LOCAL PRESS

What does the agreement on freedom of movement imply (Novosti)

Serbia doesn’t recognize the passports of the self-declared state of Kosovo, nor is this implied by the expanded agreement on freedom of movement reached in Brussels. According to the Head of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija Marko Djuric, that agreement enables citizens with IDs issues by the provisional institutions in Pristina, and not holders of travel documents of the self-declared state, to use additional border crossings in transit – at the Belgrade airport and several other border crossings towards Hungary and Croatia. “This measure doesn’t imply usage of any other travel documents, except Serbian travel documents throughout the country and doesn’t include any agreement on passports. The agreement expands freedom of movement and enables the airport in Belgrade to have more passengers, and free transit of goods and people regardless of nationality,” said Djuric. The agreement will also be valid for the crossings towards Bulgaria and Macedonia within two months. Borislav Stefanovic, who was the head of the Serbian negotiating team when the agreement on freedom of movement was reached with Pristina in 2011, tells Novosti that the idea then was for the Serbian border police to issue a “temporary paper” to residents of Kosovo and Metohija travelling to third countries: “This is no recognition of the Kosovo passport. It will be most probably written on the certificate that, in accordance with Resolution 1244, without prejudging the status, the person may travel to the final destination. They will most probably use the passport issued in Pristina when entering Hungary or Croatia.”

Pavicevic: Power supply in hands of Serb community (RTS/Tanjug)

Serbian government’s liaison officer in Pristina Dejan Pavicevic said that the agreement signed between Belgrade and Pristina on Tuesday keeps the power supply in northern Kosovo in the hands of the Serb community. The agreement will last only if both sides implement it, and suitable guarantees have been secured for this, Pavicevic said in a written statement. “The agreement seeks to solve a power supply problem that has existed for years by stating that a new Serb power supply company should be created in Kosovo and it will charge money for its services. This proved yet again the Serbian government’s willingness to talk and implement agreements, all for the benefit of all the citizens. Energy was among the first topics, started back during the technical talks with Pristina, and there has been no solution until now. The new Serb-run company will distribute electricity and maintain the system in that segment, so there will be no more problems with power supply. The power grid will be unified throughout Kosovo to ensure an uninterrupted supply. This will allow the Serb company to operate without hindrance and charge customers for its services for the first time in years. It will also ensure complete energy stability throughout Kosovo, solving the power supply problem for the Serb enclaves. The agreement from Tuesday proves once again the Serbian government’s willingness to talk and implement the results of that dialogue, all for the benefit of all the citizens and better life for the Serbs in the province,” concluded Pavicevic.

Kirby: We would be happy if you would also recognize Kosovo (Novosti)

Asked whether there are disagreements between Serbia and the U.S. that may seriously impair relations between the two countries, the U.S. Ambassador to Serbia Michael Kirby says: “Our relations are very good, and there are plenty of things on which we need to work together. One of them is your OSCE presidency. I see that the entire matter is already being seriously approached, and I have received assurances from the Foreign Minister that Serbia realizes that the OSCE works on the principle of consensus building.”

Will Serbia face new demands on Kosovo and Metohija, for example, to sign a peace agreement with Pristina or to give a green light for UN membership of Kosovo and Metohija?

“We haven’t changed our policy – we recognize independence of Kosovo, we would be happy if Serbia would do the same thing, but we don’t expect it soon or ever.”

Does Washington request Serbia to become a NATO member?

“We haven’t requested you to become a member, we are not going around and we are not ‘pushing’ countries into NATO. We request Serbia to contribute to peace and stability, for example, through participation in international peace missions.”

Do you think that Serbia deserves to make the next step towards the EU and open the first negotiating chapters?

“Have you achieved the established criteria? One of them is the implementation of the Brussels agreement, and I don’t see that this has been completely done. Once this happens, I hope the EU will pass the decision on opening chapters.”

