LOCAL PRESS

Brnabic: Vucic to come under fire in Prague (TV Pink/Tanjug/Beta)

Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said on Wednesday President Aleksandar Vucic would have extremely difficult meetings at the upcoming Prague summit and that, since Serbia has not imposed sanctions on Russia, he would be on his own against all other participants. “In Prague, he will certainly be under brutal criticism and barrage fire, he will face questions such as why we have not imposed sanctions and why we are the only ones, and what our foreign policy is,” Brnabic said on TV Pink. She said Vucic would be on his own against not 27, but 40 leaders in Prague. Brnabic added that the question of whether Serbia’s positions were in line with European values would also be raised at the summit. “But if we look at their promises to North Macedonia and Albania, what European values are we talking about?” Brnabic asked. They will use everything for brutal criticism of Serbia but, fortunately, Vucic commands great respect among European leaders, she said. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is always there for us to hear us, Brnabic added. Brnabic reiterated that the Serbian new government would be formed within the deadlines specified by the Constitution but did not provide an estimate as to when that would exactly take place. According to her, the most vocal critics of the fact that the new Cabinet has yet to be formed are the same individuals who claimed that “the Cabinet is irrelevant [and] insignificant [because] all the ministers are the pawns and lapdogs of President Aleksandar Vucic,” she said. “Well, do you or do you not care about the formation of the new government?” Brnabic asked. She further said that the outgoing Cabinet is diligently working on preparing the country for the upcoming winter and on preserving Serbia’s political independence. Brnabic said today that in the upcoming heating season, the state will try to ensure that citizens have the highest possible heating with the most rational possible energy consumption. Brnabic said that the country will try not to have restrictions and that the heating season will be normal, adding that it is expected that the winter will be extremely difficult, but that Serbia is ready in terms of energy sources and the heating season.

Serbia, US preparing strategic agreements on energy (Tanjug)

Serbia and the US are preparing strategic energy agreements that will create conditions for more investments, Serbian Minister of Mining and Energy Zorana Mihajlovic and US Ambassador to Serbia Christopher Hill said in Pancevo on Tuesday. Mihajlovic noted that Serbia needed investments in the sector and that US companies were interested in investing in it. She said the construction of a Djerdap 3 reversible hydropower plant was the largest project and that the hybrid plant should also rely on solar and wind power to ensure a balanced system. “We are working on reaching a strategic agreement to be able to build new power generation facilities and introduce new technologies,” she said. Hill said the US was seeking a strategic approach and was close to an agreement with Serbia. He said the US was very interested in renewable energy sources and new power generation technologies. The Ambassador noted that the US was always there to help Serbia solve energy problems, and added that energy must be separated from politics. Responding to questions from reporters, Mihajlovic said Serbia needed both government and private investments in the energy sector and that, among other solutions, the country was also considering building modular nuclear power plants.

It’s uncertain whether Pristina’s bid will be on agenda, there’s understanding for Belgrade’s position in CoE (RTS)

