and obligations met, they would be given an EU accession date, he said. “That is what the Western Balkans does not have and what Serbia does not have,” Selakovic said in a statement to Tanjug and RTS. This was another opportunity to appeal to colleagues to make their support for us even stronger, to bypass what seemed to us to exist in the Western Balkans, he said. He emphasized that the importance of regional connection, primarily economic, was discussed at today’s meeting, and underlined that Serbia, through the policy of President Vucic and the Mini-Schengen initiative, shows at every step how important the fate of the entire region is as well as the fate of Serbia itself. It is important for us that EU integration offers the preservation of peace and stability in the region. Peace and stability in the Western Balkans region are essential for us, he noted. Serbia contributes to the preservation of peace and stability at every step and will continue to do so, Selakovic said, expressing confidence that Brussels would appropriately value everything we have done on the European path.

Frustration in Visegrad Group over slow EU admission process for West Balkans (Beta)  

Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau said on Monday that a summit of the foreign ministers of the Visegrad Group and the West Balkans in Rogalin, western Poland, had been marked by frustration over the slow progress of the European Union’s enlargement to the West Balkans.

Rau told a news conference after the summit that he regretted to have to state that the conference had been riddled with frustration, both on the side of the West Balkan delegations, but also felt by the foreign ministers of the Visegrad Group. The process of EU accession is taking unusually long, Rau added. The host of the event warned that such a frustratingly long process of West Balkan EU integration was creating a situation that was beginning to cause apprehension amid the V4 countries. The foreign ministers of Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and the Czech Republic expressed resolute and unambiguous support to the West Balkan nations’ European aspirations.

Serbian Foreign Minister Nikola Selakovic said the conference had been another opportunity to urge colleagues to even firmer support.

Gojkovic: Serbia remains committed to fight against global terrorism (Tanjug/RTV) 

Serbian Minister of Culture and Information Maja Gojkovic pointed out on Monday at the ministerial meeting of the Global Coalition to Defeat Daesh/ISIS in Rome that Serbia is firmly committed to responding to modern security challenges. At the meeting, which was opened by Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Italy Luigi Di Maio and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Gojkovic emphasized that the fight against terrorism and all forms of extremism and radicalism is of priority importance. She expressed gratitude to all those who gave their selfless contribution to the joint efforts in the fight and victory over the Islamic State, recalling that Serbia has joined the coalition against Daesh/ISIS from the very beginning.

She emphasized that in the multilateral view, the United Nations is a key forum for international cooperation, and that Serbia has given its contribution through various forms of donations, as well as by participating in the training of security forces. According to her, the available data show that Daesh branches operate in the region of the Western Balkans, especially in part of Bosnia and Herzegovina and part of Serbia, in the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija, which is under UN interim administration under UN Security Council Resolution 1244. We are most worried about the possible risks and threats that can come from the so-called foreign terrorist fighters, Gojkovic pointed out, citing the fact that more than three hundred extremists from Kosovo and Metohija fought on the side of Daesh. She explained that, in proportion to the number of inhabitants, they are among the most represented in those ranks.

Ambassador: Slovenia will work on West Balkan admission to EU (Beta)  

Slovenia, naturally, supports the European Union’s enlargement to include the West Balkan nations and will work on the issue during its tenure, chairing the EU in the second half of the year, Slovenian Ambassador to Serbia Damjan Bergant said on Monday. “We don’t expect a country to join the EU during our presidency, but I hope that some steps will be made in that direction,” Bergant told the conference held under the title From Portugal to Slovenia: Toward a Post-Pandemic Future for Europe. Bergant said Slovenia, while chairing the EU, would pay particular attention to the West Balkans and hold an EU-West Balkans summit, likely in early October. As reasons why the West Balkan states should become part of the EU, Bergant listed the geographical and the political – as the EU wanted to promote the rule of law, democracy, human rights, and freedom of the press, followed by economic reasons – as the regional market was important to the EU and vice versa, and he concluded with reasons of security.

