LOCAL PRESS
Dacic: There is no need for Thaqi to visit Belgrade (RTS/Tanjug)
“There is no need for Thaqi to come to Belgrade,” Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic said in response to the announcements according to which Thaqi should visit Belgrade in late April.
According to reports of Kosovo media quoting anonymous sources, Thaqi should take part in the gathering of ministers of foreign affairs from four Balkan countries at the invitation by Ambassadors for Peace NGO, and Belgrade is said to be in an uncomfortable position due to intense pressures of the EU on Serbia. “The gathering is not organized by the Serbian government, I did not intend to participate in it, and I do not believe there is any need for Hashim Thaqi to come to Belgrade,” Dacic told a news conference following his Zambian counterpart Harry Kalaba. “I respect the work of various institutes, NGOs and academies, but anything that interferes with the Serbian government policy cannot be done without prior consultations with the government,” Dacic said.
Berlin’s 11 points – condition for negotiations (Novosti)
Except for the full implementation of the Brussels agreement, Serbia will also have to fulfill the famous 11 German demands in order to open the first negotiating chapters with the EU. Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic confirmed to Novosti these suspicions by Belgrade, which have been heated by unofficial sources in diplomatic circles: “We also don’t know completely what exactly Brussels’ conditions for continuing integration are. New demands, along with the implementation of the Brussels agreement, are being set, and these are German 11 points, some of which, such as the removal of the Peace Park, are not part of the agreement. In the meantime, a whole package of conditions has emerged, so it is time for Serbia to make it clear that their primary interest is EU membership, but that it expects Brussels’ fair treatment and for the cards to be opened completely.”
What has been implemented from the Brussels agreement?
Establishment of Union of Serb Municipalities (ZSO) no
ZSO has founding statute no
ZSO has president, vice president, assembly and council no
ZSO has full supervision over economic development,
education, healthcare, urban and rural planning no
ZSO also has additional jurisdictions no
ZSO has representative role within central authority no
Integration of police in north into Kosovo police yes
Members of Serb security structures will be offered
a post in Kosovo structures yes
Regional police commander in the north yes
Judiciary part of Kosovo legal system yes
Municipal elections in the north according to Kosovo laws yes
Draft plan for implementation yes
Talks on telecommunications and energy yes
Two sides will not block the other on its EU path yes
The mystery of the Kosovo chapter
The German Embassy in Serbia at one point denied that there was a list of Berlin’s 11 conditions that need to be fulfilled before opening Chapter 35, but Franco Frattini, former vice president of the European Commission who visited Belgrade last week, said that “11 points from the German Bundestag represent additional political conditions”. Even though the screening for Chapter 35 on Kosovo has been completed first, Belgrade still hasn’t received “in written form” what tasks this chapter will contain.
Djuric: No investment in Brezovica without agreement with the rightful owners (Tanjug)
The Head if the Office for Kosovo and Metohija Marko Djuric said that Serbia does not oppose investment in Brezovica, but that those who want to invest must reach an agreement with the actual owners of the facilities and property on the mountain. For Serbia and the Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija, it is unacceptable to adopt any plan on Brezovica, which would be based on illegal and violent expropriation, said Djuric. He pointed out that Mt. Brezovica has an owner, and that is the company Skijalista Srbije (Ski Resorts of Serbia) and that those who wish to invest in this area must reach an agreement with the right owners and the citizens of Strpce, to which this mountain and ski slopes are the source of income. The unresolved status of the property deters foreign investors, Djuric pointed out, stressing that it would be in Pristina’s interest to avoid unilateral actions, but to find a common language with the Serbian government and Serbs in Kosovo regarding the Brezovica resort. In Pristina, it was announced that the Kosovo government and the French consortium MDP Consulting will sign a contract on the project for the development of the tourist center Brezovica worth 409 million Euros.
