LOCAL PRESS

Dacic: Serbia is appreciated worldwide (Radio Serbia, by Mladen Bijelic)

Serbia’s reputation in the world has grown. Formerly a factor of disturbance, it has now become a factor of stability and cooperation in the region and is appreciated worldwide, stressed Foreign Minister and First Deputy Prime Minister Ivica Dacic at a regular monthly conference at the Foreign Ministry. Dacic assessed that this success would enable Serbia to be more successful and efficient in the realization of its national interests, the priority interest being EU membership. Our goal is membership in the EU and the cherishing and development of relations with traditionally friendly countries, with which we have interests in common, he added.

The highest state officials have had numerous contacts worldwide and in the past two months, since he was appointed foreign minister, Dacic has met with the foreign ministers of forty countries. He also announced intensive diplomatic activities for this month as well, one of the first being a visit to Vienna and the presentation of Serbia’s OSCE presidency strategy. He informed the press that, late next year, Belgrade would host an OSCE ministerial conference, stressing that development of cooperation with that institution, which has significant authorities in Kosovo and Metohija as well, is also one of the strategic priorities. Dacic said that next week in Moscow, Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic would discuss bilateral relations and economic topics with the highest Russian officials. The Prime Minister’s visit to Moscow will be a working one, he said, adding that we should meet with other countries’ officials and that Serbian leaders should also meet with the U.S. president and British officials.

Platinum Wolf 2014 exercise underway in Bujanovac (Tanjug)

Platinum Wolf 2014 – a military exercise involving 270 servicemen from Serbia, Bulgaria, Romania, Azerbaijan, Macedonia, Croatia and the United States – is underway at Base South in Bujanovac, southern Serbia. The objective of the exercise, which began on 30 June and ends on 10 July, is experience-sharing and training in handling non-lethal weapons, as well as training in activities required for peacekeeping missions. The first day of the exercise featured specialized training in handling motor vehicles and small arms used by the Serbian Armed Forces, the Serbian Armed Forces said on their website. The multinational tactical exercise involves 60 Serbian Armed Forces officers and soldiers, 25 each from the Bulgarian and Romanian armed forces, 30 from the Azerbaijani armed forces and 32 Macedonian soldiers. Also participating are 14 officers, NCOs and professional soldiers from the Croatian armed forces and 86 members of the United States military, the statement said. The exercise activities will consist of two phases, with the first phase dedicated to training on non-lethal weapons, to be conducted by U.S. instructors. During the training, participants will familiarize themselves with the capabilities of non-lethal weapons and receive training on arrest procedures conducted without temporary incapacitation devices, as well as on using batons and controlling mass gatherings. The second phase of the exercise, dedicated to peacekeeping operations, will include activities such as providing assistance in combat operations, infantry and reconnaissance patrols, protection for forces, searches and blockades and disabling explosive ordnance.

Seselj demands damages due to unfounded detainment (Beta)

The leader of the Serbian Radical Party Vojislav Seselj has asked the ICTY to compensate the damage amounting to 12 million Euros due to unfounded detainment lasting eleven and a half years. Referring to the rules and standards of the International Pact on Civil and Political Rights, European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Basic Freedoms and the Roman Statute of the International Criminal Tribunal, Seselj has asked damages due to the permanent damage inflicted to his health, reputation and honor, mental pain, lost profit and contributions to retirement and disability insurance, unused work relations rights, costs of custody and everything resulting therefrom as tangible and intangible damage.

Italy presents a new program of EU presidency (Beta)

Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said in the European Parliament that the EU must restore trust in its institutions or would stay without a future. Europe is showing fatigue, said Renzi presenting a program of Italy’s EU presidency at a plenary session in Strasbourg and added that must change. He said that short-term financial issues were important, but that one must also face much more serious challenges – such as finding Europe’s soul. He said that, during its six-month presidency, Italy would focus on economic growth and employment issues.

REGIONAL PRESS

Bosnia’s EU bid supported by 77.8 percent of citizens (Oslobodjenje)

Lawmakers in state and entity parliaments estimated that they have more knowledge about the EU than NATO and that Bosnia’s EU bid is supported by 77.8 per cent of citizens. The survey was based on opinions of lawmakers and journalists.
Prices in RS higher 100 percent (Nezavisne novine)

Prices of fruits and vegetables on markets in the Republika Srpska are higher for 100 percent in comparison to last year. Sellers said that the fruits and vegetables are mostly imported what affected the prices too, while many domestic products were destroyed in the floods.