REGIONAL PRESS 

Second Western Balkans Speakers’ Summit takes place; Participants sign joint declaration on EU integration of the region (FTV)  

The Second Western Balkans Speakers’ Summit was held in Brussels on Monday. FTV reports that, at the beginning of the Summit, the European Parliament (EP) Committee on Foreign Affairs informed that another EUR 14 billion will be allocated for the reform processes in the Western Balkans countries in the next six years. Parliamentary speakers from Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H), Kosovo, Serbia, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Albania presented the current situation in the countries in regards to the implementation of the countries’ reform obligations. Addressing the present, speaker of the B&H House of Peoples (HoP) Bakir Izetbegovic said that the Coronavirus pandemic made the work on the reform process more difficult, but progress has been made. Izetbegovic also referred to the Resolution on B&H adopted by the European Parliament (EP): “The content of the latest report prepared by Rapporteur Paulo Rangel, as well as the amendments of the MEPs and the way the amendments were treated show high level of knowledge and understanding of the situation in B&H, its needs on its path towards the membership. Recommendations related to the rule of law, democratic institutions and elimination of discrimination in the existing constitutional framework and election law are especially welcome”. Croatian MEP Zeljana Zovko reacted to Izetbegovic’s statements. “I am glad that Mr. Bakir Izetbegovic welcomes the Resolution of the EP and I hope that, upon carefully reading it, he will see that the decisions of the Constitutional Court related to the Election Law and the decisions of the international courts must be implemented. It has been one year since the Mostar Agreement, what do you plan in regards to that?” said Zovko.  

Izetbegovic also criticized the COVAX mechanism that failed in the delivery of ordered vaccines, which resulted in slow, almost halted, vaccination of the citizens, and he also criticized the European Union’s (EU) migrant policy towards B&H. “Their concentration exclusively in the parts of the country in which Muslims live represents a humanitarian and security challenge for local communities and institutions in B&H, i.e. a racist approach that has been seen only in B&H”, said Izetbegovic. Izetbegovic called for the EU leaders to grant the EU candidate status to B&H this year and to accelerate the integration of all Western Balkans countries. Speaker of the Kosovo Assembly Glauk Konjufca said: “We need new encouragement from the EU and optimism to accept all the countries at once because it will be difficult to imagine each one joining individually. In each of the scenarios, we do not know what will happen and the future will become uncertain”. Speaker of the Montenegrin parliament Aleksa Becic reaffirmed commitment of Montenegro to its EU path. Speaker of the Serbian Parliament Ivica Dacic said that Serbia supports the European aspirations and reported on 21 laws being adopted in Serbia.   

EP President David Sassoli stressed that participants jointly confirmed a central role of their institutions in launching the enlargement process. He added that parliaments in the region can significantly contribute to reconciliation in the region, which can contribute to peace, stability and prosperity as elements of high importance for joint future in the EU. The speakers of the parliaments of six countries in the region also met with AFET members and requested their support to accelerate the EU accession process of this part of the Europe. Head of the AFET David McAllister expressed content with abovementioned meeting. He underlined that the EP has always been representing strong support to the EU enlargement. McAllister also noted that the EP, in its reports for 2019 and 2020, reiterated its support to the EU path of the entire region: “We gave the political support to the financial frame of the Instrument of Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA) III amounting to EUR 14 billion, which we hope will contribute to necessary reforms in the region”.   

