LOCAL PRESS

Vucic meets with Peach (Tanjug/RTS/RTV)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic on Tuesday met with the UK special Western Balkans envoy Stuart Peach, who noted that he would work with partners in the EU and the US on support for the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue. Peach also said his appointment was a clear sign of the UK’s continued commitment to security, stability and economic progress in the Western Balkans, the presidential press office said in a statement. Vucic reiterated Serbia was continuing to push for a sustainable and mutually acceptable solution in the dialogue with Pristina and that it remained fully committed to dialogue as the only path to resolving all open issues. Vucic said he expected that, with his experience and knowledge of the situation in the region, Peach would make a full contribution to and support a constructive continuation of dialogue. Vucic and Peach also discussed the situation in the region, as well as future cooperation aimed at trust-building and joint efforts towards sustainable peace and stability in the Western Balkans. As the initiator of numerous projects aimed at regional connectivity, Serbia maintains a serious and responsible approach to all issues of significance to cooperation, economic progress and trust-building, Vucic said. He said regional cooperation was one of Serbia’s foreign policy priorities and that Serbia was not only the initiator of Open Balkans, an initiative enabling free movement of people, goods, services and capital, but also of major infrastructure projects that would improve the quality of life of all people in the region.

Petkovic calls international community to prevent consequences by the Brussels agreement (Politika/RTS)

The Head of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija Petar Petkovic met with the Ambassador of the Russian Federation Aleksandr Botsan-Kharchenko, with whom he discussed the political and security situation in Kosovo and Metohija, as well as the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina in Brussels, reads the statement from the Office for Kosovo and Metohija. He acquainted the Russian Ambassador about the latest events in Kosovo and Metohija, emphasizing that this is a continuation of the campaign of pressure and repression against the Serb people, but also an open effort to endanger and abolish all political and civil rights of Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija. He voiced expectations that the representatives of the international community, with their authority, will enable the voting of the Serb people in the upcoming elections in Kosovo and Metohija and prevent the consequences that could jeopardize everything that has been agreed in Brussels so far, the statement said. Petkovic also pointed to violations of agreements in the fields of energy and justice, non-cooperation on the issue of missing persons and a ban on Serbian-language media reporting on their work, but also the latest provocations in Pristina’s intention to rebuild the house of the known Nazi collaborator Xhafer Deva. “Serbia is consistently against Kurti’s attempts to revise the history and relativize the crimes of Albanian fascists in World War II,” Petkovic emphasized, the Office reports. He expressed expectation that Serbia and Russia, when it comes to Kosovo and Metohija, will continue to cooperate in all important international forums, as they have done so far, in the fight for respect for international law. “Belgrade is determined to strive for a compromise solution in the dialogue, but it also defends Serbian interests, and in that sense, Russia’s support and assistance is invaluable,” concluded Petkovic.

Stano denies reports of plan to allow Kosovo Serbs to vote (KoSSev/N1/RTS)

European Commission spokesman Peter Stano denied media reports that EU Envoy Miroslav Lajcak was handed a proposal on organizing the vote at the coming Serbian elections in Kosovo.

Stano told KoSSev news portal that Lajcak was not given a proposal and conditions for the vote. The Demokracia.com portal quoted what it said were diplomatic sources on Sunday who said that Kosovo deputy Prime Minister Besnik Bislimi handed Lajcak the proposal. The Albanian-language portal claimed that Pristina’s conditions included a sign at all polling stations saying Serbian Liaison Office in Kosovo and that the OSCE mission should organize the vote without allowing political parties to campaign based on “reciprocity for the citizens of Kosovo living in Serbia”. Stano said that the European Commission does not comment what its partners propose but that in this case the claims are not true. He said that Lajcak was told nothing of the kind in Pristina.

Brnabic: Serbia recognized as leader in IT industry (Politika/Tanjug)

Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic attended on Monday in Geneva the signing of the Agreement on the Establishment of the World Economic Forum Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution in Serbia, the first of its kind in the Western Balkans. The agreement was signed at the headquarters of that forum by Director of the Office for Information Technologies and eGovernment Mihailo Jovanovic and Managing Director and Head of the Forum’s Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution Jeremy Jurgens. The center in Serbia will be the 16th in the network of centers of the World Economic Forum in the world and the first in the region of the Western Balkans. The new center will start operating on 1 March and will function as a non-profit organization and a platform for public-private partnership and cooperation for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, while the focus of work will be on artificial intelligence and bioengineering. This center will work within the Serbian government’s Office for Information Technologies and eGovernment and will cooperate with scientific institutes, state institutions and the private sector. The signing of this document was also attended by founder and Executive Director of the World Economic Forum Klaus Schwab and President of the World Economic Forum Borge Brende, with whom Brnabic had previously met. Addressing the press, Brnabic pointed out that this agreement is the result of many years of joint work between Serbia and the World Economic Forum. We started talking in 2018, signed a Memorandum of Understanding, then 2020 hampered us a bit, but we continued to plan in 2021 and here we are today, she said. According to her, the center will be focused on the development of artificial intelligence, biomedicine and biotechnology, and on the ways in which digitalization can raise the productivity of companies and the entire economy. This is what further leads to higher salaries, a better standard of living, as well as to an economy that is mainly based on knowledge, creativity and innovation, Brnabic emphasized. Today, we have received great recognition for everything that Serbia has done in the field of digitalization, development of high technologies and paradigm shift – from an economy that was based on labor-intensive investments to digital development. That is why this agreement shows that Serbia has been recognized as one of the leaders in the economy and IT industry in the last six years, the Prime Minister pointed out and assessed that this is the announcement of the beginning of an even closer cooperation between Serbia and WEF. She added that they will have a joint meeting with the 16 WEF centers for the fourth industrial revolution in the world every month, at which they will talk about what each of them is doing, since each has a different focus. That is how we will hear what everyone is doing every month, learn from each other and I am sure that the center in Belgrade will be one of the best, she said. According to her, this gives us visibility, the opportunity to further establish Serbia as an investment destination, a country good for living and investing in new technologies and knowledge. Jovanovic said that the ecosystem formed around the center will use the infrastructure of the National Platform for the Development of Artificial Intelligence, the Centre for Genome Sequencing and the future bioeconomic center – BIO4 Campus.