In mid-May, an official request for admission of so-called of Kosovo to the Council of Europe (CoE) arrived in Strasbourg. The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe was supposed to discuss this today. Although the chairman of the Committee planned to put that item on the agenda, the Serbian mission in Strasbourg told RTS that Belgrade managed to prevent it through intensive diplomatic efforts. However, they say, the procedures are such that it will not be known until the last moment whether the issue will be discussed today. At the start of the session, the agenda is set once again. At that time, member states can request that Pristina’s request for full membership in the Council of Europe be included in the discussion. “For now, we have encountered understanding from the majority of member countries that it should not be put on the agenda,” said the Ambassador at the Mission of Serbia to the Council of Europe Aleksandra Djurovic. If the Committee of Ministers, which consists of heads of diplomacy of 46 member states, accepts that Pristina’s request should be discussed, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe would make its position known. The final decision would then be made by the Committee of Ministers. In both cases, a two-thirds majority is required for Pristina’s bid to be accepted. The admission procedure can take up to a year, sometimes more. Serbia, for example, submitted its request to the Council of Europe at the end of 2000, we received a report two years later, becoming a member in 2003. Croatia waited six years for admission. “Although is are a large number of countries here that have unfortunately recognized so-called Kosovo, they are also aware that the initiation of the procedure for membership of an unrecognized entity, which cannot be considered a European state, therefore does not satisfy Article 4 of the CoE Statute, in fact, the processing of such a request would open a Pandora’s box for some future situations,” says Aleksandra Djurovic. The question arises as to whether the procedure could be accelerated due to the war in Ukraine. Deputies are free to vote, and their views do not have to be aligned with the views of their governments, but with the views of the parties they come from. “There needs to be much more diplomatic coordination, that is, diplomatic support from international partners. Except for the German chancellor who explicitly said that Kosovo has the support of Berlin, there has been no such explicit support in other international meetings. So it’s difficult to predict, but there is no reason for great optimism, in my opinion,” said analyst Leart Hoxha. Although there are two offices of vice-prime ministers in Pristina that deal with foreign policy, Albin Kurti also established a commission that exclusively deals with the issue of Kosovo’s membership in international organizations. “Essentially, Serbia has several ways to try to prevent this. It’s through certain petitions that can influence countries to vote in favor or against, and they primarily concern non-enactment of certain laws, that is, the lack of respect of human rights in Kosovo. Above all, the rights of the Serbs, the Serb community in Kosovo. The second is that many countries in Western Europe blame the Kosovo government for not implementing the decisions of the Constitutional Court of Kosovo and for not returning the land that was taken from the Visoki Decani monastery,” says journalist Miroslav Mihajlovic. Nemanja Starovic from the Serbian Ministry of Foreign Affairs points out that the very act of Pristina applying for membership in the Council of Europe served as a kind of trigger for the continuation of (Serbia’s) campaign for withdrawals of Kosovo recognitions, which, he stressed, was successfully conducted until September 2020. “During that time as many as 18 countries made a decision to withdraw their recognition of the unilaterally declared independence of Kosovo and Metohija, and since the spring of this year we managed to obtain eight more,” said Starovic. The Council of Europe already has an office in Pristina, and so-called Kosovo is a member of several bodies of this international organization that deals with protection of human rights and democracy.

Some opposition parties, professors, academicians unveil proclamation on unification for defending Kosovo (Beta)

Members of the People’s Party, the Serbian Movement Dveri, the Oath Keepers, the NADA (Hope) coalition, and a group of professors and academicians on Tuesday announced the Proclamation for unification to defend Kosovo and Metohija, which underlines that it is the last moment to change Belgrade’s policy on Kosovo. They have also prepared a Declaration on full reintegration of the province in Serbia’s constitutional and legal system. According to the Declaration, read by Academician Matija Beckovic, all proposals are inadmissible which involve a division, exchange of territory, giving up Kosovo, giving away portions or the entire territory of Kosovo and Metohija, Kosovo’s membership in the U.N., or which in any way jeopardize the future of the province’s integrity within Serbia. “Within the process of ‘full reintegration,’ we are ready to open a dialogue with representatives of the Kosovo Albanians on building a system for the rule of law for all ethnic communities and all citizens, as well as for methods for carrying out constitutional and legal reintegration to the common benefit,” says the Declaration. Misa Djurkovic of the Institute of European Studies said at the presentation that the “inadmissible practice” of foreign countries’ ambassadors humiliating Serbia through local, Serbian media outlets had been introduced in Serbia. Professor Milos Kovic said that the influence of foreign politicians on activities and events in the state had been growing. People’s Party leader Vuk Jeremic reiterated his party’s position that insisting on non-recognition of Kosovo’s independence was not enough. “We should not recognize Kosovo, even if the entire world recognizes it someday,” Jeremic stressed.

Stefanovic: Vucic’s Serbia will defend Kosovo and Metohija (Tanjug/RTV)