Little hope for Brezovica (Politika, by Zivojin Rakocevic)
The announced privatization will leave us without jobs and salaries,” said Zoran Geric, the president of the Labor Union of the Brezovica Ski Center at yesterday’s meeting of some hundred employees of this company. The problem of privatization of Brezovica and the question into whose hands will one of the rare Serb stand fasts in Kosovo and Metohija go, are coming to an end, and Geric claims that there are absolutely no guarantees for the Serbs and that “all this can threaten their survival in Kosovo”. The main news from this extraordinary session of the Strpce municipal assembly was that the process of signing the contract and handover of Brezovica into the hands of Frenchman Pascal Rue is being postponed for six months, and that during this period mistakes need to be corrected and remarks to this project considered, bank guarantees need to be given, the demolition of the existing center needs to be prevented, the expropriation of private property needs to be stopped… “What kind of buyer is the one who had turnover of 360,000 Euros last year, yet here he can invest 410 million Euros, while he is not giving any guarantees to the employees that they will be admitted,” asked Zoran Boskovic, former manager of the Molika Hotel. He claims that the facilities on Brezovica are in serviceable condition, that they need revitalization and not demolition. The man who holds in his hands the fate of both the Serbs and Brezovica, because he has the right of veto to the decision according to the Kosovo system, claimed before the deputies that all this is not privatization but concession for 99 years. “The entire process has gone public. First, the European Commission hired a specialized company Deloitte to perform this job. Of four companies, the French Consortium “Di Alpe” won in the end, and it will invest 410 million Euros and open three thousand jobs,” said Strpce Mayor Bratislav Nikolic. These fantastic numbers are in complete contrast with the reality in Kosovo and Metohija, where only 70 million Euros were invested for the entire last year. General inconsistency is visible in everything, so, in only several hours, the number of future jobs in the ski center has risen by thousand in Pristina. The pressure on Nikolic is arriving from all over, and he had been arrested by the Kosovo police on the eve of the end of this process. It is clear that he needs to be protected from the highest position from Belgrade if there is a plan and the intention for the ski center and Mt. Sar to remain in the hands of the only real owners. The general confusion that reigns in all this is only a Serb issue. Pristina and the Albanians are achieving another significant national victory under the guise of progress and employment. While the Serbs speak about a pre-contract that is not in effect and that can still be amended, the Albanian side and media report about a final contract and privatization.
Zvonko Mihajlovic: Common policy by Belgrade and Pristina
“This plan has existed earlier and it is aimed at recapturing the entire center where the ski center is located and at throwing out all employees onto the streets without guarantees that they will be employed again. This directly and seriously jeopardizes the survival of the Serbs in this municipality,” said Zvonko Mihajlovic, former Strpce mayor. He points out that all this would not have happened without the consent of the authorities in Serbia and that “unfortunately, Belgrade and Pristina have a common policy when it comes to the Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija”.
Ljajic: Seselj’s case – conflict of vanities within Hague court (TV N1)
The Serbian government cannot help in solving the problems with the temporary release of the Serbian Radical Party leader Vojislav Seselj and the Prosecution’s demand that he be returned to the Hague court, emphasized the Chairperson of the National Council for Cooperation with the ICTY Rasim Ljajic. In a statement for the TV N1, he has assessed that the newly emerged situation is a game and conflict of vanities within the Tribunal itself, and Serbia is the only side that had been acting responsibly in all that. Since the beginning I have been claiming at issue is the conflict of vanities between the Prosecution and the Court, i.e. between judge Antonetti as the chairperson of the Hearing Chamber and prosecutor Serge Brammertz, Ljajic specified, adding that this conflict is obviously going on. Asked what could be done about the fact that Seselj is refusing to hand over his medical results to the Tribunal, Ljajic has answered that it is beyond the competency of the Serbian Government, but rather the relation between the Tribunal and Seselj himself. The state of Serbia can now only observe the situation, until asked to do something, Ljajic concluded.
Filipenko: We expect Serbian officials in Kiev on 8 May (Danas)
“Ukraine considers it is the sovereign right of Serbia and the Serbian President to decide on participation in events in foreign countries. At the same time, we are counting on the fact that Serbia will respond to the invitation for participation in the marking of the Day of Remembrance and Ceasefire in Kiev on 8 May this year. Apart from the state leadership, the Serbian military orchestra has also been invited to this event,” the Charge d’Affaires of the Ukrainian Embassy to Serbia Yevgenia Filipenko tells Danas, commenting the decision of President Nikolic to attend the parade in Moscow on 9 May and for the Serbian Army to take part in this event. Filipenko points out that “we think this would be a good sign for Serbia to remember our joint role in World War II when Ukrainian soldiers alongside with Serbian soldiers liberated Serbian and Ukrainian towns”.
