LOCAL PRESS

Dacic: Serbia supports strengthening of UN role (Tanjug)

Serbia advocates reinforcement of the UN role in the preservation of peace and security and respect of international law, Serbian Foreign Minister and OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Ivica Dacic stated in New York on Monday. The foundations of respect for international law and rule of law primarily rest on respect of sovereignty and territorial integrity of any country, and the solution to any crisis can only be found through a dialogue and not through a military intervention, Dacic said during an open debate of the UN Security Council on the reflection on history, affirmation of strong commitment to purpose and principles of the UN Charter. A sovereign country cannot be created by cancelling the existence and sovereignty of another country, Dacic said and added that the rights of one country’s citizens must not be realized through violation of rights of citizens in other countries. Dacic underscored that Serbia supports the efforts to examine and identify the possibilities and manners to improve the work of all UN organs and bodies, especially with respect to the preservation of international peace and security and united response to most complex security challenges and threats. He noted that the common goal – to make the world a better, more developed and more just place – entails international cooperation based on principles of equality of countries, denouncement of use of force, non-interference in other countries’ internal affairs, respect of territorial integrity, peaceful resolution of disputes and mutual respect. These are the basic principles Serbia is guided by both in its foreign policy and as the OSCE chair, Dacic underscored. The Serbian Foreign Minister noted that OSCE partnership with the UN bears vital importance for the preservation of long-term peace and security in the geographic territory from Vancouver to Vladivostok. The only way to peace and prosperity, as we could see on our example after a difficult and challenging period after the ‘90s and recently in the territory of Kosovo-Metohija, is through mutual cooperation, respect and appreciation, Dacic said. Tolerance in all its forms, and especially in religious terms, is the key for overcoming problems which the modern world is facing in increasingly cruel ways, he noted. Dacic stated that coercive measures should be used only as the final resort and only in cases when international peace and security are realistically jeopardized or breached. The ongoing dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina under EU auspices best shows our determination and full commitment to the normalization of relations and the search for a lasting and sustainable political solution for Kosovo, the Serbian minister said. Noting that the number of crisis spots in the world is on an increase, Dacic said that Serbia is proud of its leading position in the south-east European region according to the criterion of participation and contribution to UN missions. As a representative of the country whose members are actively deployed in eight UN missions, I wish to underscore that the safety of all those who are participating in the creation and implementation of global peace needs to be one of the priorities, he said.
EP: Package of amendments adopted; proposals of Croatian MPs rejected (RTS/Tanjug)

The European Parliament Committee on Foreign Affairs adopted the package of amendments to the draft resolution on Serbia put forward by EP Rapporteur for Serbia David McAllister, thereby rejecting the proposals by Croatian MPs to set solving of open issues with Croatia as a condition for Serbia’s EU accession. The compromise amendments were harmonized among parliamentary groups, after a total of 222 amendments was made to the original draft by McAllister, so in the end there were only 21 of them. The compromise amendments lay greater stress on the respect for freedom of the press, minority rights and the role of the independent institutions. The amendment by Chair of the Parliamentary Committee for Serbia Eduard Kukan calling for the opening of the first chapters in Serbia’s EU accession negotiations has also been accepted. As for the request for Serbia to join sanctions against Russia, the compromise amendments read that the traditionally strong economic, social and cultural relations between Belgrade and Moscow and Serbia’s potentially important role in solving the Ukraine crisis in the capacity of the OSCE chair should be taken into account.

Stojanovic: Decision on participation of Serbs after talks with Vucic (Tanjug/Jedinstvo)

The decision on the participation of members of the Serb (Srpska) list in the Kosovo institutions will be made after consultations with Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic this week, said Kosovo Deputy Prime Minister Branimir Stojanovic. He specified that the meeting would be attended by all Kosovo Serb representatives, namely mayors, MPs and government members, and that, after the consultations, a decision will be made if and how Serbs will take part in the Kosovo government. This is the moment when we all have to present our arguments as we have made all the key political decisions together in the past period as well, Stojanovic told Pristina magazine Jedinstvo.