Serbian Defense Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic said today that Serbia led by Aleksandar Vucic will manage to defend Kosovo and Metohija. Several writers of proclamations for the defense of Kosovo and Metohija have been doing it almost professionally for decades. A few of them, apparently, do not know what they are doing and think that they are NGOs and initiators of petitions, when in fact they are politicians and MPs. The third ones are really from some NGOs or are “free” intellectuals, but they would like to be in some kind of government, preferably to command the army and the police. All of them together, no matter how hard they try to be different, want only one thing. This is not Kosovo and Metohija as part of Serbia, nor is it correcting a historical injustice, their desire is purely political, to overthrow Aleksandar Vucic. They would not even take his place and make decisions, they would appoint someone else to lead the country, in order to continue to “defend” Kosovo and Metohija from the edge and cover of petitions and proclamations, because that is the only way they know how to lead this fight, Stefanovic said. “It was Aleksandar Vucic, who is attacked by the signatories of the proclamation, who pulled the issue of Kosovo and Metohija out of the abyss into which he was thrown by the same ‘fighters’ for Serbia and its sovereignty, and that is why their pamphlet is a vile subterfuge, which would not have deserved any reaction if it had not what it is. These people are not teenagers, they have many years of public and political involvement behind them and they know very well that they themselves were able to defend Kosovo and Metohija many times. Especially, those who spent years and years in power and had all the levers to do it, but they didn’t want, they didn’t know how and they weren’t brave. Today, they all have the courage to come out with some kind of proclamation to teach the wisdom and state interest of the man who, with a superhuman effort, managed to return Kosovo and Metohija to the field of agreement and understanding, even though everything was already over and catastrophic for Serbia,” said Minister Stefanovic. “The first and only time when Serbia makes its own decisions and does not allow anyone to interfere in them is the era of Aleksandar Vucic and you know it very well. And it is no coincidence that the ambassadors have not been satisfied with Vucic for years, and at the same time Serbia manages to achieve one of the most important of national interests, including those related to Kosovo and Metohija, which thanks to you, for many in the world, the issue has already been resolved, to the detriment of Serbia. This pamphlet is another personal shame for each of you individually and you as a group, which would make Kosovo and Metohija to defend with fiddling and war drums, where you would all stay in Belgrade to do what you only know how to do, to write announcements and proclamations,” said the Minister.

Serbian troops return home from UN mission in Lebanon (N1)

The Serbian Defense Ministry said on Tuesday that a platoon strength unit had returned home from Lebanon after a seven month deployment with the UN peace mission in that country. A press release said that the security platoon was deployed with the Italian contingent in UNIFIL Sector West. It was replaced by troops that were deployed in mid-September from the Serbian military’s Training Command. “The platoon members performed their duties responsibly in line with the mission mandate justifying the reputation of the Serbian soldier and Army of Serbia internationally,” the Ministry press release said. The Serbian military has been engaged in the UN mission in Lebanon since 2010 with security platoons, staff officers and an infantry company which is part of the Spanish contingent in the multi-national brigade sector east.

Konrad: Celebration of German Unity Day overshadowed by new war (Beta)

Germany’s new Ambassador to Serbia Anke Konrad said at a German Unity Day celebration in Belgrade on Tuesdau that the day was being celebrated at a time when war was threatening Europe’s safety again. After a German School in Belgrade choir sang the national anthems of Serbia and Germany in the Jevremovac Botanic Garden, Konrad said that the day for her as an “eastern German” meant freedom. She said that Germany “has the same stance as Serbia” and did not recognize the results of the “fake” referendums held in the Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine. The ceremony was attended by US and French Ambassadors to Serbia Christopher Hill and Pierre Cochard, along with Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic, Minister of Culture Maja Gojkovic, Socialist Party of Serbia leader Ivica Dacic, People’s Party president Vuk Jeremic and Together – We Must whip Nebojsa Zelenovic.

Stano: No plans for new meetings in Belgrade-Pristina dialogue for now (Tanjug/Kosovo Online)

EU spokesperson Peter Stano says there are no plans for new meetings in the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue for the time being, despite a recent agreement to hold future meetings on a monthly basis, Kosovo Online reports. The agreement was made at the latest high-level meeting in August. “At this stage, in early October, we have nothing new to confirm. As always, we will announce every future meeting in Brussels or any new initiative if that is appropriate,” Stano was quoted as saying.

REGIONAL PRESS

B&H Central Election Commission publishes updated preliminary results of General Elections 2022 (N1/Hayat/O Kanal)