INTERNATIONAL PRESS

Kosovo Opposition Lines Up Against Thaci (BIRN, by Edona Peci, Nektar Zogiani, 3 July 2014)

Hashim Thaci’s ruling Democratic Party of Kosovo is convinced it will succeed in forming a new government, but it’s unclear how it will get the votes, with the opposition united against him.

Thanks to Kosovo’s Constitutional Court, Hashim Thaci is assured that he will get the first chance at forming the next government – but the odds of success are stacked against him. The reason is simple: a group of opposition parties representing a majority in the next parliament has vowed to stop him.

Nevertheless, Thaci’s Democratic Party of Kosovo, PDK, has voiced confidence that it will get the votes.

The PDK “won’t have any problem in forming the new government because we have the necessary votes of the electorate and we will have the votes of MPs in the Kosovo parliament,” said Basri Musmurati, secretary of the PDK.

The PDK won the biggest share of the votes in the June 8 national elections. But its 30 per cent only bought it 37 seats in parliament. Assuming every PDK MP was to vote for Thaci, he would still need another 24 votes to reach the 61 needed to secure a third mandate.

But it’s unclear how he will get those votes. A post-election coalition of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo, AAK, the Democratic League of Kosovo, LDK, and Nisma represent 47 votes and have vowed to block Thaci in favor of Ramush Haradinaj. The Vetevendosje Movement, representing 16 votes, has also vowed to block Thaci and is in negotiations to put its weight behind Haradinaj. All told, that’s 63 votes that Thaci probably won’t get.

“Hashim Thaci has few or no options at all to achieve the necessary numbers to establish a new government at this time,” said political analyst Shpend Kursani.

“This is because the opposition bloc is solid in its stand to not cooperate with Thaci,” he added.

But Kursani said this might change if Vetevendosje does not back the opposition bloc, which could lead it to fall apart, potentially bringing votes to Thaci.

So for Thaci to prevail he needs to persuade one or more of the parties to join his camp – or convince individual MPs to vote for him instead.

He also would also probably need votes from at least some of the 20 MPs from minority parties which have backed him in the past.

But the biggest bloc, the Belgrade-backed “Srpska” List, is so far refusing to back any PM candidate with its nine votes.

“Srpska does not want to choose who will be first in the Albanian community in Kosovo. That should be decided by the Albanian majority. We will work with those who will be picked by the Albanian majority,” said Branimir Stojanovic, mayor of Gracanica and one of the leaders of Srpska List.

But before the political process can move forward, the Central Election Commission has to certify results. Once certified, President Atifete Jahjaga can nominate a candidate for Prime Minister.

Based on Tuesday’s Constitutional Court decision, Jahjaga will have to nominate the candidate proposed by the PDK, who presumably will be Thaci.

Should Thaci fail to form a government, the president can nominate whomever she wants other than Thaci. The court, however, suggested the president should nominate the person who stands the best chance of forming a government. Should the opposition bloc hold – and it secures Vetevendosje’s backing – it would presumably be Haradinaj.

Jahjaga had asked for the court’s opinion in June because both the PDK and the opposition bloc were insisting that they had the right to form the next government.

The PDK argued it should get the nod because it had the most votes. The opposition bloc, however, said it should get to form the government because it would be able to win a majority in parliament.

Bid to Sack Bosnia Ministers Condemned as ‘Pointless’ (BIRN, by Elvira M. Jukic, 3 July 2014)

An opposition initiative to sack the Bosnian foreign and defence ministers is not likely to gain enough support and has been slammed as irrelevant so close to elections in October.

The Bosnia Parliament is expected to vote on Thursday over the opposition-proposed dismissal of Foreign Minister Zlatko Lagumdzija and the Defence Minister Zekerijah Osmic.
But Lazar Prodanovic of the largest Serb party in Parliament, the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats, SNSD, told Balkan Insight that lawmakers from his party would not support the dismissals because it would achieve nothing in the short period before the elections.
“I think that the opposition initiative is pointless on the eve of the elections. Another thing is that there are many more important things at the moment than changing the ministers,” Prodanovic said.
Lawmakers from the opposition Alliance for a Better Future, SBB, demanded Laumdzija’s and Osmic’s dismissals because the party’s own leader Fahrudin Radoncic was recently dismissed from the post of Security Minister over accusations he failed to prevent unrest during mass protests in February.
The protests over poverty, corruption and unemployment spread across the country and turned violent, and official buildings were burned in Tuzla, Zenica, Mostar and Sarajevo. Four prime ministers of cantons in Bosnia’s Federation entity subsequently resigned.