Cooperation between Serbia, Hungary reaches its historical peak (Tanjug/RTS)

Serbian Foreign Minister Nikola Selakovic and Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto assessed on Monday that cooperation between Serbia and Hungary is at a historical peak and that it has contributed to the development of relations of the two countries and the two nations. At a joint press conference with Szijjarto, Selakovic emphasized the successful bilateral cooperation and stated the results of trade and economic exchange, which reached its maximum last year, since in the first 11 months the value reached was €2.06 billion. He pointed out that cooperation exists in numerous areas, not only through infrastructure projects, but also regarding energy connections through Turkey, i.e., the Balkan Stream.

Selakovic underlined that our country is proud of the status of national minorities in Serbia, because it is a topic that is given great attention. Selakovic especially thanked Szijjarto for his personal efforts in promoting the need for Serbia to become an EU member as soon as possible, and added that if it had depended on Hungary only, Serbia would have become an EU member today. He said that issues important for regional peace and stability, joint commitment to preserving peace and stability in Southeast Europe, but also the whole of Europe, were discussed at the meeting, because only in peace and a stable environment can states develop in all fields. Szijjarto confirmed that we now have relations at their historically highest level, which have resulted in economic and energy cooperation, adding that the two countries have successfully cooperated in preventing the migrant wave and are successfully fighting organized criminal groups of human smugglers. As he pointed out, out of 20 billion Huf, which Hungary provided for investments abroad, a significant amount was invested in Serbia, and since October there is a gas pipeline between the two countries, through which more than 700 million cubic meters of gas have already passed. Also, Szijjarto added that of all Hungarian communities outside the homeland, the one in Vojvodina has the best position.

Joksimovic and Szijjarto: Hungary strategic partner of Serbia on its path to EU (Tanjug/RTV)

Serbian Minister for EU Integration Jadranka Joksimovic talked on Monday with Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto about Serbia’s accession to the EU, bilateral relations and the questions of interest for the implementation of EU’s enlargement policy on the Western Balkan region. Joksimovic underlined that our country highly appreciates Hungary’s strategic commitment to the consistent application of the new methodology in accession negotiations, first and foremost in line with the proclaimed principles of credibility and predictability. She said that with stronger political leadership, Serbia managed to achieve considerable progress in the rule of law, but in other fields too, which was enabled by the opening of Cluster 4 – Green Agenda and Sustainable Connectivity – at the end of last year, and that in the first half of this year our European partners will give consent to the opening of Cluster 3 too – Inclusive Growth and Competitiveness. Szijjarto pointed out that the government of Hungary continues to make additional efforts in strengthening good neighborly and partnership cooperation with Serbia, in the fields of politics and the economy alike, and in Serbia’s EU accession process. You have an ally in Hungary, which strongly and unequivocally supports the policy of EU enlargement, which is a key instrument for strengthening the credibility of the Union itself in the Western Balkans, Szijjarto stated. Joksimovic and Szijjarto also discussed joint activities in the implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding between the governments of Serbia and Hungary regarding the deepening of cooperation between the two countries by establishing the Western Balkans Capacity Building Program, which was signed in the middle of last year.

Cochard: France will fully back Serbia’s bid to join EU (Beta)

French Ambassador to Serbia Pierre Cochard said in the Serbian parliament on Monday that Paris would give its full backing to Serbia’s bid to become a member of the European Union. In a meeting with the members of the France Friendship Caucus, Cochard said he had first-hand knowledge of high interest from French companies in doing business in Serbia, the Serbian parliament said in a press release. He said that, in addition to the deal inked with France’s Vinci on a concession for Belgrade’s Nikola Tesla Airport and the building of the subway, French environmental companies had also shown interest in investing in Serbia, the statement noted. According to the press release, Cochard said advancing Serbian-French cultural relations was important, and placed emphasis on the Francophonie, an international organization whose members collaborate in science, economics and culture, and French-language teaching in Serbian schools.

Stefanovic attacks Ponos (FoNet)

The Serbian authorities continued their attempts to discredit the opposition’s presidential candidate retired General Zdravko Ponos on Monday when Defense Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic said that the military was disarmed during his time as chief of general staff. “The very clear facts show that the Army of Serbia was disarmed and devastated under Zdravko Ponos,” a Defense Ministry statement quoted Stefanovic as saying. He added that “numerous attempts to alter history have been going on for days… trying to hide the clear facts”. The Defense Minister said that no one can convince others that Ponos and the former authorities armed and did not disarm the Serbian military. “Whatever Dragan Djilas does, the facts and misdeeds that his candidate Zdravko Ponos left behind cannot be changed,” the minister and high-ranking Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) official said. “The facts show that politician Ponos, who got to the rank of general thanks to politics and unprecedented leaps over all the ladders in the military, left the Army of Serbia devastated. He did not know his place or what his job was as a general, acting like a politician instead, and he does not know that now when he is a politician and trying to present himself as a general in order to grab power with his superior Djilas,” Stefanovic said. Stefanovic’s statement claims that “the Serbian military had 700 main battle tanks, 90 helicopters, 850 armored vehicles, 140,000 pieces of infantry weapons, 1,800 AA defense guns and missile launchers in 2006 and just two years later had 220 tanks, 45 helicopters, 500 armored vehicles, 70,000 pieces of infantry weapons and 290 AA defense guns and missile launchers”.