Covic says that EP’s Resolution mentions DPA and this document insists on constituent status of peoples (N1)  

A session of HDZ B&H Presidency was held on Monday. HDZ B&H leader Dragan Covic commented on the recently adopted Resolution of the European Parliament (EP) on B&H. Talking in the context of the fact that amendments to include terms constituent peoples in the Resolution were rejected, Covic indirectly said that this document is not of significant importance, because similar documents concerning B&H that contained phrases constituent peoples and legitimate representatives were adopted earlier and did not achieve important results. Covic went on to saying that the Dayton Peace Agreement (DPA) was mentioned in the abovementioned resolution, adding that this document insists on the constituent status of peoples. Covic also stated that he expects the stances on the method of election of members of B&H Presidency and delegates in B&H House of Peoples (HoP) will be completely harmonized with representatives of the international community soon. Reporter noted that all changes will have to be approved by the parliament of B&H. “As far as it concerns me, this task is completed,” said Covic, adding that amendments to the Election Law of B&H concerning election of members of B&H Presidency and delegates in B&H HoP should respect all decisions of the ECHR and the Constitutional Court (CC) of B&H regarding these issues. O Kanal reports that Covic said that nothing would have been changed even if the amendments on constituent peoples had been incorporated in the Resolution, noting that the Resolution clearly refers to the Dayton B&H. “Whether political outwitting, present at the political scene outside B&H, like in Brussels and the last Parliament, outlines something more or less, bears absolutely no significance for the status of B&H, three peoples in B&H, or for the status of Croat people in B&H,” said Covic. “In my opinion, we have finalized the job, my colleague (SDA leader Bakir) Izetbegovic said the same. We have given all forms we believe can be in accordance with the agreement and can respect decisions of the B&H Constitutional Court and the Court in Strasbourg,” Covic was quoted as saying. He added that the meeting will be held from Saturday to Monday with the highest European Union (EU) representatives who will arrive in B&H to finalize the work, after which the final decision will be made at the B&H Parliament. “And then it remains to get adequate majority at the parliament. For Election Law that is not an issue, i.e. simple majority. However, some minor changes will probably need to be made for the purpose of the Election Law in the Constitution. We need the two-third majority for that and I believe will find sufficient support for it, primarily from the representatives of Bosniak people, because colleague Izetbegovic referred to it, as support for what he is doing,” said Covic.  

Dzaferovic on Covic’s statement regarding EP’s Resolution on B&H (O kanal)  

Commenting on HDZ B&H leader Dragan Covic’s statement regarding the Resolution on B&H adopted by the European Parliament (EP), Bosniak member of the B&H Presidency Sefik Dzaferovic said that decision of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), recommendations from the European Commission (EC) and the European Parliament’s Resolution must be abided by. “And this Resolution of the European Parliament, in which some retrograde proposals from the Croatian delegation were not accepted, indicates respecting the 14 priorities. There is no other option. Everyone in B&H can talk what they like, including Mr. Covic,” said Dzaferovic. Dzaferovic also noted that the EP Resolution is important. He added that Covic can say whatever he wants, adding that if he wants to be true holder of European values, he should primarily respect rulings of the ECHR, the EP Resolution and recommendations from the European Commission’s Opinion.  

HDZ B&H Presidency adopts seven conclusions dealing with changes to Law on Elections (Dnevni list)  

HDZ B&H Presidency, which held a session in Sarajevo on Monday, adopted seven conclusions pertaining to the issue of changes to the Law on Elections of B&H. Namely, the HDZ B&H Presidency said it is stressing importance of the Resolution adopted by the Croat People’s Assembly (HNS) from the 9th congress of the HNS as the key agenda in all future talks between legitimate representatives of Croats and local and international representatives. Furthermore, HDZ B&H Presidency reminds of basic provisions in the Constitution of B&H, it rejects imposition of all models based on domination and discrimination that derogate rights of constituent peoples. Furthermore, HDZ B&H Presidency rejects unitary aspirations through violations of principle of equality of constituent peoples, it also insists on key principles from the Mostar Agreement signed by political representatives of Bosniaks and Croats and relevant international officials. HDZ B&H Presidency also called on all local political stakeholders to refrain from radicalizing the public and creating social animosities among the peoples and citizens of B&H, and finally the HDZ B&H Presidency argued that a balance between collective and individual rights is the only true guarantee for a functional, stable and Euro-Atlantic B&H.  

