LOCAL PRESS

Djuric: Belgrade is not conducting a German policy in Kosovo (Danas)

“We have demonstrated unequivocal and firm determination to encourage participation of Serbs in the provincial government in Pristina. We opine that only by taking concrete levers of influence is it possible to stop some of the destructive and very dangerous, for our interests, processes in the province, such as seizure of property with the actions of the Kosovo Privatization Agency. It is necessary to create a political basis for creating the Union of Serb Municipalities by passing the statute, which is possible only through political agreement and negotiations with the political force that will be the backbone of the future government in Pristina. I expect that participation, now legitimately elected representatives of the Serb people in the provincial institutions, will greatly contribute to what had been discussed in Brussels to become the subject of direct talks between us and the Kosovo Albanians. With all respect towards the EU efforts to develop normalization, but real normalization will occur the moment when we agree on important life issues in the province with the Albanians without mediators,” the Head of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija Marko Djuric tells Danas in an interview.

Was it explicitly agreed in Brussels that the Serb (Srpska) list will join the new Kosovo government because the new prime minister, respecting the Kosovo Constitution, could appoint Serb ministers?

“The constitutional and legal regulation in Kosovo dictates that a representative of the Serb people, whose parliamentary group wins most votes at the elections, joins provincial institutions. Of course, the paper endures everything, and I don’t think that anyone in the international community, which undoubtedly has the overwhelming influence in Kosovo and Metohija in many political issues, would allow or encourage such a scenario. Without the participation of Serb list representatives it is not possible to form the government both from the political aspect and that of legitimacy.”

When is the deadline when Belgrade has to abolish all administrative districts and local self-administration in Kosovo and Metohija?

“For us the priority now is to form the Union of Serb Municipalities. We will not allow for a single job to be lost in Kosovo and Metohija, or the scope of investments to be reduced in Kosovo and Metohija, but we want very much appropriateness of these investments to be thoroughly elaborated and to see the results of important investments that Serbia has annually in Kosovo and Metohija. These are the segments defined by the Brussels agreement. Belgrade is turned towards normalization of relations with Pristina, but it doesn’t want in any way for our people to be weakened or without support of the state of Serbia in this process.”

Will Belgrade’s financial aid to Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija go through the government of Kosovo, as the story is?

“We sincerely want the Union to be the beneficiary of the financial funds from the EU, Belgrade and Pristina. We need to find a model for financing the Union that will also enable direct financing from Belgrade, Pristina and the EU. Only this can satisfy all sides included in the process.”

For most of the Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija the “red line” after which follows emigration is integration of healthcare and education into the Kosovo system. Can you dispel their fears?

“Education and healthcare remain in the Serbian system. That is an international standard. Even if we leave aside disagreements regarding the status, this is something that nobody can ever question. In the following period there should be more work on the feeling of safety and essential freedom of movement. We also need to discuss this with the representatives of provisional institutions.”

How do you comment assessments that Belgrade is conducting in Kosovo and Metohija the policy of Angela Merkel’s CDU, from the removal of barricades in the northern part of Kosovska Mitrovica to support to Mustafa and Haradinaj?

“We respect very much Ms. Merkel and all great European and world politicians, but we are conducting our policy independently and absolutely no one either from the West or the East will dictate to Serbia its internal policy and its relationship towards the issue of key importance. In Belgrade’s policy towards Kosovo and Metohija at present, you will never see traces of some dictate but traces of dialogue, seeking of a compromise, talks with everyone, the respect of the fact that since 1999, unfortunately, there is no Serbia’s security and to a great extent civil presence on the ground, so due to such inherited difficult situation, our policy is a result of our aspiration for Serbian institutions and Serb people to survive under difficult circumstances and have influence as much as possible. In this process we wish the international community not to be our opponent, but partner and to attract with skillful diplomacy also those who are the loudest promoters of Kosovo’s independence in our struggle for protecting the position of our people in Kosovo and Metohija. Our policy is not a policy of obedience and acceptance of dictates, but a policy of finding a Serb path and future in Kosovo and Metohija.”