Djilas: Regime brings people from Bosnia to vote in Belgrade election (N1)

“We have given unequivocal evidence that people from Republika Srpska are being brought not to claim citizenship to what they have the right to, but residence permit in Belgrade, to influence and reshape the will of those people who live in Belgrade,” the leader of the opposition Party of Freedom and Justice (SSP) Dragan Djilas told N1. He added that the government has turned everything upside down so that we now talk about who loves or hates them, and not about the big problem which is directly the theft of the election. In the past few days, Djilas published two videos which, as he said, showed the scheme of registering new “residents” of Belgrade. The video, made on 3 February, explains how the issuance of citizenship and residence for people who were not from Belgrade was organized and how the entire process was coordinated. At the same time, a dialogue was recorded with one of the coordinators, who, according to his confession, was in charge of doing the job and taking over the taxes payment slips. The video published by Djilas said that the condition for obtaining Serbia’s citizenship for people who appeared at police stations throughout Serbia at the end of last year and the beginning of this month was to vote for the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS). “Vans bring people to police stations throughout Serbia, and mostly in Belgrade,” Djilas said. “When asked where they are from, the citizens said they were ‘across the border, from Sarajevo, Bijeljina, from Bosnia'”. According to the SSP, each group has its coordinator. Rasa Nedeljkov from the CRTA NGO told N1 earlier on Monday that the videos showed “a scheme for registering new ‘residents’ of Belgrade to vote in the upcoming elections”, as “many other situations that are suspicious and will have the consequences. People will lose trust in institutions because the institutions do not react or react badly. And such things upset the public”.

Coup in Montenegro; They said that Abazovic was a thug (TV Prva/B92)

President of True Montenegro Marko Milacic commented on the removal of the Prime Minister Zdravko Krivokapic, i.e. parliament speaker Aleksa Becic. We had a coup, the government and the parliament speaker were changed by the votes of URA, we have the return of Djukanovic and the revitalization of that party. In the historical betrayal of the century, Abazovic voted with people who said he was a bastard,” Milacic told TV Prva. “This is one of the biggest treasons in Montenegro. Their plan to form a minority vote… Abazovic’s rating is low, he could not achieve the census now and wants to run away from the elections. It is up to us to call elections and prevent the formation of the treacherous government… The parliamentary majority no longer exists, there are no more talks with traitors… We have to go to the polls.” “Dritan agreed everything with the DPS and the support of the SNP… We must join all the forces that want to get involved to form pressure… We must defend the people’s will together with the people. I call on all people to take to the streets and defend what has been trampled on,” he added. Milacic also spoke about the rhetoric of Montenegrin President Milo Djukanovic regarding strong accusations against Serbia. “He always played the card of scaring the people in these situations. Now he has done it again, because he got support… All the time, the game of scaring the people from the Serbs is being played on, when you ask Milo about anything, he says that the Serbs are to blame,” stated Milacic. “This is Pyrrhic victory, it’s a matter of months… Now we have a great motivation to respond as a people to treason… After 30 years of the mafia system, it takes time… There will be a return very soon on 30 August… Let’s finish the started processes,” he added.

Zuroff’s protest letter over renovation of Deva’s house (Tanjug/Politika)

The director of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Jerusalem Ephraim Zuroff has sent a letter of protest to the head of the European Union delegation to Israel Dimitar Tsanchev because of a plan to renovate Xhafer Deva’s house in southern Kosovska Mitrovica, stating that Deva is a symbol of cooperation of Albanians with the Nazis and that such a figure should not be honored.

In the letter, Zuroff states that he is afraid that the possible transformation of Deva’s residence into a regional cultural center will have the opposite effect, given the identity of its former owner. “We have just learned that the European Union and the United Nations Development Program have undertaken to reconstruct and renovate the home of the notorious Albanian Nazi collaborator Xhafer Deva in South Mitrovica, in Kosovo. The plan is to turn the residence into a regional cultural center. Given the identity of its prominent former tenant, it is likely to have the opposite effect, as honor will be shown to an individual who played a prominent role in the Nazi occupation of parts of Serbia and in recruiting Albanians for service in the Waffen SS Division,” Zuroff wrote.