REGIONAL PRESS
Jerlagic: For the first time since Dayton, we have a government that functions with one part not recognizing another (Oslobodjenje)
Amer Jerlagic, President of the Party for Bosnia and Herzegovina (SB&H), told a press conference in Sarajevo that for the first time since Dayton, we have in B&H a government that functions in a way that one side does not recognize the other. According to him, the HDZ B&H recognizes only the SDA as a partner, and not the Democratic Front. “You can imagine what the working conditions in such a government are. They already ‘stole’ half a year from us,” said Jerlagic. He added that the last mandate passed on “autopilot” and now once again we have such an ‘autopilot’ in B&H. “I would like this government to hold on for the complete four years, but I think that these 100 days or a year will be difficult for such a government to function,” said Jerlagic. According to Jerlagic, a binding of disparate elements, national parties and parties that are leftist or left-of-center, occurred. It was shown in the last mandate that this is incompatible. “And aside from all that they have Milorad Dodik and his SNSD, which holds the entire Parliamentary Assembly and all of us as citizens of B&H hostage, because with their three men in the House of Peoples I fear that not a single major document or law will pass in B&H,” said Jerlagic. He said that the SB&H has fought all these 19 years for the sovereignty, state-legal continuity, and territorial integrity of B&H. He noted that they are aware that the SB&H’s electoral result in the past elections was poor. “However, we consider it as just one stage, a passage process in the reform and restructuring of the party,” said Jerlagic. He added that the SB&H had used the period from the elections to today to restructure and reform the party, to negotiate with other small parties to integrate into the SB&H. He announced that they are preparing an alliance of several opposition parties that will work together in the coming period, not wishing to say which parties they are.
Covic and Izetbegovic without an agreement on the formation of cantonal government (Fena)
The leader of the HDZ B&H Dragan Covic and the SDA Vice-President Bakir Izetbegovic did not agree today in Mostar on the formation of government in the Herzegovina-Neretva (HNC) and Central Bosnia Canton (CBC), saying that talks would be resumed. “My wish is to, as soon possible, have the authorities in Mostar, i.e. HNC-in and CBC-in. I think we have exhausted all possible time and I advocate the idea to do it right away,” said Covic. According to him, the HDZ will really soon make the decision on their position in order to, soon as possible, establish the government and begin to deal with specific issues, and not, as he said, to discuss the government formation for half a year. “First and foremost we are going to have another round of talks with our associates, as well as with a third party, who is not here at the moment,” said Covic. The SDA Vice-President Bakir Izetbegovic said that at the meeting they didn’t have time to go into more detailed and important issues and that they have failed to reach a specific agreement, adding that talks would be resumed. When asked if the main problem concerning the formation of the government is the number of ministries that should belong to the DF, Izetbegovic said that the SDA is willing to give up on one position and give it to the DF, now it is all up to HDZ. “We had hoped for some concessions from the HDZ in at least one of the two cantons, but for now there is no such readiness,” said Izetbegovic. He added that the formation of the government without the DF is possible, but that it would not be good. “We have a tripartite government in both the Federation and it the Cantons, and I would love to see that this structure is appreciated, so that we have more or less uniform power,” said Izetbegovic.
Izetbegovic: January 9th is not the date that should be celebrated by all citizens of RS (Fena)
The SDA Vice-President Bakir Izetbegovic said today in Mostar that 9th of January (Day of the RS) is not a date that should be celebrated by all the citizens in RS. Commenting on the request, which was submitted to the Constitutional Court on the constitutionality of the Law on Holidays of Republika Srpska (RS), Izetbegovic said that the RS was formed and accepted by Dayton in November 1995. “The RS was at the time, irregular and mono-ethnic assembly, which has ignored the Croats and Bosniaks and has decided to divide Bosnia and Herzegovina at that session that took place on 9th of January, and we do not recognize this date as the date that needs to be celebrated by all citizens in the RS,” said Izetbegovic. According to him, territory, state institutions, public holidays and symbols in the RS belong to all peoples and citizens who live in that part of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the date of Dayton is the date in which they all should recognize themselves. “I gave one appeal and I think it will hold up in court. What they are doing in the Assembly of RS is an attempt to pressure the court not to make a fair decision,” said Izetbegovic.