Komsic says if agreement among parliamentary political parties on B&H Election Law is not reached, 2022 elections may be blocked (Oslobodjenje)  

In an interview for Oslobodjenje daily, Croat member of the B&H Presidency Zeljko Komsic discussed the Resolution on B&H, B&H Election Law and B&H’s NATO path. Asked if the Resolution on B&H adopted by the European Parliament (EP) and the clear position of the EP will contribute to wakening the efforts of Croatia to introduce formulations useful for its policy, i.e. policy of HDZ B&H, Komsic said he hopes that the official Zagreb, primarily political leadership of the Republic of Croatia and a large number of opposition political parties will finally understand  that their efforts are “futile and that policy they are trying to promote as a system of values simply does not have the support, not only in B&H, or the region, but also in the European Union (EU)”. Asked if DF will participate in talks on B&H Election Law announced by SDA leader Bakir Izetbegovic, Komsic answered affirmative, noting that “the Election Law fits in what I said earlier and it was only one lever through which official Zagreb has tried to achieve permanent influence on making decisions in B&H and about B&H”. Komsic stressed that participation in talks about the B&H Election Law is obligation “of everyone, but not in the way it has started. It has started in a wrong way”. Asked if that will be possible taking into account the unprincipled coalition of SNSD and HDZ B&H, Komsic said that even seemingly impossible things can be achieved if “you believe in them and you are ready to make efforts”.  Asked what would happen in case the agreement is not reached among the parliamentary political parties and if the 2022 General Elections may be consequently blocked, Komsic said: “You are probably implying HDZ and SNSD, whose election power is shaken if Election Law is amended so that voting is just and fair and primarily counting votes. They clearly feel panic that it could diminish their influence and their power in the next mandate period. The truth is they have elements in their hands to bring into question the whole electoral process. It would be enough, for example, not to adopt the Budget this year and to do the same next year. By not ensuring money for financing elections, they threaten the electoral process”.   

Asked what results he expects from voting at the B&H parliament, Komsic said it is difficult to predict what would happen, but the blocking is possible. Komsic reminded of almost six-month delay in providing opinion on the Budget by the B&H Presidency and said that the telephone session of the B&H Presidency was held “not to allow the opportunity to those who want to block the adoption of the Budget to transfer the responsibility to those who are not responsible for that”. Komsic added that the Budget was adopted with accompanying conclusions and requests for the B&H parliament “to allocate funds for what is requested, primarily by police officers request, and the army’, although under our law, it will have to include the state administration” and the final decision will be made by the parliament. Asked to comment on the narrative related to negotiating teams in the RS and attempts to impose a new form of dialog between the two entities, Komsic said those are “PR tricks completely ridiculous and pointless”, noting that no one would accept the narrative. He added that the narrative on the secession of the RS and the RS joining Serbia, insisted by Chairman of the B&H Presidency Milorad Dodik is impossible and pointless. “He has been talking about that for over a decade, but has never done anything, nor will he do, because he knows it is impossible and if he would try that, it would be his end”, said Komsic, noting that by insisting on such issues Dodik draws attention from serious political errors and important issues. Asked what is the realistic situation regarding B&H’s NATO path, taking into consideration SNSD refusing the idea, Komsic said: “Everything we have achieved so far, and we are on the final step before the NATO full membership, SNSD members have actively participates in all that, starting with Milorad Dodik and all SNSD top officials, they all gave their approval”. Komsic reminded of the B&H Armed Forces, the Law on Defense, according to which B&H will join NATO, decisions on activating “different accession phases that were adopted with approval of SNSD and other political parties from the RS. The last decision we have adopted, i.e. sending the Reform Program to Brussels, according to which full membership in the Action Plan is activated has also been adopted with the support of Dodik and his people’’. Komsic concluded by saying it is unclear why people “waste their time on something they know they cannot stop”. Asked to comment on obstructions of the new High Representative (HR) and the question as to when the RS and Milorad Dodik will realize the RS has no competence to reject the powers of the HR, Komsic replied by saying that nobody is asking Dodik or himself (Komsic) who will be the next HR and that “these are issues we have no influence on”. “Countries that have stood behind the Dayton agreement are not Serbia and Croatia, they are big powers,” added Komsic. Asked to comment on voting in the Montenegrin parliament regarding the Resolution on Genocide in Srebrenica and subsequent reactions, including Dodik’s reaction, Komsic said that Dodik’s statements are absurd and that Dodik cannot decide who can and who cannot enter B&H. According to Komsic, the Montenegrin parliament found the strength to say it was genocide, which the parliament of B&H has failed to do. “Montenegro taught us a lesson and it is a fact one has to respect,” added Komsic.  