Croatian Ambassador says Serbia and Croatia need to intensify political cooperation (Kurir) 

Political cooperation between Serbia and Croatia needs to be stronger, Croatian Ambassador in Belgrade Hidajet Biscevic said in an interview with Kurir tabloid on Monday, stressing that economic cooperation and trade were good and that cultural cooperation was increasingly good. “I have to be honest and say that our political cooperation needs to be stepped up… there have been, for a long time, no meetings at the highest level, too often daily events, statements and incidents set us back. At the same time, that has almost no effect on our economic cooperation and trade, while cultural cooperation has been increasingly more relaxed,” Biscevic said. The ambassador said that a large portion of ordinary citizens, on both sides, ignore old stereotypes and that new generations are coming for which, “despite the parallel histories”, “new windows are slowly opening in many ways”. Asked to comment on his statement that “the legacy of the past is too big and has lasted too long” Biscevic suggested that “time and patience” as well as “turning to a culture of cooperation instead of insisting on old stereotypes” are necessary. Asked to comment on announcements in Croatia that Zagreb would block Serbia’s accession to the EU, the ambassador categorically dismissed the claims as incorrect. “I have said on many occasions here that Serbia’s EU membership is Croatia’s key strategic interest, for us to be part of the European family, share the same values and standards, regulate our relations in the European spirit of tolerance, respect for differences and non-interference in each other’s internal affairs, and for the European context to serve as a platform for us to overcome the past,” Biscevic said. He added that Croatia setting conditions, slowing down or delaying “the realization of that clearly stated strategic interest” would be a paradox. He stressed EU entry talks were not about setting conditions or blockades but about “respect for the negotiating rules.” “The EU has clear fundamental negotiating rules and conditions – those who do not accept them block themselves and shifting responsibility to a member state is of no help,” he said.

REGIONAL PRESS

Politicians react to announced discussion about draft law on RS High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council; Dodik: Treatment of this law will determine further movement of B&H (O Kanal) 

The draft law on the Republika Srpska (RS) High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council (HJPC) will be on the agenda of the RS parliament on Tuesday. RS parliament deputy speaker Denis Sulic stated: “It will be adopted as a draft, and there will be an expert discussion and a public discussion until (it is) a proposal, if the board deems it necessary. When it reaches the RSNA after a certain period of time, then it will be a proposal and will be adopted”. Sulic did not want to prejudge how long it would take for the draft law to return to the RS parliament in the form of a proposal.  The leader of SNSD Milorad Dodik announced at a special session of the RS parliament, the draft law on the RS HJPC will be discussed by RS MPs on Tuesday, 8 February. The law was proposed in the form of a draft by the RS MP majority. The RS government gave its consent, and the request to include this item was submitted to the RS parliament speaker Nedeljko Cubrilovic, who already convened the collegium session. Sulic stated: “What confirms the right step of all RSNA representatives is the statement of the SDA Presidency that said: ‘You can make any decision in the RSNA, but we will repeal it. I do not know whether the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H), the entire Prosecutor’s Office and even the courts at the level of B&H, including the HJPC, are the Presidency of the SDA or some completely different institutions. Is the judiciary under the direct control of SDA at the level of B&H?”. SDA responded that the new activity of the RS parliament is continuation of unilateral attempts to pass laws that go beyond the framework and competencies, and which violate the Constitution and the Dayton Peace Agreement (DPA). RS Representative of ‘Together for B&H’ Senad Bratic commented: “This would obviously create a parallelism in practice that would call into question the functioning of the B&H HJPC. That would make a problem. The independence of the judiciary and the Prosecutor’s Office would be called into question. I do not think anyone needs that at the moment. It can only have some one-sided private interests of individuals.” According to the draft law, if such a HJPC is formed, the Council will decide on the appointments and dismissals of holders of all judicial functions in the RS. The RS opposition is skeptical. They said that these activities also have an election purpose, because the law should come into force in a year. PDP leader Branislav Borenovic commented: “Which means that their clear intention is to play here in the B&H Parliament with amendments to the law on the HJPC, there the RS HJPC will be established, which will enter somewhere, who knows when, in a year or I do not know, probably never.” The leader of DNS Nenad Nesic said: “I expect that (the RS Prime Minister Radovan) Viskovic and the RS government will soon propose a law that will come into force at the beginning of the 22nd century. Considering how they started, I expect that some law that Viskovic will propose will start to be valid in 2100.” The law on the RS HJPC is in regular procedure, which means that the draft goes to the plenary debate, and later in the form of a proposal goes to further procedure, which includes expert or public debate, so it will be discussed again in the RS parliament, noted the reporter. The proposal of the law reminds that a similar Council at the level of the RS existed prior to the formation of the HJPC of B&H and it was abolished in 2002, and that the RS parliament agreed to the formation of the HJPC of B&H in 2004 but under certain conditions that were not met. According to RS parliament deputy speaker Milan Petkovic, based on this fact the return of competences will be requested through a new law. The RS opposition deems that the law in not based on realistic grounds and it is about political defiance. They stressed that the application of this law would start only a year after its adoption. SDS’ Nedeljko Glamocak stated that the law on the formation of the high judicial and prosecutorial council of the RS cannot bring anything new for the RS judiciary as its political concept foresees that judiciary is under full political control – the same as at the level of B&H. As for the Federation of B&H (FB&H) parties, support to the draft law on the formation of the high judicial and prosecutorial council of the RS has so far been the most serious attack on constitutional-legal organization of B&H. Dodik said that the treatment of this law will determine the further movement of B&H and added that there is no reason for anyone to be against this legislative solution. Dodik noted: “The whole story is about the fact that guilt is individual and I do not see why anyone should be against it, but that will determine further movements in B&H itself. If someone thinks that they can qualify Serbs as genocidal and the RS as a genocidal creation, of course such atmosphere cannot happen.” The RS opposition already assessed that the proposal lacks quality and that it does not resolve the issue of Inzko’s law.

