LOCAL PRESS

Brnabic raises Open Balkans issue, says it has ‘nothing to do with politics’ (N1)

Serbian prime minister Ana Brnabic urged the authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) to consider joining in the Open Balkans initiative. Speaking at the opening of the Mostar International Business Fair she said the initiative is not about politics. “I am asking everyone in B&H to think about engaging in the Open Balkans initiative. This has nothing to do with politics except in reducing tensions. We would benefit from a stronger involvement of Montenegro too. This initiative is about opening borders, a full flow of people, capital and services. About different inspections that are fully harmonized, about making sure that our economy and our people benefit more from our cooperation,” she said. Brnabic said her presence at the Mostar fair shows the importance Serbia attaches to its relations with B&H adding that Serbia is represented by a huge delegation from various industries, and that she is accompanied by officials from the parliament of Serbia. “I must say that this whole delegation shows how much importance we give to this fair, but also how much importance we give to our relations with B&H as well as the whole region,” she said. Brnabic also emphasized the meeting she held with Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic a day ago in Zagreb, saying that everyone will take the same path towards the stable Balkans. She gave a few recent examples which, as she said, speak about Serbia’s intentions. “For instance, bilateral exchange between B&H and Serbia was doubled over the past ten years. Only in ten years we managed to increase the exchange two times. B&H is Serbia’s second trade partner. Germany is first, then comes B&H. And third, we can point out that Serbia is B&H’s third export partner. Only when you see these three parameters it is entirely clear how important we are to each other and how important our potential is,” said Brnabic. She stressed that the countries should rely on each other and thanked for invitation. “The results of this fair will be even better results for the next years. Results in 2022 were excellent. Mutual exchange increased by 33 percent, export from B&H to Serbia increased by 40 percent. Mostar fair played an important role in that,” according to her.

Dacic: Pristina to continue to avoid establishment of Community (RTS/Tanjug)

Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic said on Monday Pristina had been working for a decade on avoiding the establishment of a Community of Serb Municipalities and would continue that policy in the next round of the Brussels dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina on Tuesday. “Pristina will try to minimize the significance of the Community of Serb Municipalities, from its name, statute and steering team to its powers,” Dacic told reporters after laying a wreath at the grave of Serbian Socialist Dimitrije Tucovic on International Workers’ Day on behalf of the Socialist Party of Serbia. Dacic noted that he had last week attended a UN Security Council session that had addressed the Community of Serb Municipalities among other topics and that the UN body had also discussed the same subject ten years ago. “We heard the same thing ten years ago. Everyone was delighted with that historic act. Ten years have passed and a Community of Serb Municipalities has not happened yet,” Dacic said. He said he believed it was clear to everyone that Serbia insisted on the Community being formed and that it was the first point of the Ohrid agreement. He added that Pristina’s PM Albin Kurti was generating crises on a daily basis to lead to a “conclusion” that the conditions for forming a Community were still not in place. “Their expectation is to expel the Serbs and that there will be no need for a Community of Serb Municipalities. Serbia has a firm position. We will stand with our people in Kosovo and Metohija. One thing is certain ahead of tomorrow’s meeting – Serbia will be constructive and President Vucic is ready for that meeting,” Dacic concluded.

Drecun: Opening of Mitrovica bridge would pave way for expulsion of Serbs (RTS)

The Chair of the Serbian parliamentary committee for Kosovo and Metohija Milovan Drecun said on Monday Pristina was using institutional violence and that last week’s local elections in the north of Kosovo and Metohija were a “simulation”. “In fact, this is institutional violence that Pristina is carrying out against the people in the north by forming alleged municipal assemblies and appointing mayors,” Drecun told the RTS. Commenting on Pristina’s decision to open to traffic a bridge on the Ibar River that separates the northern and the southern part of ethnically divided Kosovska Mitrovica, Drecun said there were several other crossable bridges on the river but that, to Pristina and ethnic Albanians, the Kosovska Mitrovica bridge was the most important one. “Let’s look at events since the arrival of international forces. All attempts by ethnic Albanians to break into the north of Kosovo-Metohija, to literally take control of it and expel the Serbs, have gone across that bridge. Do you remember mass protests by thousands and thousands of ethnic Albanians – including many extremists – who opened fire at Serbs from automatic firearms? They fired shots from sniper rifles from the south of Kosovska Mitrovica in an attempt to get across that bridge,” Drecun said. He said the bridge had been discussed on several occasions as part of the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue and that some solutions had been offered and some agreements reached. But, all of a sudden, we now have a situation where Pristina wants to open that bridge to traffic, which would be an immediate threat to the survival of Serbs in the north of Kosovo and Metohija, he said. “It is good that the KFOR command has said the issue must be resolved through dialogue, rather than by such unilateral attempts by ethnic Albanians. Secondly, Belgrade is trying to calm the situation with Pristina through talks,” Drecun said. He said Tuesday’s high-level meeting in Brussels would be very important and enable discussions on other political issues. “I assume that this newly-arisen situation could be discussed as well,” Drecun said. Opening of the Ibar bridge would pave the way for a mass incursion by ethnic Albanians that would be aimed at expelling local Serbs and destabilizing the situation, he said.