Assembly of Autonomous Province of Kosovo-Metohija: Abolish decision on declaring Vulin honorary citizen of Leposavic and Kosovska Mitrovica (New Serbian Political Thought)

Considering the fact that you are exercising power in the legal system of the Republic of Serbia and in the system of the non-recognized state of Kosovo, for which you are receiving salaries from two budgets (Serbia and so-called R. Kosovo), the citizens, deputies and leadership of the Assembly of the Autonomous Province of Kosovo-Metohija, as the only legal and legitimate representatives in Kosovo-Metohija (because they were elected according to the laws of the Republic of Serbia) do not know according to which laws and regulations have you declared Mr. Aleksandar Vulin, the current minister in the government of the Republic of Serbia, the honorary citizen of the municipality of Leposavic and Kosovska Mitrovica. If you have done this as the so-called mayor of the Leposavic municipality and the so-called deputy head of the North Mitrovica Municipal Assembly by applying the laws and regulations of the non-recognized state of Kosovo, we consider that in this case Aleksandar Vulin has great merits, primarily for destroying and abolishing institutions and the constitutional order of the Republic of Serbia in Kosovo-Metohija.

Namely, his greatest contribution as the head of the government Office for Kosovo and Metohija reflects in disbanding municipal assemblies that functioned according to Serbian laws, in implementing local and parliamentary elections according to the laws of the so-called Republic of Kosovo, in forming local self-administrations of the non-recognized state of Kosovo and in giving legitimacy to the assembly of the so-called Republic of Kosovo. The largest number of MPs from the so-called list “Srpska” is from the party “Movement of Socialists” led by Aleksandar Vulin, who received mandates with election theft, threats, blackmail and conditioning.

By declaring Aleksandar Vulin the honorary citizen, you have violated positive legal regulations of the Republic of Serbia, which regulate jurisdictions of the interim organs and thus placed personal and party interests before state and national. This way you have become a complicit in covering up crimes and other illegal activities that had been conducted in Kosovo-Metohija, while Aleksandar Vulin was the head of the government Office for Kosovo and Metohija. We are giving several examples:

– Following the signing of the Brussels agreement, allegedly disagreeing, as a sign of protest, he resigned but later on was the biggest advocate of the implementation of the agreement.

– There is reasonable suspicion that the leadership of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, without prior public procurement procedure in the period while Vulin was the head, spent 106,000,000 Dinars under suspicious circumstances, i.e. over one million Euros for installing video surveillance in northern Kosovo-Metohija. One can read and hear in the media and on the streets of northern Kosovo-Metohija that there is no video surveillance.

– That equipment and vehicle procurement was conducted during this period without public procurement procedure.

– He deceived the residents of Zubin Potok and Zvecan with the opening of shirt factories, which didn’t operate for even a few days.

– He created a media blockade and censorship on the public service TV Most – Zvecan.

– He tolerated misuse of budget funds of the Republic of Serbia, receiving of salaries in several places towards participating in the creation of the independent state of Kosovo.

– Persecutes political opponents and their families.

For the above mentioned reasons, if you brought the Decisions on declaring Aleksandar Vulin the honorary citizen as the presidents of interim organs, we request for the same decisions to be annulled and the public informed.

REGIONAL PRESS

Mogherini’s position acceptable (Srna)

The Republika Srpska (RS) President Milorad Dodik says that he and the EU High Representative Federica Mogherini have agreed that the coordination mechanism on EU-related matters is very important and that competences of all levels of government should be observed. “That is part of what we want to hear and what needs to be done, and the key issue is the coordination mechanism,” Dodik told reporters on Monday, pointing out that Mogherini would suggest to the EU Council of Ministers “that the approach to B&H itself be created in this way.” The RS President stated that Mogherini had conveyed the EU’s official stance that Brussels is interested in the B&H accession process and that it supports it, as well as that they consider the adoption of the written commitment to reforms in the framework of EU accession process important. “Our side has clearly said that we don’t want to implement someone’s policy because there is a Constitution here which needs to be abided by. Noncompliance with any part of the Constitution is absolutely supposed to mean that we are not giving any kind of support,” said Dodik following a meeting which was also attended by Federation President Marinko Cavara. He emphasized that the B&H Council of Ministers was not the government, either by the Constitution or by the law, and would not be turned into a government. “In all this, there can’t be any coordinative or decisive role of the Council of Ministers,” said Dodik. He added that some announced strategies that would refer to B&H would not be backed either. “Strategies always mean reforming the Constitution, as we have seen happen before,” said the RS President. When such strategies are adopted, an obligation is imposed on B&H to create some new institutions or define some new policies, but RS will not approve any new strategy that is not in compliance with the Constitution, emphasized Dodik. “B&H has nine competences and no competences for agriculture, energy or other sectors. Accordingly, there is no need for any strategies which RS will reject,” said Dodik. On previous occasions, says Dodik, creating a strategy meant the transfer of competences as well. “We don’t want to support any manipulative activities.” The adoption of the statement is a formal act but it remains to be seen “how all that will be done,” he said. “If we go on to comply with the competences, we can be successful. If we go on to adopt strategies at the level of the B&H parliament, then they will be challenged and blocked,” said Dodik. Dodik noted that representatives of the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD) and Democratic People’s Alliance (DNS) did not take part in the meeting of the B&H parliament House of Representatives on Monday either because they thought building the path to Europe together with the people with suspicious war-time passed, who covered up or possibly took part in war crimes, was out of the question. “We don’t want to participate in the parliament as long as Sefik Dzaferovic is member of the board. No matter how much it is important to some that the SNSD and DNS be present at today’s plenary meeting, we won’t show up,” said Dodik.