US Embassy calls on leaders to reject activities which undermine constitutional order of B&H (RFE/Dnevni avaz) 

US Embassy to B&H called on all leaders to reject the discussion on Draft Law on high judicial and prosecutorial council of the RS. “Threats with withdrawal from the state institutions and establishing of parallel institutions in entity of the RS, disturb stability and progress of B&H at the expense of its citizens. We call on all leaders to reject activities, such as the draft law that is being discussed, which undermine constitutional order and allow flourishing of the corruption. Now is the time to work on transparency and responsibility, which are necessary to B&H in order to make progress,” reads US Embassy’s response to Radio Free Europe questions.

EUD/EUSR: RS’ activities on establishing parallel institutions are steps towards escalation; EC is considering concrete actions in response to RS’ activities (Oslobodjenje) 

Answering the inquiry from the daily concerning the announced forming of the RS high judicial and prosecutorial council, EU Delegation to B&H/ EU Special Representative Office stated that “European Union considers the moves of the RS leadership towards unilateral establishing of parallel B&H institutions as steps toward escalation, which harm interests of B&H citizens. Such moves also harm the outcomes for B&H’s progress on the path towards the EU. European Union is unequivocally committed to territorial integrity and sovereignty of B&H and the European Commission currently discusses the concrete moves that will be undertaken as a response to these and possible further steps towards escalation, which undermine constitutional order of the country,” EUD/EUSR Spokesperson Ferdinand Koenig told the daily. The European Commission (EC) stated that the adoption of this law would be an unacceptable interference in the independence of the B&H judiciary. The result, they said, would be the country’s decline in European standards.

Zvizdic rejects claims that FB&H is turning into Bosniak entity, slams SNSD because of Proposal on Law on Prohibition of Use of Term ‘Genocide’ (Oslobodjenje) 

In an interview to the daily, speaker of the House of Representatives (HoR) of B&H Denis Zvizdic (NIP) said that individual officials from the Republic of Croatia, representatives of Croat political parties and those coming from the RS should stop presenting groundless statements that the FB&H is turning into a Bosniak entity and that Bosniaks are striving towards and unitary and centralized B&H, because they have not a single valid argument for such claims. Asked whether it is possible to reach a domestic solution for the Criminal Code of B&H in the existing situation, Zvizdic said that the main reason a number of representatives of the political parties from the RS, i.e. SNSD, returned to the parliament of B&H was fear from new sanctions and he assessed that the return was not an act of sincerity and will not bring an active work on the adoption of laws, documents and strategies needed for the European path of B&H, preservation and revitalization of its institutions or economic and social development. “The return had only one goal – to appease the international community and win time for the next phase of unconstitutional activities and forcible taking away of competencies from B&H,” Zvizdic said and noted that a domestic agreement can be reached on any matter but only if rulings of domestic and international courts are respected. Zvizdic went on to say that, unfortunately, individual political parties have a very selective approach to laws and it will be difficult to reach any solutions for as long as such stance exists. “A good example of such approach is the Proposal of the Law on Prohibition of Use of Term ‘Genocide’, which came from representatives of SNSD and which serves as some sort of an entry ticket for return to the parliament of B&H,” Zvizdic said and argued that the main goal of this proposal is to provoke new tensions and shift blame onto others. “Namely, this is about a new form of genocide denial because there is no such thing as ‘idea on genocide’ as the law reads, there is only the crime of genocide,” Zvizdic explained. Asked whether there was any synchronization between the RS’ announcement on the adoption of the Law on the HJPC of the RS and the fact that Minister (of Justice of B&H) Josip Grubesa (HDZ B&H) delivered changes and addenda to the Law on B&H HJPC to the parliamentary procedure after seven years of waiting for it, Zvizdic said and anything is possible in an ambient in which agreements of political parties are more important than laws, justice and strengthening of the rule of law. Zvizdic assessed that the attempt to form the RS HJPC and destroy B&H HJPC is an extremely important and urgent issue which is not getting enough of attention and he added that this issue requires a strong and consistent engagement of domestic and international institutions, especially the Office of the High Representative (OHR). Asked to state whether HDZ B&H leader Dragan Covic really wants to reach an agreement on changes to the Election Law of B&H and limited constitutional reform, Zvizdic said that the myth on legitimate representation turned into a mantra around which the story related to changes to the Election Law of B&H revolves. Zvizdic argued that there are attempts to impose “so called legitimate representation” as the umbrella principle, but this would provide a full domination of ethnic over civic and this would be opposite to rulings of the European Court of Human Rights. “Things went so far that individual officials from Croatia even threatened that there will be no B&H unless changes to the Election of B&H in line with their liking are adopted,” Zvizdic noted. Zvizdic went on to say that he is not sure if all participants of talks on the electoral reform really want the talks to be successful and he claimed that there are three groups of politicians: those who want the talks to succeed in order to end blockades and tensions and implement the rulings, those who cooperate for the sake of the international community but have no political courage to propose solutions and expect someone else to do that and the third group are those who want to preserve the ‘status quo’. Finally, Zvizdic said that ‘Troika’ parties should have a single candidate for the Presidency of B&H who should be elected in line with clearly defined criteria which a candidate for such a serious position should meet.