Minister Turkovic meets with UN Secretary-General Guterres (FTV)  

B&H Foreign Minister Bisera Turkovic met with Secretary-General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres in New York, where they discussed how to prevent young people leaving the country, Coronavirus pandemic and relations in the Western Balkans region. Guterres welcomed the B&H’s progress to date and stressed it is necessary to make joint efforts to build more developed B&H. Turkovic and Guterres also talked about the upcoming marking of Srebrenica genocide anniversary and Turkovic underlined the necessity to respect court verdicts and adopt the law banning genocide denial and glorification of war criminals.  

Dodik writes letter to UN SC Chairman to inform him that Turkovic is not authorized to address Council (Glas Srpske)  

B&H Presidency Chairman Milorad Dodik informed Estonian Ambassador to UN Sven Jurgenson who is presiding over UN Security Council (UN SC) at the moment that B&H Foreign Ambassador Bisera Turkovic is not authorized to address the UN SC session at which the resignation of High Representative Valentin Inzko will be discussed among other issues. Dodik’s Office stated that the reason why she is denied authorization to speak to the UN SC is one-sided, politically incorrect and malicious content of her speech, as well as the fact that there is no consensus on the issue of appointment of new High Representative in B&H. “Any stance speaking contrary to this is untrue. Neglecting this fact and persistent insisting on favoring one political and ethnic structure is pushing B&H towards a new instability for which those who ignore the fact that B&H consists of two entities and three constituent peoples and that every decision and every speech at international gatherings require approval of all will be responsible. When this approval is missing, and letters of warning are being ignored, we are talking about fake and illegitimate representation with the goal of deceiving the esteemed gathering and spreading of misinformation which do not reflect real processes within B&H,” reads the letter sent to Jurgenson. The letter also warns that Turkovic, although aware that she is not authorized to speak, is trying to obtain the permission to address the UN SC, and calls on Jurgenson to prevent “political and diplomatic abuse of the post of B&H Foreign Minister”. Dodik also sent letters to Foreign Ministers of Peace Implementation Council and UN SC member states to inform them about the Annex 10 of the Dayton Peace Agreement and procedures for appointment of High Representative. The letters note that the UN SC is the only authorized body to pass a relevant resolution on appointment of the New High Representative if all Dayton Agreement signatories agree on the matter. Since there is no agreement on the matter, the legitimacy of the entire appointment process is undermined.  