Lajcak: Tuesday’s Brussels meeting to be particularly important (Tanjug)

The EU special envoy for the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue Miroslav Lajcak said Tuesday’s Brussels meeting of the dialogue would be particularly important. Recapping last week’s activities in a Facebook post, Lajcak said he had met with Pristina’s PM Albin Kurti at the Delphi Economic Forum to “prepare in detail for the upcoming High-level Meeting on 2 May, which will be a particularly important one”. He said he had also met with Greek FM Nikos Dendias to update him “on the latest in the Dialogue” as well as with the UK’s Western Balkan envoy Stuart Peach. He also announced he was heading to Bosnia and Herzegovina to meet with numerous interlocutors and get first-hand information on positions and problems in the country.

Good, high-quality step forward in relations between Serbia, Croatia this year (RTS)

Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said Sunday in Zagreb that she wants the visits of officials from the two countries to be more frequent and that all open issues be discussed in the most rational way, on topics that are important for the future of citizens and the economy.

At the assembly of the Serbian National Council in Zagreb, Brnabic expressed her satisfaction that the leaders of the two countries managed to make a good and high-quality step forward in 2023, primarily thanks to Milorad Pupovac and Minister Tomislav Zigmanov, to whom she expressed her gratitude. The Prime Minister welcomed the signed Declaration on the Cooperation of Serbs from Croatia and Croats from Serbia, which was signed by representatives of minority political parties in Serbia and Croatia in January of this year. I sincerely hope that in this way a new dimension of cooperation has been opened that will give concrete results very soon, and perhaps my visit and stay in Zagreb today is precisely the concrete result of this, Brnabic stressed. We expect political consultations between the ministries of foreign affairs of our two countries to take place this year, and we will work on that, she said. Brnabic noted that today she had good and concrete discussions with Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic regarding projects, such as the re-establishment of railway traffic between Belgrade, Zagreb and Ljubljana, and also, as she said, they touched on all open issues, no matter how difficult or emotional they are. We talked about how to go about solving these issues, she underlined. When it comes to the Serbian community in Croatia, the government of Serbia and President Vucic are deeply committed and care about that community feeling that it has all the help and support at all times, she said. She stated that since 2016, from year to year, more and more financial investments have been made in the projects of the Serbian community in Croatia, stating that more than €6 million has been invested so far. Additional aid was sent to Croatia in the amount of €2.5 million for remediation of the consequences of the earthquake, and additional aid was sent to the Serbian Orthodox Church in Croatia, Brnabic said and added that the doors of all institutions in Serbia, including the President, are open for dialogue with representatives of the Serbs in Croatia, but also of the Croats in Serbia. According to her, our nations are directed towards each other and are and must be one of the most necessary guarantors of peace, stability and prosperity in this part of Europe.

New round of high-level dialogue to be held in Brussels on Tuesday (Tanjug)