Zeljka Cvijanovic: Adoption of written commitment is just first step (Srna)

The RS Prime Minister Zeljka Cvijanovic said that the adoption of the written commitment to undertake reforms in the framework of the EU Accession Process constitutes the first and initial step, which is yet to be followed by real work. “This is a demonstrative phase, for manifesting good will, but the real work is yet to follow, bearing in mind the fact that a large portion of reforms ahead of us is linked to the executive authority and the entities,” Cvijanovic said in Sarajevo following a meeting with the EU High Representative Federica Mogherini. The RS Prime Minister familiarized Mogherini with the so far activities in RS, and with those to be undertaken in the coming period. “Compared to other levels of authority, we have already taken specific measures and adopted the first set of reformative legislation at the special government session held yesterday. This set will be forwarded to the National Assembly, and, in parallel, we are preparing the second set of reformative legislation,” said Cvijanovic. She expressed regret that the coordination mechanism had not been adopted earlier, at the time when the proposal was completed. “Today, we also tackled the issue of coordination mechanism, taking into account that this is the key issue for B&H, not only in the context of EU integration, but also from the aspect of our general mutual interaction and functioning within B&H. We will have to resolve this issue fast, as a prerequisite for some other things,” concluded Cvijanovic. She noted that the focus at this moment is put on economic and social issues, and said she expects that the entities will have more or less similar solutions and approaches in this sphere. “The remaining part is the one in connection with the Council of Ministers of B&H, relating to their competences. In the coming period, after we implement these key reforms, surely the greatest challenge will be how to ensure further progress if we do not come up with the coordination mechanism in the meantime,” said Cvijanovic. The Prime Minister stated that the RS will continue to actively support the EU integration process, with full observance of constitutional competences and Dayton Peace Agreement. At the meeting with the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini, Cvijanovic pointed out that the reform processes will require political agreement and support of all levels of authority. Cvijanovic familiarized Mogherini with the reform measures initiated in the scope of the RS Government’s 2015 Economic Policy, which are in compliance with the idea to keep economic and social reform in the focus of the EU initiative for B&H, RS Government’s press office said in a statement. During the meeting, the latest EU initiative for B&H was discussed, as well as possibilities for overcoming the deadlock in European integration process. Mogherini welcomed the decision of the B&H houses of representatives and of peoples to endorse and adopt the written commitment to undertake reforms in the framework of the EU Accession Process in Sarajevo on Monday.

“Ex mujahedeen pose bigger threat to Western Europe than to Bosnia” (Srna)

The former fighters in B&H who came from the Arab countries, who remained here after the war with other ID documents, pose a much bigger threat to the Western European countries than to B&H, which they see as their base, says the RS Police Director Gojko Vasic. Vasic qualified the security situation in B&H as satisfactory but recalled the obligation, set out in the Dayton Peace Agreement, of not allowing such persons residence or citizenship, because, as he said, they were and remain dangerous. “I think such people pose a much bigger threat to certain Western European countries than to B&H, given that they see Bosnia and Herzegovina as their base and they don’t want, by causing incidents, to bring the international community and domestic police forces in conflict with themselves,” said Vasic. Another potential threat to B&H is posed by the weapons remaining from the 1990s war, and in Kosovo and Albania the weapons looted from military warehouses, which had not been returned or destroyed, added the police director. “There are so many opportunities playing straight into the hands of criminals and terrorists, there are many trained men. We shouldn’t rock ourselves to sleep as if ‘we are safe’ but we shouldn’t make a big fuss of it either,” said Vasic. This matter should be closely monitored and attempts should be made to disable any terrorist activity, and if anything happens, the authorities should be ready to reduce the damage by acting on time, said the police director.