N1 brings the latest data of the B&H Central Election Commission (CEC) on results of the general elections in B&H published around 15,00hrs. Based on 93 percent of votes, SDP B&H’s Denis Becirovic won the race for a Bosniak member of the B&H Presidency with 57.26 percent of votes while SDA’s Bakir Izetbegovic won 37.52 percent of votes. Based on 92 percent of votes, DF’s Zeljko Komsic won 54.60 percent of votes, while HDZ B&H’s Borjana Kristo won 45.40 percent of votes in the race for a Croat member of the B&H Presidency. Based on 94 percent of votes, SNSD’s Zeljka Cvijanovic won 52.57 percent of votes in the race for a Serb member of the B&H Presidency, SDS’ Mirko Sarovic won 35.98 percent of vote. Arnautovic said that when it comes to the seat of a President of the RS, the struggle is still underway between SNSD’s Milorad Dodik who won 48.28 percent of votes so far, while PDP’s Jelena Trivic won 43.39 percent of votes. When it comes to the parliament of B&H, the parties that passed the threshold in the FB&H are: SDA (25.1 percent of votes), HDZ B&H and parties gathered around the HNS (15.53 percent), SDP B&H (13.3 percent), DF-GS (10.05 percent), NiP (8.07 percent), NS (4.82 percent). When it comes to the parliament of B&H, the parties that passed the threshold in the RS are: SNSD (42.04 percent), SDS (18.61 percent), PDP (11.69 percent), ‘Za pravdu i red’ (5.33 percent), DNS (5.14 percent), the United Srpska (4.07 percent). As for the FB&H House of Representatives (HoR), the parties that passed the threshold are: SDA (24.51 percent), HDZ B&H and parties gathered around the HNS (14.73 percent), SDP B&H (13.26 percent), DF-GS (10.64 percent) and NS (nearly five percent). Based on 86 percent of votes, SNSD won the majority of seats in the RS parliament, i.e. 35.14 percent, SDS won 15.47 percent, PDP won 9.8 percent, SP won 6.06 percent, DSD won 5.81 percent and the United Srpska won 5.36 percent. ‘Pokret za Drzavu’ list candidate for the RS Vice President Senad Bratic won 9,953 votes, followed by independent candidate Camil Durakovic who won 7,825 votes. According to the results for the cantonal assemblies in the FB&H, based on 70 percent of the counted ballots, SDA has won the highest number of votes, followed by SDP B&H, NiP, DF, HDZ BiH, SB&H and NS. Based on the updated incomplete results, SDA is in the lead in Sarajevo Canton (SC) with 28,808, but it is closely followed by NiP with 28,719 votes. SDP B&H won 24,253 votes. While the winner of the elections in SC remains uncertain, the parties NiP, SDP B&H and Our Party (NS) – known as ‘The Troika’ that formed the SC authorities in the previous mandate – announced the intention to keep their coalition together, alongside Damir Marjanovic from the political party ‘Together for New Generations’ who, as the current results show, won a mandate in the SC Assembly. With these latest results, SDA and NiP each won seven mandates, SDP B&H six, SB&H and NS five each, DF four, and ‘Together for New Generations’ one.

SDA, HDZ B&H and SNSD supposed to get most mandates in B&H parliament (BHT1)

According to the preliminary results published by the B&H Central Election Commission (CEC), more than 86 percent of votes were processed. According to the data, SDA, HDZ B&H and SNSD are supposed to get the most mandates in the B&H parliament. SDA and SNSD won most of the votes for B&H parliament, like in the last elections, noted the reporter. The coalition gathered around HDZ B&H are in the second place, followed by SDP with five mandates. 21 direct mandates and seven compensatory mandates belong to parties from the FB&H. Nine direct mandates and five compensatory mandates belong to parties from the RS. This is the current incomplete distribution of mandates in the B&H parliament, pointed out the reporter. It will be interesting to follow the distribution of compensatory mandates at the B&H level, added the reporter. According to BHT1’s findings, SDA will have two compensatory mandates, one from the RS and one from the FB&H, i.e. Edin Ramic and Safet Keso. People and Justice (NiP) expects one compensatory mandate. When it comes to DF, Zlatan Begic and Vlatko Glavas will directly enter the B&H House of Representatives (HoR). Thanks to one compensatory mandate, Milan Dunovic, the current vice-president of the FB&H, will join them. They also expect a compensatory mandate which could go to Mensura Beganovic. Political analyst Mladen Bubonjic said these results show that the ethno-national parties remained the most popular, and the fear and hatred they sowed bore fruit. Analysts said that the question is how long the formation of government will last if everything continues according to the previous matrix. Although there are still no complete election results, there are already ultimatums, like the ultimatum of the SNSD leader Milorad Dodik that the B&H Minister of Foreign Affairs should be from SNSD. The editor of the Istinomjer portal Dalio Sijah said that he thinks that a long period of negotiations will follow regarding the formation of government at the state level.