REGIONAL PRESS

Preparations for the joint session of two governments (Srna)

First Deputy Prime Minister of Serbia Ivica Dacic and the Minister of Labor and Veterans’ Affairs of the Republika Srpska (RS) Petar Djokic, discussed the preparations for the joint session of the two governments, which is scheduled for 20 September in Belgrade. The discussions addressed a number of issues of mutual interest, including the possibility of signing an agreement on flood protection and joint actions in those situations. Dacic and Djokic discussed the protection of veterans’ rights, as well as the situation of upcoming elections in B&H.

SNSD: We will not allow transfer of jurisdictions from RS to B&H (Srna)

Candidate for the B&H House of Representatives Milica Markovic announced at a campaign rally in Bjeljina that the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD) will not allow the transfer of jurisdictions from the Republika Srpska (RS) to B&H. “There are demands from Sarajevo to the Ministry of Agriculture and Education for transfers to the state level, intentions of reopening the topics of politics and establishing the B&H Supreme Court, that will never happen as long as we have at least one representative in the Parliamentary Assembly” said Markovic. All of the SNSD candidates who spoke at the campaign rally in Bjeljina said that they expect the victory on the elections for Milorad Dodik for the RS President and Zeljka Cvijanovic for the member of the B&H House of Representatives from the RS.

Jolevski meets Ambassador Due (Vecer)

Macedonian Defense Minister Zoran Jolevski received the Representative of UN Secretary-General and Head of the UN Office in Belgrade Peter Due. During the meeting with Ambassador Due, the Minister was informed about the upcoming Regional Roundtable organized by the UN and devoted to the possibility of increasing the participation of the individual countries of the Western Balkans in UN peacekeeping missions worldwide, and the possibility of a regional approach to participation in these missions. Ambassador Due pointed out that this is an event that will be attended by eminent personalities from the United Nations, the countries of the region and partner countries, while expressing hope that Macedonia as a country with a highly professional and experienced army will be represented at a high level.

INTERNATIONAL PRESS

US organizing summit on UN peacekeeping next week (Associated Press, 16 September 2014)

UNITED NATIONS — The United States is organizing a summit on U.N. peacekeeping on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly next week that will be addressed by Vice President Joe Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame.

A note on the Sept. 26 summit, sent to U.N. member states and obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press, says “United Nations peacekeeping today is more critical than ever to international peace and security, with peacekeepers called on to end ethnic conflict, prevent violence against civilians, and serve on the international community’s frontlines against violent extremists.”

The U.N. currently runs 16 peacekeeping operations, with more than 100,000 peacekeepers deployed around the world. Its budget for the fiscal year from July 1, 2014 to June 30, 2015 is just over $7 billion.

Serbs Count Their Dinars as Cabinet Weighs Social Cuts (Bloomberg, by Gordana Filipovic, 18 September 2014)

Ljiljana Nikolic says she can show the Serbian government how to balance a budget.

Walking through a Roda supermarket, calculator in hand, the 76-year-old Belgrade resident stocked up on butter, yogurt, cookies and soap, trying to stay within her 5,000 dinar ($55) weekly shopping allotment. It’s better to be prudent, she said, as rising prices erode a pension that isn’t inflation-adjusted. Retirement benefit cuts may be among savings announced today as the government seeks to meet conditions for International Monetary Fund aid and European Union admission.

“The government should have been more careful with its own spending instead of taking money from pensioners to pay its debts,” Nikolic said. “I’ve never shopped like this before, looking after every single dinar.”

Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic, a former aide to strongman Slobodan Milosevic who won elections in March on a promise to avoid public wage and pension cuts, will announce his plans tonight in a televised interview. Any further austerity measures risk putting him at odds with voters already hurt by EU entry demands as pressure grows to join western sanctions against Russia over Ukraine.

Even as he moves the country closer to the EU, Vucic is trying to maintain historical ties with Russia, its main ally in opposing full international recognition for the breakaway province of Kosovo. He will answer questions at 9 p.m. local time tonight in an interview with state TV broadcaster RTS.