INTERNATIONAL PRESS

Kosovo’s Thaci criticised for genocide suit threat (Balkan Insight, 24 February 2015)

Foreign Minister Hashim Thaci’s threat to sue Serbia for genocide at the International Court of Justice has been criticised for being legally impractical and a potential misuse of resources.

Thaci has been accused of a political gaffe after saying at the weekend that Kosovo is considering suing Serbia for genocide committed during the 1998-99 conflict with Belgrade’s forces. “Serbia definitely committed genocide in Kosovo. We have evidence, we have testimony and the entire world knows,” he told Turkish news agency Anadolu. Thaci, who is also the deputy prime minister of Kosovo, said that he could say exactly when the law suit would be launched, but added that Pristina would apply to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) after evaluating “internal and international circumstances”. He said that Kosovo was looking for ways to find legal grounds to sue Serbia at the ICJ, as the country is not a member of the United Nations and so faces obstacles to bringing a case at the UN court. But MP Vjosa Osmani, who was part of Pristina’s working group at the ICJ when the UN court ruled in 2010 that Kosovo’s declaration of independence from Serbia was legal, said such a case was currently impossible. “Kosovo is not member of the United Nations, it’s not a party to the ICJ statute, and has not undertaken measures to accept jurisdiction of this court,” Osmani told BIRN. Bekim Blakaj from the Humanitarian Law Centre in Pristina said that even if Kosovo had the chance to sue Serbia for genocide, it would be a difficult process. This month the ICJ rejected claims by both Croatia and Serbia, who were accusing each other of genocide during the 1991-95 war. “This process takes a lot of energy and funds and in the end, it is difficult to prove anything,” said Blakaj. He said that the authorities should be focusing instead on winning compensation for those who suffered during the conflict. “Our institutions should deal with missing persons and reparations for victims. These points should be part of the ongoing dialogue with Serbia. It should be insisted on by our politicians,” he said. Muharrem Nitaj, a political commentator from Pristina, argued that Thaci’s statements were just for his own political PR and should not be taken seriously. “Unfortunately, Kosovo’s institutions, including the government, have never filed suits against people or criminal groups that committed crimes during the war in Kosovo, let alone against Serbia,” Nitaj told BIRN. “The foreign minister’s statement about the eventual suit that Kosovo can bring against Serbia for genocide, I see it more as political marketing than as a serious initiative,” he said. Dren Doli from a Kosovo-based NGO called the Group for Legal and Political Studies said he thought that Thaci raised the idea because of the impending establishment of a new EU-backed special court which is expected to try Kosovo Liberation Army officials for alleged crimes committed during and after the late 1990s war. Doli said that the draft legislation to establish the court, which is currently under discussion by officials in Pristina, envisages that individuals can be indicted for genocide, creating a risk that Serbia could bring a genocide case against someone from Kosovo. “This could be very harmful for Kosovo and it could be misused by Serbia allegedly as a fact to show that there was this high level of crimes against Serbs,” Doli told BIRN. Meanwhile Serbian labour minister Aleksandar Vulin said that if Pristina was to sue Belgrade, it would mean the end of the ongoing EU-mediated talks to normalise relations. “It is not possible to bring a genocide claim against Serbia and take part in the talks in Brussels at the same time,” Vulin told journalists on Sunday. “The statement that Kosovo will allegedly sue Serbia for some kind of genocide, if it were possible, shows the weakness of the government of which Thaci is an important part,” he said.

IMF approves EUR 1.2 bn credit line for Serbia (EU business, 23 February 2015)

(WASHINGTON) – The International Monetary Fund on Monday approved a 1.2 billion euro ($1.4 billion) credit line for Serbia to support its structural and economic reforms.