Cvijanovic: Goal is to have two-thirds majority in RS parliament to confirm the veto of Serb member of B&H Presidency when there is need for it (ATV/Glas Srpske)

RS President Zeljka Cvijanovic, who won in the race for Serb member of the B&H Presidency, said that when it comes to plans in the B&H Presidency, the goal is clear and it is to have a two-thirds majority in the RS parliament to confirm the veto of the Serb member of the B&H Presidency when there is a need for it. “The essence is that you have a place where you decide, and that place is the RS parliament, thereby affirming the role of the RS parliament, which has the final say,” Cvijanovic underlined. Cvijanovic stated that the opposition parties having a veto power represents a test for political maturity. “I am certain that the results of the opposition are the way they are mostly because they ignored the institutions of Srpska. They neglected the fact that the institutions of Srpska are superior in such situations”, said Cvijanovic.

Covic: Bosniaks have again elected two members of B&H Presidency (ATV/Dnevni list/Nezavisne)

HDZ B&H leader Dragan Covic has stated that Bosniaks have again elected two members of the Presidency of B&H and that one constituent people does not have its own representative. Covic stated that DF’s candidate Zeljko Komsic did not win, because HDZ B&H’s Borjana Kristo received the full support of the Croat people, asking who will represent the views of one of the constituent peoples. Covic said that ‘our’ position in the Presidency of B&H has been usurped again and that the High Representative (HR) reached a decision that will likely enable easier formation of authorities. Covic believes that key agreements among partners (no names mentioned) should be reached in next two to three months, after which HDZ B&H and HNS will raise the issue of Croat member of the Presidency of B&H. When it comes to the intervention into the Election Law of B&H, Covic believes that everyone who has been saying that B&H is a state of three people take the credit for it. He added by saying that when it comes to Croatia, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic invested an enormous effort, believing there would not have been the intervention without Plenkovic’s involvement. Covic said that Kristo will probably have around 20,000 more votes when the final results come in, which means that she has got a plebiscitary support of the Croat people, and it will be clear that the right of the Croat people to elect their own member of B&H Presidency has once again been usurped. Commenting the proposal of Croatian coalition ‘Most’ to declare Komsic persona non grata in Croatia, Covic said he personally supports the idea. Covic said that High Representative Christian Schmidt’s decision to impose changes to B&H Election Law should make the process of formation of new authorities much easier.

Enough with quarrels and divisions, let’s turn to future (Avaz)

In an interview to the daily, newly-elected Bosniak member of the Presidency of B&H Denis Becirovic reminded that he won nearly 200,000 votes in the race for the Bosniak member of the Presidency of B&H four years ago, but the number of votes he won this year was significantly higher. Becirovic thanked “the army of people who invested enormous energy and hard work in the pre-election campaign”. The daily reminded that, according to election results published by the Central Election Commission (CEC) of B&H, Becirovic defeated SDA leader Bakir Izetbegovic in the race for the member of the Presidency of B&H by approximately 100,000 votes. Becirovic thanked both leaders and members of 11 parties which supported his candidacy and he added: “I expected citizens to choose stability, peace and responsibility instead of quarrels, imputations and populism”. Becirovic also argued that he did not use any “dirty tricks and attacks” during his campaign. Asked whether it is high time everyone turned to solving of real problems and leave divisions and quarrels behind, Becirovic replied by saying that there should be no more dilemma about it anymore: “We must start taking care of the most jeopardized categories of population. A high number of our citizens live in poverty. The state must give support to those people and make it possible to live lives worthy of a human being”. Becirovic went on to say that the state must give hope to the youth so that they would stay in the country and added that the victory is not when someone is elected to a position: “We will declare the victory once we reduce poverty, when we improve workers’ rights and incomes, when B&H obtains the candidate status and starts implementing the remaining obligations in the process of accession to the EU, when we fulfill preconditions to join the NATO Alliance”. Becirovic added that most of these things are not in his authority but he noted that it is high time everyone started working together at all levels to create preconditions for a better life and solving of life problems. Becirovic also said that everyone must take care of preservation of peace and stability for every man in the country in the context of turbulent global geopolitical circumstances and he argued: “The easiest, but also the lest ethical, thing to do is to build political popularity on constant spreading of conflicts and tensions. The result of such policy are wealthy politicians and poor citizens. Politicians must urgently stop presenting threats and using irresponsible vocabulary”.