Hard Place

“Vucic’s government finds itself between a hammer and an anvil, between the IMF and political reality,” said Milan Nikolic, director of the Belgrade-based Center for Policy Studies. “Social and political discontent is rising and even though opinion polls indicate they still enjoy voter support, they should not rush in with those austerity measures.”

Vucic’s 2014 supplementary budget needs to rein in a budget gap of more than 8 percent of gross domestic product this year. About 14 percent of the budget goes to pensions and 11 percent pays public wages, according to the Finance Ministry.

Yields on Serbian dollar bonds maturing in 2021 rose one basis point, or 0.01 percentage point, to 4.986 percent on Sept. 16, the highest in a month, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. They fell yesterday to 4.962 percent. The dinar traded around 119 per euro, close to its lowest level since parties advocating democracy, market economy and close ties with the EU toppled Milosevic in 2000.

More Cuts

The Fiscal Council, appointed by parliament to oversee budget compliance, is calling for a 15 percent cut in public wages and pensions, while Finance Minister Dusan Vujovic is shooting for reductions of less than 10 percent.

“We won’t be able to change things in the near term, but we will identify key savings measures for the next three years,” Vujovic said at a Sept. 16 conference in Belgrade.

The budget deficit is at 7 percent of GDP, more than the planned 4.6 percent. Vujovic says he wants to cut the gap by 1 billion euros ($1.3 billion) to 1.5 billion euros by 2017.

The 2.5 billion-euro general government deficit, which is most closely watched by the IMF, amounts to 8.4 percent of GDP, said Pavle Petrovic, the head of the fiscal council.

“Wage and pension cuts are key because the results are permanent and they add credibility to the program,” Petrovic said on Sept. 16.

Along with cuts, Vucic needs to restart growth and create jobs as the economy faces a third recession since 2009, said economists including Milojko Arsic at the Foundation for the Advancement of Economics in Belgrade.

Growth, Jobs

The economy is expected to contract between 0.5 percent and 1 percent this year, unemployment exceeds 20 percent and public debt is close to 75 percent of GDP, the government estimates.

Government officials have warned about the effect of U.S. and EU sanctions against Russia on Serbia’s economy. Vucic announced on Aug. 22 that Serbia wouldn’t join in imposing sanctions.

Serbia increased food sales to Russia by 68 percent to $117 million in the first half of 2014 and may boost exports to $300 million this year, according to the Belgrade-based Chamber of Commerce.

To keep pensions and wages intact, the government may opt to cut investment in infrastructure, “but that would affect economic growth and grind public services to a halt,” Arsic said. A 10 percent reduction in public wages and pensions would save almost 500 million euros over 12 months, while a 15 percent reduction would save almost 800 million euros, he said.

Vucic and his Progressive Party of former nationalists have avoided dealing with the IMF since their first election victory in May 2012 as renewed appetite for emerging-market bonds and low rates abroad helped the government finance its deficit with debt.

Bond Sales

Serbia held four Eurobond sales between September 2012 and November 2013, raising $4.25 billion. The 2014 budget includes another $750 million bond sale to pre-finance next year’s budget. Talks with IMF are scheduled for next month.

“I would be hugely disappointed if the authorities decided to steer away from the IMF,” Benoit Anne, the head of emerging-market strategy at Societe Generale SA and a former IMF official, said in an e-mail. Instead of raising more debt, Serbia needs to “import credibility from Washington and use the IMF as an anchor.”

Nikolic, meantime, busted her own budget by 300 dinars. To pay the shopping bill, she was allowed to write a check post-dated for seven months from now, putting off until next year the pain caused by the extra groceries.

“I just hope they won’t cut our pensions right away, so I can try to save some money for Christmas gifts,” she said.