EU foreign policy and security chief Josep Borrell has called for Tuesday a high-level meeting of the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue that will address a draft statute of a Community of Serb Municipalities and a declaration on missing persons. Forty-five days after an Ohrid meeting at which the parties agreed an annex to an EU proposal on normalization of Belgrade-Pristina relations, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Pristina’s PM Albin Kurti will meet in Brussels again, with facilitation from Borrell and in attendance of EU special envoy Miroslav Lajcak. According to a statement released by the European External Action Service, Borrell will make a statement after the meeting. Unlike in previous rounds of the dialogue, a trilateral meeting will not be preceded by a bilateral one – instead, all parties will hold a joint meeting at the very start of discussions, announced for 6 pm. “The meeting will focus on the implementation of the Agreement on the path to normalization between Kosovo and Serbia. The Parties are expected to endorse the Declaration on Missing Persons as a first agenda item, to be followed by the presentation of/a discussion on the first draft statute of the Association/Community of Serb majority Municipalities in Kosovo. The Parties will also have the opportunity to discuss current issues of political importance,” the statement said. The past 45 days saw many political issues raised – Pristina was given visa liberalization and also held early local elections in four Serb-majority municipalities in the north of Kosovo and Metohija, which were boycotted by the Serb population. The Council of Europe launched the procedure of the so-called Kosovo’s admission to the organization and a newly-elected ethnic Albanian majority in the Kosovska Mitrovica municipal assembly filed a motion to open to traffic the main bridge on the Ibar River, a key hotspot since 1999. Pristina has also announced amendments to its expropriation law, perceived in the Serbian public as being aimed at facilitating seizures of land from local Serbs for the purpose of building military and police bases. A series of incidents that have taken place in the period include the shooting and wounding of Serb Milan Jovanovic, who was nearly killed in the attack. As a result, local Serbs started a petition for a withdrawal of Pristina’s special forces from the north of the province and Serbian top state officials held a meeting with Kosovo Serb representatives in Raska, central Serbia, after which the Serbian government adopted a package of measures. Also, the chief negotiators of Belgrade and Pristina, Petar Petkovic and Besnik Bislimi, met on 4 April, after which the topics of today’s Vucic-Kurti meeting were announced. A month after the Ohrid meeting, a joint committee was set up to monitor the implementation of the Ohrid Agreement and the accompanying annex. The Committee will be chaired by Lajcak and Belgrade and Pristina will be represented by Petkovic and Agron Bajrami, respectively. All details regarding the Committee’s way of work will be specified after the high-level meeting in Brussels.

REGIONAL PRESS

Konakovic and Niksic speak about authority formation, EU path of B&H with Lajcak (BHT1/N1)

B&H Minister of Foreign Affairs Elmedin Konakovic met in Sarajevo on Monday with the EU special envoy for dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, and the Western Balkans, Miroslav Lajcak. Lajcak congratulated the formation of the authorities at all levels, with special emphasis on the importance of the formation of the FB&H government. He also welcomed the granting of candidate status to B&H, and placed a focus on fulfilling 14 key priorities from the opinion of the European Commission. He expressed the readiness of the member states of the EU to help B&H on its European path. FB&H Prime Minister Nermin Niksic also met with Lajcak on Monday. The topics of discussion were the EU path of BiH, and the steps that the authorities in the FB&H should take on that path. Lajcak expressed hope that the new FB&H government will work in an accelerated way on unblocking of processes and joint cooperation on the EU path. They also discussed ratification of the three regional agreements on mobility within the Berlin Process. Konakovic expressed hope that B&H will ratify the agreements modeled on countries that already did this.

Lajcak attends meetings with Covic, Kristo in Mostar (BHT1)

After visiting Sarajevo, the EU special envoy for dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, and the Western Balkans, Miroslav Lajcak traveled to Mostar where he met with HDZ B&H leader Dragan Covic. Lajcak attended a meeting with Chairwoman of the BiH Council of Ministers (BiH CoM) Borjana Kristo as well. No statements for the press were made, but BHT1 learned that topics of these meetings were B&H’s EU path, as well as reforms that await B&H on that path.

Plenkovic meets Kristo, Covic; Plenkovc expresses his satisfaction with stabilization of political dialogue in B&H (BHT1)

Prime Minister of the Republic of Croatia, Andrej Plenkovic, arrived for a two-day visit to Mostar on Monday, where he first met with Bishop of Mostar-Duvno Peter Palic. After the meeting with the Bishop, Plenkovic spoke with Chairwoman of the B&H CoM Borjana Kristo, and President of the Croat People’s Assembly (HNS), Dragan Covic, where he expressed his full support for the activities of the HNS. At the meeting, officials discussed the stabilization of political conditions in B&H, current political issues related to the establishment of authorities at all levels, with special reference to the establishment of authorities at the level of the FB&H, upcoming changes to the Election Law with an emphasis on the B&H Presidency, as well as getting the candidate status for membership in the EU. Covic and Kristo expressed their gratitude to Plenkovic for all the efforts made to solve the numerous challenges to which the Croat people in B&H have been systematically exposed for decades, along with strong advocacy at the European and international level. Plenkovc expressed his satisfaction with the stabilization of the political dialogue in B&H, stressing that Croatia remains B&H’s strongest partner. He emphasized that the Republic of Croatia will continue to strongly support B&H on its European path and the opening of accession negotiations with the EU as soon as possible.