What has the government of Serbia responded to the open letter by the Democratic Party of Serbia that requests Belgrade’s position towards “institutional violence and arrest of the Serbs in northern Kosovo and Metohija”?

“The Serbian government has not only very harshly condemned the fact that Oliver Ivanovic has been behind bars for six months without an indictment, but the prime minister spoke in direct talks with the EULEX head about the proceedings against other people. It is very important to us that all proceedings that will be conducted be founded on law, as well as to respect basic human and political rights. It is also very important to respect the Law on amnesty that is an integral part of the Brussels agreement, and which was applied to Kosovo Albanians in most cases in the past period.”

Who will be responsible for the deterioration of the security situation in the northern part Mitrovica after the removal of barricades on the bridge over the Ibar River?

“The story about the Peace Park is much more complex than it seems at first sight. The park replaced the barricade from sand and cement that was at the entrance of the main bridge in Kosovska Mitrovica. Hundred meters left and right from this main bridge there are bridges where pedestrian and car traffic function completely smoothly. Belgrade will not support a single solution when it comes to the bridge in northern Mitrovica, which doesn’t support the interests of the Serbs in the north and which will create fears in regard to the safety of people living in northern Mitrovica.”

Change of Constitution

To what degree will the announced change of the Serbian Constitution concern Kosovo and Metohija?

“No initiative for changing the Constitution has been submitted. Much is discussed in the public about the need to change certain parts of the Constitution that concern areas that have nothing to do with Kosovo and Metohija. There have been no talks on the Kosovo issue in the context of the constitutional-legal substance. It is certain that the moment when the Union of Serb Municipalities is established, it will be probably necessary to regulate its position in our constitutional-legal system with a constitutional substance. Whether this will be done with a constitutional law or with changes of the Constitution and law, I would leave this to experts.”

We have all deeds

Whose property in Kosovo and Metohija should be discussed by Belgrade and Pristina in Brussels?

“It is absurd that we are in a situation to discuss the usage of our own property on the territory of our southern province. That is a result of the sad fact that since 1999 we are not performing direct administration in Kosovo and Metohija, but the UN have gradually transferred it to the institutions that developed on their own. Big luck in this misfortune is that Serbia saved all documents regarding state, public and common property in Kosovo and Metohija. We also saved the documents of the Fund of the Federation for Development of insufficiently developed regions, which still functions and exists under this name, where there is data on all investments by Serbia and other republics in the region of Kosovo and Metohija. There are all deeds, all documents on our ownership. We want to achieve economic sustainability of the Union of Serb Municipalities through talks on property.”

Miscevic does not expect ultimatum from the EU (Beta)

The Head of the Serbian negotiating team with the EU Tanja Miscevic said that since the beginning of the crisis in Ukraine, Serbia has not been exposed to any conditions by Brussels, but that in the future, it may be exposed to strong political pressure to find a joint position with the EU when it comes to the relation to Russia. She said that according to the Stabilization and Association Agreement with the EU, Belgrade must endeavor to comply with declarations and positions of the EU foreign policy.

Davenport on 100 days of Serbian Government’s work (Tanjug)

In the first 100 days of its mandate the Serbian Government has shown the unfaltering commitment to the continuation of the European integrations and harmonization of the Serbian legislation with the standards of the EU, stated the Head of the EU Delegation to Serbia Michael Davenport. He has emphasized there is serious work before the government, in implementing the reform laws, continuing the work on the normalization of the relations with Pristina, consolidating the economy and financial system, while creating the better conditions for foreign investments.

REGIONAL PRESS

Spric: B&H will disappear before going bankrupt (Srna) 

B&H Finance Minister Nikola Spiric told Srna that B&H will disappear before it goes bankrupt.