Trivic insists SNSD stole her votes, argues she will go all the way and use all legal and civilized means (Oslobodjenje)

Jelena Trivic was the RS President for two and half hours, after which her main opponent Milorad Dodik (SNSD) declared the election victory. Trivic told the daily that she feels the way she felt on Sunday night, namely as the RS President. Trivic further noted she will go all the way and that legal teams are reporting all irregularities to competent institutions, stressing that ‘we’ will use all legal and civilized means, stressing that SNSD “plundered us”. Among other issues, Trivic told the daily that for three hours during the election night (Sunday), PDP was not getting any results from polling stations in Doboj and that, at certain point, results from Doboj stopped coming in. “We called our people there. They said they are being chased away from the polling stations and that the votes are being counted for the hundredth time”, said Trivic. She further stated that the B&H CEC stated on midnight (Sunday) that results of election for the RS President are not clear because results from polling stations did not arrive on time. Trivic went on to say she will not accept the theft, arguing that people got plundered, not her. “(…) Enough with the plunder. It is clear as a whistle that even some SNSD members voted for me. I know many who did it”, added Trivic.

Komsic: I am not ready at this moment to accept HDZ B&H candidate as B&H CoM Chair designate (Nezavisne)

Although the final election results have not been announced yet, party leaders have already started discussing formation of new authorities. According to unwritten rule, the next Chair of B&H Council of Ministers (B&H CoM) should be a Croat. The Chair designate must be approved by B&H Presidency. DF leader Zeljko Komsic who has been reelected to B&H Presidency stated that this issue will be discussed only after the inauguration of B&H Presidency. He noted that HDZ B&H will probably insist on appointing the CoM Chair designate. Asked if he will accept this, Komsic replied: “I do not believe I am ready to accept that at this moment.” Commenting the formation of new authorities, Komsic said that the Troika coalition, i.e. SDP, NiP and NS, are so focused on ousting SDA from power, that they will probably not mind forming a coalition with HDZ B&H. “HDZ B&H’s conditions will be very much hardline. That is my expectation. It will come in the form of (demand for change of) Election Law. I will surely not give in to HDZ B&H’s demands. If it means that I am not in the ruling coalition, I am not in the ruling coalition. With my current stance and current situation, I would rather go to the opposition, but do not hold me to this,” said Komsic.

Dodik says he already discussed formation of authorities at B&H level with Covic; Dodik points out that B&H CoM cannot be formed without SNSD and HDZ B&H (Al Jazeera/Nova BH/ATV/RTRS)

SNSD leader Milorad Dodik has said that he has already discussed the formation of authorities at the B&H level with leader of HDZ B&H Dragan Covic. Dodik said that SNSD and HDZ B&H are considering who to choose as a partner in the executive authorities at the B&H level from the parties with headquarters in Sarajevo. “If there are no us and HDZ B&H, they cannot form the authorities there at all. It should also be said that the position of a Chairman of the B&H Council of Ministers (CoM) now belongs to Croats in the next four years. In that case, we will ask to get the position of a Minister of Foreign Affairs,” Dodik underlined. Nova BH carries that Dodik stated the RS will insist to get the post of the Foreign Minister in the B&H CoM, noting that B&H does not have foreign policy which was reflected in alleged sanctions against Russia. Commenting on the formation of the B&H CoM, Dodik said he is of view that Bosniaks in Sarajevo will unite and, together with the opposition in the RS, they will try to form the B&H CoM, that would bring B&H into an unpleasant situation, i.e. formation of the government without legitimate representatives of Croats and Serbs. “Now the post of the B&H CoM Chair belongs to Croats for the next four years. In that case, we will request the post of foreign minister. I can freely say that Mr. (Dragan) Covic and I have in principle agreed on that and will work on that. They will certainly – now, when they hear this – all of them will do everything for that not to happen. But, sometimes you find yourself in a situation, both in life and politics, that you cannot do anything, you can only choose.” Dodik also spoke about the composition of the new RS government, stressing that the new RS government will be made up of coalition members who together won more than 60 percent of the votes in the elections, but seats will also be offered to some other political parties. However, according to Dodik, there will not be room for everyone. Dodik pointed out that SNSD will not work with people like PDP leader Branislav Borenovic, PDP Vice President Igor Crnadak and PDP Vice President Jelena Trivic. “There are people in that party who might accept in some circumstances, understanding the position of the RS. I offered it two years ago and they said it was a weakness. Now I am the winner, what is the weakness now,” Dodik said. Dodik offered the opposition to take part in work of a new government by offering them formation of the so-called “concentration government.” Dodik said that they have nothing against the patriotic SDS but they do have something against the current SDS that he characterized as vassal. According to Dodik, SNSD will decide on their relation towards some parties from the ruling coalition for which they know they did not support SNSD candidates for individual functions. President of the SDS Main Board Milan Milicevic already rejected the offer. Vice President of SNSD Zeljka Cvijanovic argued that Dodik offered this because of two-third majority and a veto when interests of the RS are in danger. In her opinion, “this should not be about math but about responsibility”.