B&H Court reached the verdict for crimes against Serbs in the Dretelj prison camp (Srna)
The B&H Court has sentenced Ivan Medic to seven years in prison, Ivan Zelenika to six years in prison, Marina Grubisic Fejzic to five years in prison, and acquitted Srecko Herceg of charges of crimes against Serbs in the Dretelj prison camp in 1992. Edib Buljubasic was sentenced to six years in prison, but having in mind that he was sentenced to 34 years in prison by the Zenica Canton Court, the B&H Court pronounced a single prison term of 34 years. On March 13, 2012, the B&H Court confirmed the indictment against Zelenika, Srecko Herceg, Edib Buljubasic, Ivan Medic and Marina Grubisic Fejzic, charging them with crimes against humanity. The indictment says that the accused committed crimes against humanity against Serbs held in the Dretelj prison camp from May to August 1992. Zelenika was charged as a high-ranking officer of HOS, Herceg as the commander of the Dretelj military prison, Buljubasic as the deputy commander of the HOS garrison in Dretelj, and Ivan Medic and Marina Grubisic Fejzic as HOS members and guards in the Dretelj prison camp.
EU: Respect the decisions of the Constitutional Court (Srna)
The EU Delegation and the Office of the EU Special Representative in B&H believe that the political establishment should refrain from interference and any action that undermines the credibility, constitutional position and the stability of the Constitutional Court – an institution that guarantees full respect for the rule of law and legal security in accordance with the criteria of Copenhagen’s EU bid. Regarding the announcement that the RS Assembly should consider the Proposal of the Declarations concerning a request for review of the Law on Holidays in the RS before the Constitutional Court, the EU Delegation and the Office of the EU Special Representative in B&H pointed out that the EU position is that the binding and a final decision of the Constitutional Court should always be respected in its entirety. “Legal security, as another fundamental aspect of the rule of law, requires the executive and legislative authorities to abide by the same will to implement court decisions, including the decision of the Constitutional Court. Otherwise, it cannot hold the trust in the constitutional order and the rule of law,” reads the statement from the EU Delegation and the Office of the Special Representative in B&H. The statement points out that the Constitutional Court plays a key role in preserving the rule of law throughout B&H, in accordance with the jurisdiction and composition which are clearly stipulated by the B&H Constitution. The RS Assembly should consider tomorrow in Banja Luka, the proposal of the declaration concerning a request for review of the Law on Holidays of the RS before the Constitutional Court. The RS Assembly speaker Nedeljko Cubrilovic previously stated that the RS must take into account the decision of the Constitutional Court on this issue, which is why the professional community has prepared a declaration that will be considered by the delegates. He reminded that the Bosniak member of the B&H Presidency Bakir Izetbegovic submitted to the Constitutional Court for review of constitutionality the RS Law on Holidays in which the Day of the Republic is January 9th.
UN suspects illegal arms trades between Bosnia and Libya (Dalje/FTV)
UN officials have requested information regarding possible transshipment of arms from Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) to the Libyan branch of Al-Qaeda, suspecting that the illegal trade is facilitated by mediators in Serbia and Montenegro, B&H Federal Television (FTV) has reported. FTV released details of a letter that the coordinator of a UN Panel of Experts on Libya, Simon Dilloway had sent to Serbia’s permanent representative to the UN, Milan Milanovic in which Dilloway has requested information about the Tehnoremont Company from Serbia owned by Petar Crnogorac.
In the letter, Dilloway asks if Tehnoremont has signed a contract with Khalid Al-Sharifm the leader of the Libyan branch of Al-Qaeda, who was a former detainee in Afghanistan in the 1980s. Khalid al-Sharif was the former Minister of Defense and Commander of the Libyan National Guard.
Dilloway has requested copies of contracts if such a contract has been signed as well as the details of arms deliveries. If this has indeed occurred, the panel requests information concerning the volume of material, method of transport, dates and locations of deliveries as well as precise information about the recipients of shipments and accompanying documentation, the letter to Milanovic notes. A report submitted by the panel suggests that weapons were also exported by the Montenegro Defense Industry owned by Zoran Damjanovic. In addition to those from the Serbian Tehnoremont company. FTV reported that Damjanovic’s company used to cooperate with weapons smuggler Slobodan Tesic.