“The economic situation in B&H is complex, as is in all countries, but bankruptcy is nowhere in sight,” Spiric said, commenting on an article published by the British Euromoney Magazine, claiming that B&H has the greatest chance of going bankrupt in the near future. He says that this is an election story so that other political parties might get in power in the coming elections. “The story of bankruptcy brings the message that only change in the elections can bring stability,” Spiric said, adding that the international community has its fingers in this. Concluding that B&H will not go bankrupt, Spiric said that some other countries are threatened with bankruptcy. “B&H is not in a happy situation and it is in a similar position to the countries in the region, but may be more stable,” Spiric said. B&H has the greatest chance of going bankrupt in the near future, and it is ahead of Belorussia, the Ukraine and Rwanda, reports Euromoney Magazine. The Magazine claims that May’s floods, because of which the country took additional loans, high unemployment rate, corruption and continued political instability, are the reasons for this. B&H is still B rated by Moody’s and Standard and Poor’s, while other countries which are in similar situation and at risk of bankruptcy are ranked C.

Radojicic: RS making its own decisions (Srna, by Milomir Savic) 

The Republika Srpska (RS) parliament speaker Igor Radojicic says that the ultimate goal is to have a firm, stable and strong RS, whose constitutional positions or territory are not jeopardized, while constitutional change in the Federation of B&H (FB&H) is a matter for the people living in that entity. “The RS will not impose on FB&H citizens an organizational structure, this is their matter which they alone should decide, just like the RS does not allow anyone to impose on it their internal organization,” Radojicic said in an interview with Srna. Commenting on a report from the Contact Group and the idea about a third entity, Radojicic says that “the FB&H has an irrational structure, a huge administration,” and that “mostly, nothing functions there.” He notes that the RS government must be strong, as it has been so far; it should not succumb to pressure and blackmail or be heterogeneous and at loggerheads, as that would lead to changes detrimental to the RS. When it comes to the structural dialogue on judicial reform in B&H, there are two diametrically opposed concepts – the RS wants the judiciary to be decentralized, as that which foreigners did in the reforms failed to produce results, and the FB&H wants to centralize it. “The RS wants a decentralized system in B&H, which would be more efficient and closer to the entity and canton structure of organization, while the FB&H wants further centralization, the establishing of a B&H Supreme Court and some other things,” Radojicic says. He says that the current parliament adopted many systemic decisions and laws and that this year was marked by a set of laws aimed at mitigating the consequences of May’s floods and pertaining to the establishing of the Solidarity Fund. Also, a number of exemptions for citizens were brought, which were made possible by way of some other laws, starting from property taxes to certain administrative and utility taxes. Radojcic says that solutions were passed which enable quick business registration, namely, a one-stop business registration which allows business registration in three days. The government plans to complete by the end of the year the housing program for families of fallen soldier and military war veterans, which started ten years ago. Radojicic says that parliament has established intensive communication with parliamentarians from the region and Europe with the aim of improving parliamentary and economic cooperation. “We got involved in the Conference of European Regions with Legislative Power as the only region outside the EU, and we had many contacts with the European Parliament, parliamentarians and other structures in Brussels as well,” he says. An agreement on cooperation with the Parliament of the German Province of Saxony was signed, and contacts with the Belgian Parliaments, including that of Flanders, Brussels and Wallonia, have been intensified. “Unfortunately, the present parliament will be remembered by the worst rhetoric since the founding of parliament because some MPs have significantly reduced their criteria for inter-personal relations to the level common in a village pub,” Radojicic says. He says that the Parliament Rulebook has a section dealing with disciplinary measures and the responsibility of MPs, warning that some political parties are urging their members to behave in an uncivilized manner.

INTERNATIONAL PRESS

Serbia’s parliament passes laws to speed up state asset sales (Reuters, 2 August 2014)

Serbia’s parliament passed a new law on privatisation on Saturday to accelerate the sale of loss-making state companies and to curb spending.

Backed by 165 of 170 lawmakers attending an extraordinary session of the 250-seat parliament, the law will also enable Serbia to receive a $250 million budget support loan from the World Bank.

Serbia’s fiscal deficit is expected to rise to 8.3 percent of national output this year, exceeding the government’s target of 7.1 percent. Public debt is seen topping 70 percent of gross domestic product.

Subsidies to state-owned companies and a lack of tax revenues from loss-making firms is costing the country 1 billion euros ($1.34 billion) a year, or nearly 3 percent of national output.