The Serbian authorities have signaled they will treat the three-year IMF credit program as “precautionary”, the IMF said. The IMF said the program was aimed at supporting Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucics’s efforts to reduce debt and budget deficits and boost the economy’s growth potential and competitiveness. “Serbia’s high and rising public debt calls for fiscal consolidation in the period ahead,” the IMF said. The government’s fiscal package, aimed at lowering debt as a ratio of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2017, is “appropriate.” According to the Washington-based crisis lender, Serbia’s budget tightening creates room for a gradual loosening of monetary policy, which will support domestic demand. As the Serbian economy contracted in 2014 — its third recession in the last six years — the government budget deficit rose to 6.6 percent of GDP and public debt topped 70 percent of GDP. IMF deputy managing director David Lipton praised the authorities “for strengthening the credibility of reform plans by taking difficult but necessary measures in 2014, including labor and pension reforms.” In October, Serbian lawmakers adopted a number of austerity measures, including a 10 percent cut in pensions and public sector monthly wages above 200 euros. In the European country of 7.2 million people, more than 700,000 are employed in the public sector while 1.7 million are pensioners. For every person employed, there are five either receiving pensions or unemployed.

Lavrov: Time to decide if we want UN focused & effective or on the sidelines (RT, 23 February 2015)

The UN would be effective in settling international disputes, if some member-states didn’t try to use it for dominating world affairs, Russian Foreign Minister believes, adding that such efforts led to bombings in Serbia, war in Iraq and chaos in Libya. Sergey Lavrov has called for the UN, about to celebrate its 70th anniversary, to be an independent and effective leader in global decision-making, despite attempts by some of its members to usurp the organization’s functions. “It’s time to answer the question: do we really want the see the UN an effective and influential instrument of preserving peace and security or are we ready to allow it turn into the arena of propagandist struggle, with the UN being excluded from the process of finding key solutions to international problems,” Lavrov said, at the open debate for the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), held on Monday in New York. Lavrov listed episodes in recent history, which he sees as violations of the UN charter, caused by a will to dominate world affairs. “It’s enough to remember the bombings of Serbia, the occupation of Iraq under a false pretext… and the rude manipulation of the Security Council mandate leading to destruction and on-going chaos in Libya,” the minister said. The Russian Foreign Minister has denounced attempts at either turning the UNSC into a body for unconditional and bulk approval of decisions made by the “leader,” or for making it steer away completely from decision-making. Lavrov talked of “unsavory methods… such as massive pressure on sovereign states, attempts at imposing on them decisions and standards in politics, economics and ideology.” “Such approaches are in no way keeping with the principles on which the UN is based,” and counter an objective tendency of spread of global economic and political might, Lavrov added. “For those unwilling to obey there are techniques of inspiring inner conflicts and carrying out regime change operations,” the foreign minister said. “One example is open encouragement of the anti-constitutional coup in Ukraine.” The UNSC resolution, clamping down on funding of the so-called Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS), initiated by Russia and approved earlier this month is one of the positive examples of the council’s independent work, Lavrov believes. The resolution on eliminating chemical weapons in Syria is another such example, according to the minister.

‘Cold War mentality should be in the ash heap of history’

Several officials referred to the times of the Cold War in their speeches at the Monday UNSC meeting, expressing their concerns that such confrontation is not yet history.

“The use of sanctions mechanisms in line with the statutes attributes to the exclusive competence of the Security Council. Unilateral restrictive measures and attempts of exterritorial use of national legislation are nothing more than a manifestation of archaic, bloc

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi – who chaired the debate, as China holds the rotating presidency of the UN Security Council for February – called the Cold War mentality worth “the ash heap of history.” Relations between the countries should be built upon principles of equality and cooperation, he said, adding that “no country in the world has the right to impose its will upon others and displace legitimate governments.” Wang Yi also warned the countries of the threats of the use of military power, and expressed concerns over continuing attempts to rewrite history by bettering the reputations of Nazi criminals. Dozens of countries – not only UN Security Council members – took part in the meeting, which was initiated by China and was aimed at discussing key security issues and emerging threats while the world celebrates the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II. On the sidelines of the Security Council open debate, Russia’s Sergey Lavrov met with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. While in New York, Lavrov also held meetings with the foreign ministry officials of China, Uganda, Venezuela, Serbia, and New Zealand.

Bosnia Endorses Reform Pledge, Potentially Unblocking EU Bid (Reuters, 23 February 2015)

Bosnia’s lawmakers endorsed on Monday a commitment to reform its economy and address political divisions, potentially unblocking a stalled bid to join the European Union in a step the bloc’s top diplomat called “historic.”