Radoncic was dismissed at the end of April and then parliamentarians from his SBB party started the process of seeking the foreign and defence ministers’ dismissal.
SBB lawmakers said that Lagumdzija’s dismissal had been demanded by the protesters in the February while Osmic was blamed for a lack of reaction to a military celebration in Banja Luka in May which, according to the SBB, harmed the Bosnian Army.
But majority of lawmakers are likely not to support the dismissals.
Niko Lozancic of the Croatian Democratic Union in Bosnia and Herzegovina, HDZ BiH, told Balkan Insight that this party still has not decided how its lawmakers would vote but added that if the two ministers are dismissed there would no longer be a Council of Ministers.
“This is a bit of fun for the people, I would say,” he argued.

“We discussed this within the party and we have a dilemma now, what would happen to the Council of Ministers if these two are dismissed? We would constitutionally have no Council of Ministers, without Bosniaks,” he said.
The Bosnian state-level government in comprised of three ministers from each of the country’s largest ethnic groups, Bosniaks, Serbs and Croats. Lagumdzija and Osmic are holding the seats of Bosniak ministers and without them there would be no Bosniaks, because one has been appointed to Radoncic’s empty chair.

Macedonia Prosecutor Slammed Over PM ‘Bribery’ Case (BIRN, by Sinisa Jakov Marusic, 3 July 2014)

An anti-corruption NGO condemned the state prosecutor for refused to proceed with charges against Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski, accused of taking a bribe to aid an illegal bank sell-off.

Prominent anti-corruption NGO Transparency Macedonia, TM, a prominent anti-corruption NGO, condemned the decision by the chief prosecutor Marko Zvrlevski not to proceed with the case against Gruevki, who is accused of taking a bribe of 1.5 million euro to expedite the sale of Makedonska Banka AD to Serbian businessman Jovica Stefanovic, aka ‘Gazda Nini’ (‘Nini the Boss’) in 2004.
“This prosecutor’s decision in the case of Makedonska Banka only cements the condition of a zombie-state where laws exist but are clinically dead,” TM said in a statement.
Zvrlevski has issued a press statement in which he said that “there is no legal grounds for opening an investigation” because more than ten years have passed since the case was reported which makes the accusations “out of date”, according to the criminal law.
Under Macedonian law, a criminal case may become obsolete after ten years if the law does not envisage more than ten years in jail for the crime in question.
TM said that Zvrlevski’s explanation was absurd.
“Having in mind that the payment [concerning the sale of the bank] was agreed in 11 instalments, the legal deadline [for the case becoming obsolete] expires in December this year.  Hence, the main pillar of Zvrlevski’s explanation does not stand because we have an act in continuity,” TM said.
The case was first revealed by the opposition in mid-April, amid the campaign for the general elections that Gruevski’s VMRO DPMNE party won.
The party flatly denied the allegations and Gruevski is now suing the opposition SDSM party leader Zoran Zaev for 500,000 euro for slander.
The opposition produced documents of financial transactions as well as legal papers from Macedonia’s Central Bank that approved the sale of the bank’s shares.
It also released a lengthy telephone recording in which the opposition claimed that Gruevski’s voice could be heard discussing the illegal sale.
The prosecutor in his decision dismissed the telephone recording, saying this cannot be taken as evidence as it was obtained “in an illegal manner”.
The SDSM has never revealed how it got hold of the recording.
Gruevski who has held power since 2006 won the April general election by a landslide, securing four more years as Prime Minister.
The opposition disputed the result as fraudulent and has refused to take up seats in parliament, demanding fresh elections carried out by a caretaker government.

Croatia EU Anniversary Passes Without Economic Progress (BIRN, by Sven Milekic, 2 July 2014)

A year after Croatia joined the EU, President Ivo Josipovic said he remains optimistic despite continued recession, job losses, stagnant incomes and decreased foreign investment.

“It’s not realistic to expect a seven-mile leap in the first year,” Jospiovic said on Tuesday as Croatia marked the anniversary in the uncomfortable position of being the first EU member state whose citizens were better off before joining.

“The act of accession itself didn’t change anything, but we entered a well-regulated market for which we have to prepare and that gives us a perspective,” he said.

The past year saw the loss of 35,000 jobs, leaving unemployment at 17 per cent.

Croatia failed to gain traction in the EU market and foreign investments, one of Zagreb’s highest priorities, decreased by 60 per cent in 2013.

Incomes were stagnant and the public debt increased to an estimated 64 per cent of GDP last year.

Josipovic said however that EU membership had never been seen as a magical solution to the country’s economic problems.