Podgorica residents in Kosovo arrested; PM asks for explanation; DF threatens with protests (CdM/Kosovo-online/Baljkani Info/RTS)  

The Kosovo police arrested Risto Jovanovic from Podgorica in Gazimestan, who was ordered to be detained because he tried to protect a nun, reports Kosovo-online. According to Baljkani Info, Jovanovic, who is a Montenegrin citizen, was detained for 48 hours, and he is accused of spreading nationalism and inciting hatred. Regarding the case of apprehending a young man from Podgorica in Gazimestan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Montenegro announced that the Embassy of Montenegro in Pristina had contacted the Kosovo authorities. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs says that the Embassy of Montenegro in Kosovo will undertake all necessary activities in the direction of protection of Montenegrin citizens. The Prime Minister Zdravko Krivokapic asked the Kosovo authorities to announce whether and why they arrested a Montenegrin citizen during the celebration of Vidovdan in Gazimestan. “The media publish a video in which Kosovo police forces, using force, arrest a young man who is from Podgorica. We are asking the Pristina authorities to tell us whether and why they arrested our citizen, and that, if he is not the perpetrator of the crime, he should be released immediately,” Krivokapic wrote on Twitter. Serbian media report that several thousand people gathered in Gazimestan to mark Vidovdan, and that the Kosovo police stopped vehicles and confiscated Serbian symbols from citizens. “The police in Gazimestan arrested a young man from Podgorica because he pointed out that they had no need to search the nun. Members of the special police took him from the gate of the entrance to the yard of the monument in Gazimestan, put him in a police vehicle and, accompanied by him, drove away towards Pristina,” RTS reports. The Democratic Front has asked the Montenegrin government to demand the immediate release of Risto Jovanovic, who has been abducted, as they say, by Albanian thugs. “Jovanovic protected a nun who was exposed to harassment by these robbers in Gazimestan. If the government of Montenegro keeps silent about this scandal, and if Jovanovic is not released immediately, the DF will organize protests in front of the premises of so-called state of Kosovo in Podgorica,” it was announced by the DF.  

And this event, the DF says, proves “that we were right when we fought back in 2008 that this fake state should not be recognized at any cost.” “At that time, the DPS government stabbed Serbia and the Serbian people in the back and encouraged Albanian extremists to continue to terrorize our people. Krivokapic and Becic are behaving the same, and are using every opportunity to cooperate and congratulate the people who are leading the persecution of Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija,” the DF concluded.  

Opposition accepts to engage in parliamentary dialogue (Dan)  

The opposition parties are generally ready to engage in the parliamentary dialogue, members of those parties have confirmed for Dan daily. The Democratic Party of Socialists, DPS, says that for now they won’t make an official statement in this regard, but according to Dan sources, they are generally ready to engage in the parliamentary dialogue, just like the other parties from the opposition bloc. Montenegro’s parliament speaker Aleksa Becic announced recently that he would most likely schedule the start of dialogue between the government and the opposition regarding all those matters that require a two-thirds, that is, three-fifths majority of MPs for 6 July.  

Picula: Unstable political situation shouldn’t slow Montenegro’s integration process down (RTCG)  

The rapporteur of the European Parliament for Montenegro Tonino Picula has stressed that he would like the increasingly unstable political situation not to further slowdown the process of the country’s integration into the EU. Picula has told AFET that Montenegro is a country that “convincingly leads the regatta towards the EU, after the opening of all negotiation chapters”.  

“Now is the time for the chapters to start closing, preferably at a faster pace than they were opened,” Picula points out and adds that he hopes there is a possibility for Montenegro to conclude negotiations by the end of this Commission’s term.  

Djeljosaj informs US congressman about Govt’s discrimination against Albanians (CdM)  

During his visit to the United States, Tuzi mayor Nick Djeljosaj had a meeting with Congressman Richie John Torres, during which some of the main topics were the current situation of Albanians in Montenegro, redirecting the state from the safe path of a civil state and its returning to the clergy, with special focus on ethnic cleansing of state institutions.  

As he has stated, Torres is also a member of the finance committee and vice president of the National Security Council in the US Congress. Djeljosaj informed Torres about the discrimination that the government and the current Prime Minister of Montenegro commit to Albanian municipalities, especially the Municipality of Tuzi.  