The declaration is a condition of the EU finally endorsing a pre-accession pact with Bosnia, originally signed in 2008, under a new initiative led by Germany and Britain to shake the country out of years of stagnation. “Today’s endorsement of the written commitment in this parliament enables Bosnia-Herzegovina to finally take a step towards joining the European Union,” EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said in a speech to lawmakers. “This could be a historic turning point for all of us – not only here in Sarajevo but for all Europe.” Bosnia lags behind its ex-Yugoslav peers on the long road to joining the wealthier 28-nation EU, having struggled to shake ethnic divisions that still languish almost 20 years since the end of a 1992-95 war in which some 100,000 people died. Spurred by fierce civil unrest last February, the EU late last year endorsed the Anglo-German plan to release funds for Bosnia and endorse a long-delayed Stabilization and Association Agreement in the hope of spurring economic and eventually more thorny political reforms. The initiative required leaders of Bosnia’s Muslim Bosniaks, Catholic Croats and Orthodox Serbs to make a written commitment to institutional reform of their highly-decentralized state and agree an agenda for broader political and economic changes. But it took nearly a month for Bosnia’s rival leaders to sign a document drafted by the country’s tripartite presidency. The process was held up by Bosnian Serb President Milorad Dodik, who has sought closer ties with Russia and is less enthusiastic about Bosnia joining the EU. Dodik insisted on including specifics of the country’s multi-layered governance in the text and finally signed the declaration last week, paving the way for parliament to endorse the plan. Deputies from his SNSD party did not attend the session on Monday, leaving the upper house of parliament without a quorum and spoiling plans for Mogherini to address both houses. They boycotted after a request to discuss accusations against the speaker of parliament was rejected. Mogherini made no reference to their absence.

Mogherini in Sarajevo Hails “Historical Decision” on Bosnian EU Reforms (Sputnik, 24 February 2015)

All 14 political party leaders in Bosnia and Herzegovina have endorsed a written commitment to implement reforms demanded by the EU, but the parliamentary session was boycotted by six delegates from Republika Srpska, one of two autonomous political entities which comprise the country. European Union High Commissioner Federica Mogherini, visiting the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina, has hailed what she called “an important decision, I would say a historical decision,” from the Presidency and 14 party leaders of Bosnia and Herzegovina to sign the Written Commitment, according to which the country commits to putting in place reforms demanded by the EU on the basis of the Stabilization and Association Agreement, signed in 2008. “Today’s endorsement of the Written Commitment in this Parliament enables Bosnia and Herzegovina to finally take a step towards joining the European Union,” said Mogherini on Monday, addressing both houses of the Bosnian parliament. “Political leaders have assured me here — and thereby the European Union — that they have the political will and commitment to undertake essential reforms. This, of course, is necessary to enable Bosnia and Herzegovina to prepare itself for future EU membership.” Among the urgent challenges the Commissioner said need to be addressed by the authorities in Bosnia and Hercogovina are the 40 per cent rate of unemployment (which among young people stands at 60 percent), greater efforts at reconciliation, the strengthening of the rule of law and greater administrative capacity, as well as the measures needed to build a functioning market economy. Monday’s visit is Mogherini’s second to Bosnia and Herzegovina; she also visited in December with Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn as part of renewed efforts to kickstart the stalled accession process. Last month UK Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond and German Foreign Minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier met with the country’s parliamentarians, and during a meeting with the 14 party leaders reached a consensus over the signing of the commitment to reform. Absent from Mogherini’s address on Monday were members of the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats, the party led by Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik. Last month Dodik announced that his party, which controls six of the 42 seats of the House of Representatives, refused to take part in any of the House’s sittings in protest at the presence of Party of Democratic Action vice-president Šefik Džaferović, as chairman of the House. Dnevni Avaz reported that at a press conference in January, Dodik charged Džaferović with having knowledge of crimes committed against Bosnian Serbs by the paramilitary organization ‘El-Mudžahid’ during the 1992-1995 Bosnian War. Dodik told Vijesti.ba following a meeting with Mogherini and Bosnian Federation President Marinko Čavara, that during their talks the importance of respecting the jurisdiction of all levels of authority in the country was stressed, “and that is part of what we want to hear and what should be done, and the key moment is the mechanism of coordination,” adding that any reforms must be in keeping with the country’s constitution.

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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.