Former US ambassador says Dayton accords generator of problems in B&H (Dalje/ Dnevni avaz)
B&H’s political structure as defined by the Dayton Agreement was never intended to be a long-term solution, even though that was to have been specified in the document that ended the war in the country in 1995 that was not done by mistake, a former US ambassador to Austria and close friend of the Clinton family, Swanne Hunt, said on Wednesday. In an interview with Dnevni avaz, Hunt said that as Ambassador in Vienna she was involved in efforts by the then US administration to end the war in B&H, adding that the country’s structure as defined by the Dayton agreement today only generates new problems. The Dayton structure was never designed to be a long-term solution. We could say that that (solution) was of a short-term nature. That was to have been written down, however, it was omitted, said Hunt who is still active on the international scene promoting gender equality. Hunt underscored that the past twenty years just confirmed that the Dayton structure was “absurd’. It simply cannot produce anything better. If there is no adequate political structure, it makes the situation very difficult for the economy and all other aspects of society. It is clear that it is difficult to advance in such a situation, she said. Hunt believes that an additional problem caused by solutions in the Dayton agreement is that after the war, hardline politicians have emerged in the political structures of all three constituent peoples, leaving no room for those who think differently. Nevertheless, Hunt believes that there is hope for B&H but she links it with Hillary Clinton’s possible victory in presidential elections next year. I think that there is a very good chance of that happening, Hunt said, recalling that Hillary Clinton was very well acquainted with the situation in B&H and the region and that she had personally spoken to numerous victims of the war. I believe that as president she will put a lot of feeling into the USA’s policy toward B&H and fill the country with much more hope, Hunt concluded.
INTERNATIONAL PRESS
EU-facilitated dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia: Recent achievements and upcoming challenges (EU Reporter, by Vincent Van Doninck, 13 April 2015)
It has been two years since the April Agreement between Serbia and Kosovo, mediated by the EU. All in all, both parties have shown a willingness to implement the agreement within their territory. The recent agreement on justice and judiciary in Kosovo is proof of further normalization of their relationship. However, several issues remain. After six months of inactivity due to internal political squabbling, Kosovo has moved on to continue working on its development as a state. The EU has been one of the main facilitators for continued Serbia-Kosovo dialogue, and the creation of a Kosovar coalition government in December 2014 made sure that the negotiations could move forward once again. High Representative Federica Mogherini said: “We agreed that, now that there is a new government in Pristina, work should resume at an intensified pace in the EU reform agenda so that good progress can be made in the next year, both in its internal development and in its EU path.” In 2014, the Government of Pristina outlined two specific issues from the April Agreements that had not yet been addressed. First of all, the civil protection structure has been a concern for some time. This ‘parallel’ structure consists of a Serbian police force controlling the North of Kosovo. The second issue was a demand for reform of the judicial system, and the question of admittance of Serbian Judges within the Kosovar Justice system. Both of these demands are now being institutionalized. The 2015 judiciary agreement represents yet another step forward for the aspiring nation. Not only does it represent the possibility of a functioning judicial system with a mixture of Serbian and Albanian judges and prosecutors, it also pushes Kosovo and Serbia closer towards an accession to the European Union. Furthermore, an earlier agreement allowed 500 Serb policemen to join the Kosovo Police, another step towards integration and a solution of the Kosovar grievances. However, the Serbian Civil Protection Forces, which the Kosovars consider to be a threat to their sovereignty, remain up until now present within the North. The Serbian Prime Minister A. Vucic took a positive stance after the latest agreement, but pointed out two other potential stumble blocks for the future. The first is a long-lasting stand off over the rights of the Trepça Mine. Serbia has taken up its right to control 75% of the influential mine. Recently, the (Kosovar) miners decided to go on strike as a measure of protest against this Serbian control. The new Kosovar Government consequently attempted to nationalize the mine, but was forced to abandon this strategy under EU and Serbian pressure. The relevance of the Trepça mines cannot be underestimated. During the existence of Yugoslavia, it accounted for over 70% of all its mineral wealth. Economically, these mines could constitute an enormous boost for whichever nation ends up owning the rights. A second issue raised by Prime Minister Vucic was the creation of an Association of Serbian Municipalities with autonomous powers. The previous Municipalities were declared illegal after the April Agreement, but EU-negotiators have recognized the necessity of local representation for the Serbian population within Kosovo. Overall, the EU-facilitated negotiations can be considered a success. However, Kosovo faces many more challenges in its quest to become a fully functioning state. Along with the previously mentioned issues, the European Parliament has observed several other problems within the region. The unemployment rate fluctuates at around 45%, corruption remains a daily occurrence and EULEX, responsible for giving assistance to the Kosovar governments, has seen its popularity within Kosovo decrease yearly.