Zaev brought the country to a dead end, we need EU integration to secure the future (Republika/TV Alfa)  

“Generally, these couple of days we will be in Brussels, together with the Vice President Aleksandar Nikoloski and the International Secretary Timco Mucunski. We use this opportunity first with the European People’s Party, with the political parties that are part of the EPP during the Political Assembly to talk about current topics that are part of the EPP policies. The subject will generally be the adoption of the 2021 budget, the upcoming Congress to be held at the end of 2021, the ideological Congress of the European People’s Party,” VMRO-DPMNE leader Hristijan Mickoski told TV Alfa on Monday. He adds that they will use this visit to have meetings and a number of events with politicians who are MEPs and presidents of political parties and prime ministers, people who are part of the EPP and to use the opportunity to talk about how to start negotiations with the Republic of Macedonia as soon as possible, to remove the veto that unfortunately Bulgaria has imposed. So now in the 21st century we are discussing topics that are century old. In that way, additional motivation and stimulus will be given to the Macedonian citizens, to the Macedonian people to believe in the European values and the European perspective of Macedonia. We are absolutely aware that the current government led by SDSM and PM Zoran Zaev practically ranked Macedonia as the most corrupt country and a country ruled by crime and is in the worst place in Europe, said Mickoski. He also informed that today they had a meeting with MEP Marco Campomenosi during the morning sessions. Although he comes from Mr. Salvini’s Lega party which is not part of the European People’s Party, we as VMRO-DPMNE have a strategic commitment to establish a fruitful and I would say more serious communication with Mr. Salvini’s Lega party, because we expect them to win the next elections and Mr. Salvini will be the Prime Minister of Italy although they are currently part of the Italian government. We talked about deepening cooperation, we commented on certain party ideological directions, we invited him or Mr. Salvini, depending on the time available, or some other high-ranking officials from their party, to be part of the local election campaign. From what we managed to hear is that they will give their best to make it happen, but in that period there are also local elections in Italy, so it will be a little harder for them to find time. In any case, VMRO-DPMNE is establishing serious communication with Salvini’s Lega, Mickoski said.  

Pendarovski to Zaev: At the moment there is no need to go to Sofia (Republika/TV Sitel)  

President Stevo Pendarovski is against the idea of Prime Minister Zoran Zaev going to Sofia. In an interview with TV Sitel, Pendarovski said that until Bulgaria forms a political government and constitutes a four-year term Parliament, no Macedonian official has nothing to ask from Sofia to negotiate the dispute with Bulgaria. “My recommendation to the Government is to keep to the sectorial, action cooperation and not to try at all now, in this period, or in the next, if they do not have a chance to form a Government, to make a breakthrough on those issues,” said Pendarovski.  

US disappointed Macedonia didn’t open EU negotiations (Republika)  

The United States is disappointed after Macedonia wasn’t allowed to open negotiations for membership in the EU, US Ambassador Kate Byrnes said Monday, answering a reporter’s question whether the United States expects intensified meetings between politicians and enhanced Skopje-Sofia communication after Macedonia did not receive the green light to start negotiations. “We will continue our diplomatic engagements in the future, and we emphasize the position that the future of the country is in the continuation of the EU membership process,” the US Ambassador said after the handover of American donation – NBCD equipment for decontamination at the Cojlija military barracks near Petrovec, which was also attended by Defense Minister Radmila Sekerinska.  

Ruci at the summit of the speakers of the Western Balkans (Radio Tirana)  