“During negotiations with the EU, I warned the public that accession to membership only assures the framework and opens uppossibilities for development. The rest is our responsibility,” he said.

Since EU accession, most of Croatia’s customs revenues have been directed to a common treasury. A different system of collecting value added tax has also negatively impacted overall tax income.
The standard of living has also decreased, affected most by mark-ups on food.
But despite the largely grim economic picture, EU accession has brought some hope to Croatia’s struggling market.

One positive effect is the possibility of employment for Croatian workers throughout the EU, while Croatian tourism has also benefited, climbing back to pre-financial crisis levels of revenue.

Croatia has also taken advantage of EU structural funds. Vice Prime Minister Branko Grcic claimed that Croatia has withdrawn more in EU funds than it has given to the common treasury.

“The experience of other countries shows that great results cannot be achieved in the first year, at least not visible ones,” Grcic cautioned.

Opinion: Disillusionment on Croatia’s first EU anniversary (Deutsche Welle, 2 July 2014)

A year after Croatia joined the European Union as its 28th member state, no one is celebrating. But that very sense of disillusionment might also be useful, says DW’s Christoph Hasselbach.

Croatia, which wasn’t enthusiastically pro-European before EU accession, is even less so a year later.

The reasons are obvious: economic, labor and investment upswings have not only failed to materialize – the country is even doing worse in some sectors. Unemployment has more or less reached the same degree as in problematic EU members Greece and Spain, the recession is going on five years and the government hasn’t managed to get a handle on its budget deficit.

Unlike the situation in Poland and Slovenia after accession in 2004, foreign investment even decreased significantly after Croatia joined the EU – corruption, bureaucracy and a rigid labor market are obstacles for entrepreneurs. EU membership has shown that it isn’t some miracle cure that can make everything better in a single stroke.

In addition, customs exemptions no longer exist for trade with other nations from the former Yugoslavia such as Serbia and Bosnia Herzegovina, while imports from other EU member states present strong competition for Croatian products within the country.

Bad timing

But all that doesn’t mean Croatia would be in a better position today if it hadn’t joined the EU. Mainly to blame for the mood on both sides is the fact that the country joined at a difficult moment in time.

When 10 countries acceded to the EU In 2004, people in both east and the west were delighted. It seemed as if Europe had finally overcome its decades-old division. So no one looked too closely at whether the acceding countries met all the political and economic criteria for membership.

Looking the other way came back to haunt the EU most recently when Romania and Bulgaria joined in 2007. Even today, some western governments accuse the two countries of massive corruption and deficits in their legal systems. Croatia was assessed much more harshly as a result.

In addition to that, the debt and financial crisis erupted and states like Greece, Portugal and Ireland had to be saved from bankruptcy. Now that the EU has teetered at the abyss, prosperous and stable northern EU states are no longer interested in saddling themselves with yet another problem child.

No stability without accession prospects

So, the mood has changed in general. Off the record, many have said Croatia was the last addition for the time being. This is something that people in other parts of the former Yugoslavia have taken note of. Yet Croatians who still pine for the “good old days” are clinging to an illusion. Globalization would have forced a painful process of adjustment in any case.

Then again, battening down the hatches and refusing to accept more member states might be the easy way out. The EU may not need states like Serbia, Albania or Macedonia for economic reasons; from an economic point of view they would probably be more of a burden than an asset for some time to come. But from a political point of view, the EU must demonstrate concern for lasting peace and stability in the former Yugoslavia.

The Serbia-Kosovo problem won’t be solved without the prospect of EU accession. Although the accession process could take a while, people in these countries must be given concrete hope that their efforts are not in vain.

Balkans are not Turkey or Ukraine

People are certainly welcome to debate the European Union’s ultimate geographic borders. The EU has been listlessly and dishonestly negotiating accession with Turkey for years, even though a clear majority in the EU is opposed to its accession, and Turkey has for years been moving away from European values. People may argue whether Turkey belongs to the EU in a cultural sense.

People may also debate whether Ukraine and Georgia should become full members one day – or whether the price of enduring enmity with Russia is too high.

Certainly, however, the Balkans should have clear EU membership prospects. The region is too central to be left to its own devices as a constant powder keg. Of course, this goal must be achieved with the wishes of the people.

In fact, disillusionment on the side of both Croatia and the rest of the EU can be helpful: the states that joined 10 years ago surely view a European perspective more realistically now than they did before. A little more realism wouldn’t hurt longtime member states, either.

In effect, the pendulum seems to have already swung from being blindly enthusiastic about new members to categorically refusing them – before it hopefully comes to rest in a reasonable middle position.