RS officials comment Covic’s statement that there can be no elections without new Election Law (Glas Srpske) 

HDZ B&H leader Dragan Covic reiterated on Monday that there are no conditions to hold the October General Election if B&H Election Law is not amended, since B&H Constitutional Court declared several provisions of the existing Election Law unconstitutional. Commenting Covic’s statement, member of B&H House of Representatives and the Inter-Agency Working Group for Electoral Reform Snjezana Novakovic Bursac (SNSD) stated that she agrees with Covic. She explained that formal-legal conditions to hold the election have not existed for a long time, and underlined that legitimacy of elections will be questionable as long as equality of constituent peoples is not recognized. The noted that it will be interesting to observe reactions of different ethnic groups and of the international community in case that nothing changes. Novakovic Bursac reminded that results of the 2018 General Election were not implemented in the FB&H, and yet the international community seems to ignore this fact. She noted that they surely would not turn a blind eye if the RS failed to implement election results. Member of B&H House of Representatives Jakov Galic (SP) stated that recently there have been more tensions between Bosniaks and Croats than between Bosniaks and Serbs. He noted that recent statements of the legitimate political representatives of Croats and messages coming from Croatia indicate that Croats will not allow someone else to elect their political representatives. Therefore, Galic believes that the October election is not certain. B&H House of Representatives member Mira Pekic (PDP) stated that the Election Law needs to be amended in order to prevent election fraud, and not because of wishes of one political party. She noted that the situation in the FB&H shows that it is possible to ignore election results for four years, which indicates that holding the election can be questionable as well.

Dodik reacts to Turkovic’s decision on use of coat of arms, flag, anthem of B&H (ATV) 

B&H Foreign Minister Bisera Turkovic continues with threats and with issuing decisions arbitrarily, and goes on to say that this time Turkovic threatened with sanctions to the employees of the B&H Foreign Ministry and diplomatic and consular offices of B&H if they fail to use coat of arms, flag and anthem of B&H. Turkovic issued the decision after a celebration of the Diaspora in Switzerland, where flags of the RS were hoisted, and a church ceremony was held. Turkovic announced that those who fail to comply with the order will face sanctions. Milorad Dodik said that Turkovic abused her office. “I do not understand what she wants with that. That all ambassadors keep the flag in their pocket and unfurl it the moment their leave their vehicles? I do not know what she wants. But it says more about the weakness than about the power’,’ said Dodik. Commenting on the potential consequences, Dodik said: “No one will be sanctioned, she has considered it as her own property for long now.” Dodik stressed that B&H Presidency is the only institution that has competences to implement foreign policy, adding that Turkovic can no longer patriciate as a credible official in B&H Presidency’s work.

Presidencies of HDZ Croatia and HDZ B&H discuss outcome of negotiations on electoral reform at joint session (AJB) 

Presidencies of HDZ Croatia and HDZ B&H held an online meeting on Monday. Al Jazeera Balkans (AJB) reports that HDZ B&H leader Dragan Covic said after the session that the focus was on the situation in B&H and the outcome of the negotiations on electoral reform, and reiterated that, under current circumstances, there are no conditions to hold the elections. Addressing the media, Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said: “We conveyed a message that the most important thing at the moment is to keep cohesion of all political parties of Croats in B&H, gathered within the Croat People’s Assembly (HNS), that will allow the continuation of negotiations, primarily with representatives of Bosniak political parties, in a way to, in a constructive spirit, reach a solution that will be acceptable for all and will resolve this fundamental issue, i.e. avoiding electoral engineering and discrimination against Croats in B&H, the practice we have witnessed since 2006.” AJB reports that, after the session, Covic said the talks on the electoral reform and constitutional changes will continue on Thursday among B&H political leaders in an attempt to reach a compromise solution. Covic also explained that the Venice Commission accepted the HDZ B&H’s proposal related to legitimate representation, and that HDZ B&H and the HNS were ready for a compromise, but the goal was “all or nothing”. AJB reminds that NiP leader Elmedin Konakovic and SBB leader Fahrudin Radoncic earlier said that the meeting will be held if the political factors in B&H are willing to make the compromise, i.e. “abandon maximalist requests”. AJB reports that when asked by journalists what will be decided at the session of the HNS, scheduled for 19 February, if the agreement is not reached, taking into account prior statements related to potential blockade or boycott of the election, Covic did not want to discuss the said options, saying he hopes the agreement will be reached. Covic announced that the negotiations on the B&H Election Law will continue in the building of the B&H parliament on Thursday at noon. According to Covic, all parties that took part in the negotiations in Neum will show up on Thursday. Covic stated that election of members of the B&H Presidency was agreed in line with the electoral model, but the difference is that HDZ B&H demands two, while Bosniak parties demand one constituency in the FB&H. Covic argued: “The decision of the CC of B&H to put provisions of the B&H Election Law out of force reads that change must be made in the B&H parliament, as the change is missing in the B&H Parliament for the B&H Election Law, it is clear that there are no legal and constitutional possibility to organize the elections.” According to Covic, the decision of the Constitutional Court of B&H in the Ljubic case was not implemented because B&H parliament has never amended the erased articles that refer to the election to the FB&H House of Peoples (HoP), that he informed High Representative Christian Schmidt about. “Given that B&H parliament has not made the necessary changes, it is clear that there are no constitutional or legal conditions to hold the elections,” Covic stated. He reminded that the HNS’ proposals presented in Neum were approved by the Venice Commission that clearly said that legitimate representation of the consequent people or defining two constituencies in the FB&H is not disputable. Covic added that the Croat side decided to keep the current status in order to remove doubts of the Bosniak side regarding the two constituencies, but that Bosniak parties have not offered a single proposal in six months until the last day of negotiations on Sunday. Covic stressed that certain provisions of the Election Law, which were put out of force, should be changed. Covic said: “It is clear that, if there is no such change, there are no constitutional and legal possibilities to organize elections. What I am saying is based on the decision of the Constitutional Court (CC). There are no preconditions for holding elections if there are no changes to the B&H Election Law, similar to what happened with Mostar.” Covic commented on the statements that SDA leader Bakir Izetbegovic presented, where Izetbegovic claims that it actually suits Covic for DF leader Zeljko Komsic to remain in the B&H Presidency as its Croat member. Covic noted that this statement would be the same as if he would say that Izetbegovic wants to live in Herzeg-Bosnia. The HDZ B&H leader further noted that he attended the recent session of the RS parliament in order to call for resolving the issue of return of Serb representatives to the B&H institutions and to underline that it is necessary to preserve the Constitution of B&H, while the RS is a part of this document. “I went there because of the Croat people in RS” the HDZ B&H leader stressed. He added that it is another issue if some of his statements from the RS parliament address were taken out of context. After the joint session Plenkovic justified Covic’s statements in the RS parliament. Plenkovic said that Covic wanted to send a message in Banja Luka that the Dayton Peace Agreement (DPA) needs to be respected. Plenkovic offered support to Covic in the new round of negotiations on changes to B&H Election Law. Plenkovic stated: “What is obvious, in my opinion, is that the next step is to include in these talks of the political parties in B&H the representatives of the political parties of Serbs in B&H who did not participate in these talks in Neum.” Plenkovic stated that Covic advocates equality and legal representation, and by going to the RS parliament, Covic wanted to send the message that the Dayton Agreement must be respected. Plenkovic said that four conclusions were adopted at the abovementioned meeting, adding that they expressed support to HDZ B&H and the HNS in talks on the reform of the election system in B&H. Plenkovic underlined that the most important thing at this moment is to preserve cohesion of all political Croat parties in B&H gathered around the HNS. Covic confirmed that the Venice Commission assessed as positive all proposals of Croat negotiators concerning changes to the Election Law of B&H. Covic pointed out that they are ready to drop a proposal that election of members of B&H Presidency is determined in the B&H House of Peoples (HoP) because the Venice Commission told them how disputable that is. Covic also stated: “In order to satisfy our fellow Bosniaks, because they have said before that the two constituencies open some doubts, who knows what, looking to the future, we said: ‘OK, we will keep the current status’. And the current status is list 701 and 702, so far it was for the Croat, i.e. Bosniak and for the Croat member of the presidency. And now this text in the Constitution has been harmonized with the Venice Commission in front of all other partners, where it says ‘Croat’ will now say a representative of the Croat constituent people and all other citizens.”