The speaker of the parliament Gramoz Ruci participated in the Second Summit of the Speakers of the parliaments of the Western Balkan countries, organized by the European Parliament, in Brussels. The Summit was also attended by the Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, David Mcallister, the speaker of the Slovenian parliament, the future EU Presidency, Igor Zorcic. The summit was chaired by the President of the European Parliament, David Maria Sassoli. The summit discussed accelerating the pace of integration of the Western Balkan countries into the EU, as well as strengthening parliamentary co-operation among countries in the region. During the speech at the meeting of the Parliamentarians with the Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, David Mcallister, who preceded the Summit, Ruci underlined that “ European Council, on Public Administration Reform, Justice Reform, the Fight against Corruption, the Fight against Organized Crime and the Enhancement of Human Rights. We carried out the electoral reform on time, with the consensus of the parliamentary opposition and the involvement of the non-parliamentary opposition. This reform preceded the parliamentary elections of 25 April, which took place peacefully and with high European standards. The elections were assessed quite positively by the EU, the United States and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, which had its observers in these elections. The Albanian Parliament supports, follows and has fulfilled all its obligations for the advancement of justice reform, the implementation of the vetting process and the construction of new governing bodies of the justice system. The determination of the Assembly has forced other institutions, especially those of the justice system, to accelerate the pace of reform. Speaker Ruci thanked the President of the European Parliament David Sassoli for his vision and contribution to accelerating the pace of integration of the Western Balkans, as well as praised the Croatian, German and Portuguese Presidencies of the EU, which kept accelerating the integration of Western Balkans at the top of their priorities. “This support has yielded results. Today, a year and a half after the First Summit, two of the countries in the region, Albania and North Macedonia, come to this hall with the decision to open negotiations. The date for convening the Intergovernmental Round Table with Albania and North Macedonia was not set this time either. This happened for reasons unrelated to the integration performance of our countries. We, Albanians, have made our European choice, since our national hero Gjergj Kastrioti, became the armor of the defense of Christianity and Europe from the Ottoman Empire. The ideology of the Renaissance and Independence of Albania was naturally related to our European identity and destination, expressed in the far-sighted emblematic sentence: For Albanians, the sun rises where it sets. With the advancement of the European spirit and standards in the Western Balkans in most of our countries, we have passed into a new situation of our relationship with the European Union. The main feature of this new situation is that if previously enlargement depended on the fulfillment of standards by our countries, now decision-making is becoming vulnerable because it depends entirely on the attitude of some member states, an attitude which is not necessarily related to standards and reforms. in our countries,” said Ruci. The EU remains our pole star and an unchanging compass, in good and bad times. We have only one Plan A for our destination and this is the European Union” stressed the Speaker of the Assembly, Gramoz Ruci. At the end of the Summit, a Joint Declaration was signed by the Speakers of Parliament of the Western Balkans, the President of the European Parliament and the Speakers of the Parliaments of Portugal, the current Presidency, and Slovenia, the next EU Presidency, in which reconfirmed the key role of parliaments in the enlargement process and committed to work together in the framework of the EU-Western Balkans 2021 Summit.  

Basha participates in the Political Assembly of the EPP (Radio Tirana)  

The Chairman of the Democratic Party Lulzim Basha is participating in the Political Assembly of the EPP, the European People’s Party, the largest European party and the largest parliamentary group in the EP in Brussels, where he had also a speech in the closed session of these assemblies. During his stay in Brussels, opposition leader Basha gave a short interview to the Albanian media in the European capital. Asked about the focus of the meeting in Brussels, Basha said that “We shared the great concern about the election massacre, about what the ODIHR has already identified in the preliminary report as two main problems: the massive vote buying and merging of state and party, as well as the need to draft a joint platform to restore legitimacy and democracy”. “We have had extraordinary support from the European People’s Party at every level, at the political level but also at the level of their representatives in European institutions, from the European Commission, to the European Parliament, to the European Council and we will continue to have an extremely close relationship and a great support from the European People’s Party in this battle, because this battle is not just for the Democratic Party, but for democracy for Albania and for Albanians. “The values ​​of this party, the investment of this party and the member states in the Albanian democracy in these 30 years will enable us to overcome together this extraordinary challenge before which the developments of the 25 April massacre put us,” said Basha. Regarding the impact of the OSCE / ODIHR report, and the report of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on the elections in Albania, on the European integration of Albania, Basha stressed that “elections are one of the most important criteria for the European path of every country”.