Abazovic: Konjevic dismissed as chief coordinator of BOK (CdM)

At Tuesday’s session of the National Security Council, the outgoing Prime Minister Dritan Abazovic dismissed Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Ranko Konjevic from the position of chief coordinator of the Bureau for Operational Coordination, BOK. Abazovic made a statement following the session of the council which lasted almost 5 hours. Speaking about tobacco smuggling, the PM said they concluded that this was the most profitable illegal business in Montenegro, and that they needed to disclose it somehow. “The situation with a truck is only part of a grand scheme. In my opinion, we should support both the SDT and VDT to continue with their activities and investigations. It’s not only about one truck.” The Prime Minister also noted that they would try to get a solution for incineration of all those cigarettes. As for allegations regarding dismissal of the Head of the Revenues and Customs Administration, Rade Milosevic, he said: “It’s not true. I talked to some ambassadors. I’m sorry that the ANB can’t become a media company. Montenegro can’t allow anyone outside it to make decision on behalf of the government. I visited the ANB because of the Russian impact, not to discuss tobacco smuggling.”

Konjevic: Certain indications suggest 90% of cigarettes mentioned by both Abazovic and Milosevic in media were smuggled, while only 10% were destroyed (CdM)

Today’s session of the National Security Council was good and we got some significant information from competent bodies, said the Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Ranko Konjevic. Konjevic was dismissed from the position of chief coordinator of all security services at that same session. “Certain indications suggest that 90% of cigarettes mentioned in the media by Prime Minister Dritan Abazovic and Head of the Revenues and Customs Administration, Rade Milosevic, were smuggled while only 10% were actually destroyed,” he told reporters.

According to him, all those forced appearances of the two in the media were part of a political game, aiming to hide the data they discovered today.

Rade Milosevic resigns (CdM)

Director of the Revenue and Customs Administration (UPC) and URA official Rade Milosevic has resigned from that position today, CdM learns. His resignation has followed a conversation with the Prime Minister in technical mandate and the URA leader Dritan Abazovic due to the current cigarette smuggling scandal, which Milosevic and several UPC officials are currently being linked to. Milosevic, according to CdM’s knowledge, was not willing to resign but did so under pressure. Allegedly, before the decision to resign, Milosevic said, according to CdM sources, that “if he falls, Abazovic will also fall.” Unofficially, Milosevic is negotiating with Special State Prosecutor’s Office to become a cooperating witness. During the last meeting between Milosevic and Abazovic, there were harsh words, and, according to CdM sources, a physical confrontation almost happened.

No need for broad coalition and caretaker government: PM (All media)

There is no need for a broad coalition and a caretaker government because this government has

political legitimacy and capacity to manage the challenges ahead, said Prime Minister Dimitar

Kovachevski on Tuesday. Kovachevski was quizzed about the statement of DS leader Pavle Trajanov about the possibility of a broad coalition that would involve all political parties.

“Trajanov was probably motivated by what I said in the Parliament that all political parties, be it in  power or opposition, should give their maximum in the country’s management of the energy and economic crisis that the entire continent is in,” Kovachevski told a press conference after a meeting with VMRO-DPMNE leader Hristijan Mickoski. He added that the incumbent authorities have been facing challenges since day one in office, expressing assurance that the current crisis will be tackled as well. “This government was elected on January 17 and you asked the same questions back then – whether Skopje will have heating or regarding the electricity supply. We also managed to secure uninterrupted food supply. We successfully managed another peak of the coronavirus. Therefore, I believe we will manage the energy crisis over the next six months,” underlined Kovachevski.

Milevski’s resignation submitted to parliament (All media)

The government forwarded on Tuesday the resignation of Minister of Local Self-Government,

Goran Milevski, to the parliament, and it has already been submitted to the MPs. The parliament said it would announce at a later date the session on Milevski’s resignation. So far, the parliament has not received a proposal for the election of a new Minister of Local Self-Government. According to information from the Liberal Democratic Party, Risto Penov is to be proposed for post. Milevski tendered his resignation on 20 September 20, citing personal reasons. A new session of the parliament is scheduled for 17 October.