Becirovic, Dodik, SDA comment on HR Schmidt’s decisions (BHT1)

For days, reactions have been coming regarding the recent decisions of High Representative in B&H, Christian Schmidt. Opinions on the adopted decisions vary, and while some support the decisions, others criticize them and announce new protests. B&H Presidency member Denis Becirovic said that he does not support one-time solutions. On the other hand, RS President Milorad Dodik said Schmidt’s decisions will not be applied in the RS or published in the Official Gazette of this entity. On Sunday, Dodik said the RS institutions will regulate all the stated areas and Schmidt’s moves are simply pointless, since they will not be applied in the RS. SDA said the HR’s decision represents a “scandalous suspension of the FB&H Constitution”. On the other side, parties gathered in ‘The Eight’ coalition are mostly satisfied with Schmidt’s decisions as they unblocked the process of authority formation. In the meantime, members of ‘ReStart’ group expressed dissatisfaction over the HR’s decision, and they announced a new protest for 9 May. They believe Schmidt did not resolve issues in the country by adopting such decisions.

RS government sends 29th report to UN Security Council (ATV)

In the 29th report to the UN Security Council, the government of the RS pointed to the political progress achieved after the general elections in October last year, the rapid formation of coalition authorities at the B&H level and the commitment of all factors to normalize the situation. The report also points to the frequent attempts of SDA to sabotage functioning at the B&H level and cooperation between the peoples in B&H. However, as the RS government stated in the report, regardless of that, there is reason for relative optimism among officials because, for the first time in many years, SDA does not have its own people in the B&H Presidency and the B&H Council of Ministers (CoM). “SDA is an Islamist party that has publicly and repeatedly advocated the abolition of the constitutional structure of B&H guaranteed by the Dayton Agreement in favor of a unitary state in which one people – the Bosniaks – would dominate. SDA also pursues a policy of spite towards the RS, blocking its economic development projects whenever possible, even those that B&H as a whole would benefit from, only to make life more difficult for the citizens of the RS,” reads the report of the RS government to the UN Security Council. According to the RS government’s report, SDA persistently refuses to comply with the constitutional provisions that require distribution of power among the constituent peoples of B&H and has taken control of many institutions at the level of B&H in an effort to dominate all important authority levers. In addition, as stated in the report to the UN Security Council, SDA has a close ally in Zeljko Komsic, “who is only technically Croat member of the B&H Presidency”, whose support base is almost entirely Bosniak voters. “Since the formation of the multi-ethnic coalition at the B&H level, SDA often portrays the Bosniak parties and coalitions as traitors to the Bosniak people because they are ready to cooperate with the Serb and Croat parties on initiatives that the citizens of the entire B&H would benefit from,” the report of the RS government to the UN Security Council says.

Djurovic: This will be a record season, guests coming from Germany, Great Britain, Scandinavia… (CdM)

This will be a record season, Minister of Economic Development and Tourism Goran Djurovic has announced in a statement for CdM. “Based on the record pre-season indicators, it is realistic to expect that the 2023 season will be the best so far. Numerous events are held throughout Montenegro, which has encouraged a large number of tourists to visit Montenegro. Such a trend will continue in the coming period,” Djurovic points out.

Djurovic says that, in addition to the region where we are traditionally the first destination to visit, citizens of Western Europe, primarily Germany, Great Britain, France, as well as Scandinavian countries, show great interest in Montenegro. “We must not forget Israel and Poland, which are showing increasing interest,” Minister Djurovic concludes in his statement for CdM.

Kovachevski: Courts independent branch, any interference to be reported as per procedures (All media)

Neither I as Prime Minister nor any other minister have interfered in the work of the Judicial Council or the Council of Public Prosecutors. The judicial authorities should be under no political influence. If someone has interfered in their work, they should report this as per procedures, said Prime Minister Dimitar Kovachevski on Friday. Asked by reporters about the dismissal of Judicial Council President Vesna Dameva, PM Kovachevski said he agreed with the Justice Minister, who has asked to see the minutes of the session. “Since the day I was appointed Prime Minister, neither me nor any other minister have interfered in the work of the Judicial Council or the Council of Public Prosecutors, and all citizens could witness events in the Judicial Council through the live broadcast. The judicial authorities should be up to the task and under no political influence,” said Kovachevski. The PM added he has not met any court president, “and if someone has interfered in their work, they should report this as per procedures”. On Wednesday, Judicial Council President Vesna Dameva was dismissed at the proposal of her deputy Selim Ademi. NGOs and experts have said that Dameva’s dismissal was unlawful and contrary to the Rules of Procedures. A session on the election of a new president was cancelled on Thursday and rescheduled for 2 May.