Milorad Dodik and Vladimir Putin: Two hours long meeting (Planeta, 18 September 2014)

Moscow – Russian President Vladimir Putin met with the President of the Republika Srpska (RS) Milorad Dodik for the second time this year, reports the press service of the Kremlin on the official website of the Russian President.

Vladimir Putin noted that, although modest, economic cooperation between Russia and the RS has increased by a quarter in recent years.

“Current times are complex, both in the international relations in Europe and in the world economy. However, relations between our countries are successfully developing, which is a positive factor in the situation in the region,” said Russian President to Milorad Dodik

“I know that the elections are starting soon and I wish you success. I know that you are supported by a large number of voters, that is now more than obvious,” said Vladimir Putin and added that the Russian Federation held the largest general elections in the history of modern Russia, they were held in 84 regions.

“I understand that things are heating up on the internal political scene during the pre-election period. But after the elections, starts normal, everyday work. You are an experienced politician and a leader. You already know all that,” Putin told Dodik.

Russian Lawmaker: Kosovo’s Imposing of Anti-Russian Sanctions Due to Dependency on West (RIA Novosti, 18 September 2014)

MOSCOW – Introduction of anti-Russian sanctions by the partially recognized Balkan state of Kosovo is unsurprising, as its authorities are wholly dependent on the West, Leonid Slutsky, the head of the Russian parliamentary committee for Commonwealth of Independent State (CIS) affairs told RIA Novosti on Thursday.

“Those who govern Kosovo today directly depend on Western institutions, our “strategic friends,” and, naturally, their [Western] policy of exposing Russia and the Russian world to public dishonor, supporting anti-Russian interpretation of events, taking place in Ukraine, is also backed by them [the Kosovo authorities], and there is nothing paradoxical in this,” the official said.

The lawmaker added that if the sanctions, imposed by Brussels and Washington, were joined by any country with considerably strong links with Russia, “then it would be interesting, but not here, not in this case.”

On Wednesday, Kosovo announced its decision to support anti-Russian economic sanctions, imposed by the United States and the European Union over Moscow’s alleged role in the Ukrainian conflict. Kosovar authorities did not clarify how they would impose restrictions, as Moscow and Pristina do not have economic or diplomatic ties with Russian representative office in Pristina being a part of its embassy in Belgrade. The Russian Federation strongly opposed the Kosovo’s 2008 declaration of independence from Serbia, largely backed by the West.

Turkey supports Macedonia’s bid to join NATO: Turkish PM (Xinhua, 17 September 2014)

ANKARA — Turkey will continue to support Macedonia’s aspiration to join NATO and the European Union (EU), Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on Wednesday, though no enlargement decision was made at the latest NATO summit.

“Turkey supports Macedonia for NATO membership and will continue to do so. We also support Macedonia for EU membership. We hope that one day we will be in the European Union together,” Davutoglu made the remarks at a joint press conference with visiting Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski in the Turkish capital of Ankara.

The use of the name Macedonia has remained a contentious issue since Macedonia declared independence from former Yugoslavia in 1991. Greece is opposed to the use of the name Macedonia by its northern neighbor, saying that it implies territorial claims to Greece’s northern province of the same name.

As a result, Greece is blocking Macedonia’s bid to join NATO and the EU, saying that Macedonia can be a member only if a solution to the name dispute is reached.

In November 2008, Macedonia brought Greece to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) accusing Athens of violating a 1995 agreement by thwarting Macedonia’s efforts to join NATO at a summit of the alliance in April 2008.

Three years later, the ICJ ruled that Greece breached the 1995 Interim Agreement signed by the two countries, under which Athens agreed not to block Macedonia’s membership in international institutions under the name of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. But the court did not order Greece not to repeat its conduct in the future, and the ruling did not address the actual name dispute which continues to today.

Though accession of Macedonia to NATO is currently pending, at the latest NATO summit in Wales, Britain, in early September, U.S. President Barack Obama said that the door to NATO membership remains open to nations that can meet its “high standards.”

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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.