The government’s top advisory body, the Fiscal Council, this week warned that any further financing of loss-making companies would “bring Serbia’s finances to collapse”.

Successive governments have been reluctant to cut subsidies to loss-making companies including the country’s sole steel mill, gas company Srbijagas and drug maker Galenika, fearing job losses could cause social discontent.

The new privatisation law sets Dec. 31, 2015, as the deadline for privatising some 584 companies including 161 companies that are restructuring.

To speed up the procedure, it introduces debt write-offs for state-owned entities and enables the conversion of debt to equity.

Opposition parties have warned that the sales could leave many of the 90,000 workers affected without jobs as most of the firms are inefficient and uncompetitive.

“Between 20,000 and 50,000 people could lose jobs in the privatisation process,” Janko Veselinovic, a member of the New Democratic Party, told the parliament.

The parliament also passed changes to Serbia’s bankruptcy laws to speed up liquidation of indebted state companies.

The passage of both laws was a precondition set by the World Bank for the release of its loan to Serbia.

Serbia’s economy is forecast to contract by 0.5 percent this year following devastating floods in May which caused 1.5 billion euros in damage.

The country’s unemployment rate stood at 20 percent in the second quarter.

The government will present a detailed plan for fiscal consolidation in September when the parliament will vote on a revised 2014 budget.

But to reassure investors the European Union candidate country is looking to close a 3-year stand-by arrangement with the International Monetary Fund. The IMF said it will start negotiations with Serbia after the vote on a revised budget.

($1 = 0.7447 Euros)

(Reporting by Ivana Sekularac; editing by Jason Neely)

Iran, Serbia Discuss Enhancement of All-Out Cooperation (FNA, 2 August 2014)

TEHRAN – Iran’s Ambassador to Serbia Majid Fahimpour and the Chairman of the Serbian Parliament’s Foreign Policy Commission stressed the need for both Tehran and Belgrade to utilize each and every capacity and potential to pave the ground for the promotion of bilateral relations.

In a meeting in Belgrade on Friday, the Iranian diplomat underlined the importance of boosting parliamentary cooperation and exchange of delegations between the two friendly states for deepening and widening of the all-out ties, especially in economic and cultural fields.

The senior Serbian lawmaker, for his part, voiced his country’s enthusiasm for expansion of cooperation with Iran, particularly utilizing Tehran’s valuable experiences in rendering technological and engineering services.

Iran and Serbia have in recent years made great efforts to further develop their bilateral relations and mutual cooperation in all fields.

Radmanovic: EU not interested in Bosnia becoming its member (dalje.com, 2 August 2014)

The Serb member of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s collective presidency, Nebojsa Radmanovic, has said that the European Union is not interested in Bosnia and Herzegovina becoming its member, noting that Euro-scepticism could gain strength following statements that the Union will not admit new members over the next five years.

“People talk about it all the time. Some people come here to ask about Bosnia and Herzegovina and we attend various talks abroad, but you always have a feeling that someone does not want us to be a part of the EU,” Radmanovic said, as quoted by Bosnian newspapers on Saturday.

He said that the statement by European Commission President Jean Claude Juncker, that there will be no enlargement over the next five years, received a negative response in Bosnia and Herzegovina and would additionally strengthen Euro-scepticism in the country.

Radmanovic strongly criticised the approach taken by the European Commission, notably the Office of Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fuele, for trying to impose on Bosnia and Herzegovina the need to change its political system established by the Dayton peace agreement and implement a European Court of Human Rights ruling, which requires change of electoral law to make it possible for members of ethnic minorities to stand in elections for the highest state bodies, as a condition for moving closer to the EU.

“That is illogical, because it would require a radical change of the present situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina which is based on the ethnic principle,” Radmanovic said.

He said that the EU was losing its influence in Bosnia and Herzegovina to capital coming from other zones of influence, citing growing investments from Russia and China.

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Media summaries are produced for the internal use of the United Nations Office in Belgrade, UNMIK and UNHQ. The contents do not represent anything other than a selection of articles likely to be of interest to a United Nations readership.