Aleksa Becic dismissed (CdM) 

Last night, after several hours of debate, the parliament of Montenegro has dismissed Aleksa Becic from the position of the Speaker of Parliament with the votes of the opposition of the URA Civic Movement. A total of 79 MPs declared on the proposal – 43 MPs voted in favor of the dismissal, while 36 of them were against it. Deputy parliament speaker Branka Bosnjak has stated that the duty of the parliament speaker, until the election of the new one, will be performed by the deputy parliament speaker Strahinja Bulajic as the deputy parliament speaker from the caucus which has a larger number of MPs. After the Parliament session, Becic’s colleagues and associates gathered in front of the hall and thanked him with applause and hand shaking. Previously, Democratic Montenegro called on the citizens to protest on Wednesday at 6pm in Podgorica near the Temple, if parliament speaker Aleksa Becic is dismissed. “URA has already decided to remove the parliament speaker because he is an obstacle to the minority government of URA and DPS. This is proof that a new parliamentary majority has been formed. A coalition of URA and DPS has been formed. If he is dismissed today, everyone will go to the protests on Wednesday at 6pm in Podgorica near the Temple.”

Konatar: Minority government should be formed asap; if we fail, we’ll organize elections (CdM) 

After the MPs voted to dismiss Aleksa Becic from the position of parliament speaker, URA deputy leader Milos Konatar said that the priority of that political party was to form a minority government as soon as possible, and if it fails, to organize elections. “I expect that by the end of this week we will have progress when it comes to forming a minority government,” Konatar told reporters. According to him, they will talk to everyone, but first to their colleagues from the parliamentary majority, the Memorandum signatories. Meanwhile, Former Montenegrin foreign minister Srdjan Darmanovic (DPS) says it is difficult to say what personal solutions will be in the new Montenegrin government. He says that it is more or less known and that it is almost certain that the Prime Minister will be the URA leader Dritan Abazovic. In a statement, Darmanovic has stressed that the new government will certainly include minority parties, but not the Democratic Front (DF).

Djukanovic: We’ll support minority government and we won’t take part in it (DW/CdM) 

Montenegro’s greatest interest is to get a responsible government and the DPS will provide support to the minority government – with certain reasonable political conditions, Montenegro’s President and DPS leader Milo Djukanovic says in an exclusive interview for DW. “We will support any government that will preserve the civic and secular character of Montenegro, promote multi-ethnic democracy and contribute to dynamic economic development, so that Montenegro, as a democratically and economically developed country, will be part of the European Union in the near future,” says Djukanovic.

“We won’t take part in the government” 

Djukanovic recalls that his party – the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS), has offered to support the minority government even after last year’s elections, believing that “it will be very dangerous for Montenegro if the ruling coalition becomes so dependent on Greater Serbian nationalism”. “Today we say: We are ready to support the minority government – that is, coalitions that are civic in nature, that want to help Montenegro move towards Europe – we are ready to support that government and we will not participate in it. It obviously took 14 months of unsuccessful experience like this to return to that proposal,” says Djukanovic.