Kovachevski: VMRO-DPMNE proposals to be looked into (All media)

VMRO-DPMNE will share its contacts for procurement of cheaper energy resources to the

government, and Economy Minister Kreshnik Bekteshi is tasked to communicate with them in

order to establish if their offers meet the required criteria, said Prime Minister Dimitar Kovachevski after Tuesday’s meeting with VMRO-DPMNE leader Hristijan Mickoski, flanked by the government and opposition party’s economic teams. Kovachevski said the Cabinet elaborated all activities undertaken by the government towards overcoming of the energy crisis, the production of energy companies, and the procurement of coal and mazut. “We highlighted the need for sooner parliamentary approval of all laws related to the overcoming of the energy crisis, such as the law on securing a loan in the amount of EUR 100 million from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to support the operations of Power Plants of North Macedonia (ESM), the Law on Energy, the Law on Oil and its Derivatives, and Budget reallocations for the energy crisis management,” said Kovachevski. Discussions also focused on the transfer of primary and secondary schools onto the regulated electricity market but also health institutions. “In this regard, we also referred to the opposition’s request for inclusion of public utility enterprises on the regulated market, a demand that will be looked into by the Ministry of Economy and the Association of Local Self-Government Units,” said Kovachevski. The PM also informed that the government decided to charge ESM with the task of performing the public service of heating energy production in Skopje after an agreement was signed with company Adora for lease of the heating plants in the capital.

EU Delegation Deputy Head Vassallo comments on several topic (All media)

Regarding the issue of the opening of the Bulgarian club named after Boris III in Ohrid, the Deputy Head of the EU Delegation Julian Vassallo points out that the EU doesn’t deal with history. As he pointed out on Tuesday, the EU wants to look forward, not at matters of the past. Regarding the constitutional changes issue, that is, inclusion of Bulgarians in the Preamble, Vassallo stated that it was about a sovereign decision of the country, but North Macedonia had put itself under an obligation to carry that out. He added that they were in constant contact with the opposition and VMRO-DPMNE, which, as he pointed out, supported Skopje’s EU path.

At a certain point, according to Vassallo, they will have to take responsibility if they want to see the country on that path.

Elections 2023/Meta after the meeting with Begaj: The date is not important, but pluralism restoring (Radio Tirana)

Setting a date for the 2023 local elections has made President Bajram Begaj kick off consultations with political parties.  Ilir Meta was also in the meeting with Begaj, who told the media that the date is not important, but instead that pluralism is restored. “The return of the opposition to the municipal councils will contribute to strengthening accountability in the assembly. The specific date belongs to the president and I don’t believe that a week before or so is important, he is the one who should judge after listening to all the actors. It is important that the date be known as soon as possible, that the parties take measures to prepare for the elections and that all those who wish to contribute to the candidates know the date of this celebration of democracy,” said Meta. Begaj will also host the SP parliamentary group leader, Taulant Balla, the DP group leader, Enkelejd Alibeaj, as well as the two leaders of small parliamentary groups, Mesila Doda and Fatmir Mediu. According to the Electoral Code, elections in Albania take place in the periods from 15 April to 15 May or from 15 October to 15 November.

Kosovo customs at Durres Harbor, Ibrahimaj: We aim for a customs unification (Radio Tirana)

From 1 October, the customs clearance of all goods destined to Kosovo is being carried out at the customs of Durres. Albanian Minister of Finance and Economy Delina Ibrahimaj and Kosovan Minister of Finance Labor and Transfers Hekuran Murati paid a visit today to the customs branch in Durres, where a Kosovo Customs Office also operates. Minister Ibrahimaj announced that there are 1040 businesses from Kosovo that currently benefit from the opening of this branch, which not only save time, but also reduce customs clearance costs. The Kosovo Customs Office at Durres Harbor started operating on 1 September, to initially clear only articulated trucks and fuel. Since 1 October, customs clearance procedures are carried out for all types of goods. Minister Ibrahimaj emphasized that since Friday, 70% of the processed declarations are compiled for customs clearance and not transit passage, which speaks of a high interest of the business to complete the process at the Durres Harbor. The Minister listed some of the facilities that have been offered to businesses thanks to the cooperation of the two governments, while stating that intensive work is being done for the customs unification. “Working groups from both countries are working in carrying out an analysis for the customs unification, in order to remove all barriers and bureaucracies between the two countries and to lift obstacles in trade cooperation too. The customs unification is a step further in terms of facilities than the presence of Kosovo customs point in Durres,” said the Ibrahimaj.