US Embassy expects independent judiciary regardless of who is in charge (Alsat-M)

In response to the latest events in the Judicial Council, the United States Embassy to North Macedonia voiced hope for an independent and responsible judiciary regardless of who is in charge. “The US Embassy hopes that there will be an independent and responsible judiciary in the country, regardless of who is in charge. This is essential to building public trust in the institutions in North Macedonia,” the US Embassy told TV Alsat in response to the dismissal of Judicial Council President Vesna Dameva. The Judicial Council unexpectedly dismissed President Vesna Dameva at a public session on Wednesday. The reason given for her dismissal was Dameva’s refusal to place a new item on the agenda and the alleged hiding of Ambassador Aggeler’s letter. Her dismissal was initiated by her deputy, Selim Ademi, who after several hours of tensions and arguments, received the support of 7 out of 13 members of the Council to dismiss Dameva from her post. Dameva’s successor was supposed to be elected on Thursday, but the session was postponed to 2 May. The Council’s Vice-President, Selim Ademi, requested the postponement due to, he said, the importance of the affair of electing a new President which warrants the presence of all 13 members. After her dismissal, Dameva accused of anarchy in the Council, and labeled the decision as illegal, claiming that it has been adopted in order “to satisfy certain individuals from politics”. After the postponement of the session on Thursday, she said she hopes that in the coming days there will be enough time to see if the necessary majority has been secured in order to legalize her “illegal dismissal”. Reactions to Dameva’s dismissal and the overall situation in the judiciary came from the President of the country, the Ministry of Justice, as well as from legal experts. On Friday, the President of the Supreme Court, Besa Ademi, also called for a resolution of the situation in the Judicial Council in the interest of the citizens and the state.

Geer: Rule of law essential for country’s Euro-integration processes (All media)

The rule of law is essential for the country’s Euro-integration processes, said the EU Ambassador to North Macedonia, David Geer, in answer to a journalist’s question on Friday, regarding the events at the Judicial Council. According to the Ambassador, this includes the development of an independent and professional judiciary according to the highest standards. “In the last few weeks and months we’ve witnessed events that do not move in the direction that we in the EU expect, in the direction of meeting the standards necessary for your country’s EU integrations. There is no shortcut that will lead to the implementation of reforms related to the rule of law. We expect the process of reforms to continue in a decisive way, because this is the only way in which the country can become an EU member, and above all, this is in the interest of the citizens,” said Ambassador Geer. The Ambassador said he could assure the Macedonian citizens that they will be monitoring all developments related to the rule of law closely, from the very first day of the accession process and up until the last day, when the country becomes an EU member state.

Rama says Belsh should become a radiant mirror of a new agriculture (Radio Tirana)

Prime Minister, Edi Rama has stated from Belsh that once this place was a pond surrounded by garbage, while today it is a tourist attraction. He said that within one year over 150 thousand visitors and tourists have been registered in Belsh. Belshi, Rama emphasized, should become an example of a new agricultural enterprise, so that people can join forces and know-how to produce with quality and sell the product together. According to the head of the government, Belsh should become a radiant mirror of a new agriculture. “Here we are moving on with renewable energy and with the collection system. As I wanted Belsh to become an example and it is today one of the examples of urban renaissance, we will do our best, so it becomes too an example of a new agricultural enterprise where people join forces and knowledge to produce quality products and sell it together. Because having a large quantity, you decide the price,” he added among others. Next, Rama stopped at the new generation of the irrigation system. “We have done extraordinary work to clean the canals, but we have to move from the irrigation canals to the water that comes by pipe for every farmer to ration it, and the strategic reservoir is used in a rational way,” said the Prime Minister.

The work and contribution of workers, at the foundation of economic growth (Radio Tirana)

The speaker of the Assembly of Albania, Lindita Nikolla, wished today 1 May, the Workers’ Day. “Today is 1 May, is the Workers’ Day. The work, contribution and voice of the workers are at the foundation of Albania’s progress and economic growth. Welfare and quality of life of working people, decent work, especially for women, girls and young generation, salary increase, narrowing the gender and age gap in salaries and improving working conditions are priorities of the Assembly of Albania”, underscores Nikolla. The speaker of the Assembly, said also that “the dedication to European Albania, the advancement of reforms, social justice, increased investments, the improvement of public services and good governance are the best investment for working people”.