DPS returns? 

Speaking about the party he leads, Djukanovic has said that the DPS has shown in the past 14 months that it can responsibly deal with politics from the opposition as well. “I think that thanks to us, thanks to the state-building opposition, Montenegro has managed to resist Belgrade’s offensive. After 30 August, we have been passing through a very aggressive offensive from Belgrade. Greater Serbian nationalism from Belgrade has realized that the victory of their favourites opened the door for a new annexation of Montenegro, this time through the ‘Serbian World’ project. That has not happened because we have had a state-responsible opposition led by the DPS.”

Kovacevski rejects call for early elections (Republika) 

Prime Minister Dimitar Kovacevski dismissed the opposition calls for early elections. Even though he was appointed without standing in elections, Kovacevski insists that his slim majority in Parliament is sufficient to carry the SDSM – DUI led coalition to the end of the term, in 2024. Elections are currently not a priority. The country needs to focus on the healthcare and energy crises, on the negotiations with Bulgaria and on the economy, Kovacevski said.

Kovacevski meets Ambassador Voutsas: Strong support from Austria for the European perspectives of our country (Republika) 

Prime Minister Dimitar Kovacevski met Monday with the Ambassador of the Republic of Austria Georg Voutsas the government press service has informed. Strong support from the Republic of Austria for the European perspectives of the Republic of Macedonia was expressed at the meeting. At the same time, the new dynamics in the negotiations between the Republic of North Macedonia and the Republic of Bulgaria was welcomed. Kovacevski thanked for the friendly and principled support that Austria gives to Macedonia in all areas. The Republic of Austria is a strategic economic partner of our country and a great friend and supporter of the democratic and integration processes of our country. We continue to improve bilateral relations between the two countries. In terms of European integration, we are committed to finding solutions in the spirit of European values, said Kovacevski, according to the government press release.

Maricic-Jan Kopp: Support from the Kingdom of Netherlands important to country’s EU path and reform process (Republika) 

Deputy PM for European Affairs Bojan Maricic met Monday with the Dutch Ambassador Dirk Jan Kopp and discussed dynamics of the European integration process, continuation of the cooperation between the two countries as well as Dutch’s financial support for projects in Macedonia. The support from the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the process of starting negotiations with the European Union is important to us. At the meeting with Ambassador Jan Kopp, we reaffirmed that the EU enlargement policy is important for the stability and progress of the region, as it provides unique rules regarding democracy, the rule of law, human rights, but also a larger market and investment. Macedonia remains firmly committed to the EU accession process and I expect that in the coming period we will work together with our European partners to accelerate the dynamics of the process with committed work on comprehensive reforms, ​​Maricic said. Maricic and Jan Kopp also discussed the expansion of traditional support for reforms with an emphasis on the rule of law and the judiciary, as well as the progress in cooperation between our country and Bulgaria to completely remove the veto towards a final start of accession negotiations with the bloc, emphasizing Dutch support for the country’s European future.

President to address European Court if dismissed by C.C (ADN) 

President of the Republic Ilir Meta has announced that if the Constitutional Court votes in favor of his dismissal, he will turn to the European court. Meta underlined that he has proven that he has won all the battles with the Assembly. According to the Head of State, in his dismissal, were included some foreign diplomats who played a dishonest game, even in the Venice Commission.

“Ilir Meta could make a compromise with Edi Rama and he would be the best President in history. But, Ilir Meta is connected with the Albanian people, he is connected with the Constitution. If there is one who will head towards a peak and he will get there, it’s me! I have won several battles with the Assembly, and with some internationals in Venice and I have won all the battles. Let the court vote 20-0. I have won all the battles with the Assembly, even with some internationals who have played a dishonest game in Venice. This is a matter that will go to a European court. Because we are defending an institution, not Ilir Meta. We must respect this institution. Even another President when he comes, he should have the courage to defend the Constitution of Albania,” said Meta.

President’s dismissal, Kryemadhi sees political pressure on C.C (ADN) 

The chairwoman of the Socialist Movement for Integration (SMI, Monika Kryemadhi has commented on the process of the Constitutional Court for the dismissal or not of President Ilir Meta. Kryemadhi says that the Constitutional Court is under political pressure and this is shown by the fact that the decision should have been given on 9 September last year. “The Constitutional Court is under political pressure from the majority on the issue of dismissal of President Meta. The decision should have been made on September 9. There is pressure from the government. Why did they say Ilir Meta puts political pressure on it? What does Ilir Meta have in his hand?,” said Kryemadhi.

Tahiri in prison / Soreca: We are looking at good signals, we expect more from justice institutions (Radio Tirana) 

From Korca, the EU Ambassador to Albania Luigi Soreca was asked by journalists about the imprisonment of the former minister of interior Saimir Tahiri. The diplomat called it a good signal that the justice system is starting to work. However he stressed that this is not enough and more is expected. “You know that I am not in the habit of commenting on proceedings or specific issues. Looking at some of the recent court rulings, one sees greater and stronger independence. This is good news for the consolidation of the justice system. We see good signals from the work of judges. Is that enough? No. We expect more from everyone,” he said. The EU Ambassador was also asked about the position of the DP on constitutional changes regarding the extension of deadlines for vetting bodies. Soreca said that the vote in favor of these constitutional changes is a vote for Albania’s future in the EU.