Enquiry says Kosovo mission not guilty of ‘cover-up’ (EU Observer, by Andrew Rettman and Nikolaj Nielsen, 14 April 2015)
BRUSSELS
An EU enquiry into Eulex, its rule of law mission in Kosovo, says it didn’t cover up corruption allegations or mistreat a whistleblower, but does urge reform. The findings – a 97-page study by an “independent” expert – were published by the EU foreign service on Tuesday (14 April). They say “suspicions of a cover-up … fortunately turned out to be unfounded”. They note that Eulex’ treatment of a British prosecutor, who went public with the allegations and who lost her job, was “justified”. But they add that, seven years after Eulex was put in place, “corruption is omnipresent” in Kosovo, and the mission needs “reform”. The EU foreign service ordered the enquiry after Kosovo’s leading daily, Koha Ditore, last year said Eulex officials colluded with criminal suspects, took a bribe to shut down a murder case, and quashed an internal probe. The news report was based on leaked Eulex documents written by the British prosecutor – Maria Bamieh. When Eulex suspended her from her post, Bamieh went public, giving extra details.
The EU foreign service tasked Jean Paul Jacque, a French law professor, to examine Eulex’ handling of the affair. It didn’t ask him to check if the corruption allegations are true because this is subject to a separate, and ongoing, criminal investigation.
Internal probe
Jacque says that Eulex’ decision to hold an “ad-hoc” and highly confidential probe into the allegations, instead of using normal procedure, fuelled the “unwarranted” suspicion of a cover-up. But he adds the probe “is proof of the willingness of those responsible to find out the truth”.
He says it was launched after some delay because the initial allegations lacked credibility on a “prima faciae” basis and further “intelligence” was needed. He praises its thoroughness, noting, for instance, that the bank account of the Eulex official accused of accepting a bribe was checked. He also forgives Eulex for losing files pertaining to the case, saying that, while they were missing from its archive, a copy did turn up in the deputy head of mission’s office, “which would not have been the case if the mission had intended the document [in question] to disappear”. He says he was given full access to all the materials he needed, including private emails.
Bamieh
His picture of Bamieh is withering. Bamieh says that after she first voiced corruption allegations internally, people loyal to those accused made sure her contract wasn’t renewed. She also says she was suspended from her post on grounds she leaked documents to Koha Ditore, even though she wasn’t the leaker. Jacque says her contract wasn’t renewed because she flunked an interview. He notes that her idea of loyalists who victimised her is based on “strange rumours”. He adds that Eulex was right to suspend her because “it was reasonable to believe” she was the source of the Koha Ditore leaks. He accuses her of jeopardising the safety of an Eulex witness by confirming their name in a TV interview and of smearing the Eulex corruption suspects by naming them in public before their guilt has been proved. He portrays her as a flaky character, who left her car parked in the street with its doors open at night despite security risks, and who compared herself to iconic figures in French literature. He also exonerates Eulex’ treatment of the Koha Ditore reporter who broke the story. He says Eulex was right to warn him that if he divulged information pertaining to criminal cases then he could face prosecution. He notes that if the reporter felt “threatened”, as he later said, then he didn’t show it in his “cordial” correspondence with Eulex at the time.
Criticism
The French jurist does criticise Eulex in other areas, however. He says the level of corruption in Kosovo seven years after the EU mission, the largest and most expensive of its type, began work is so high that it’s “premature” for Eulex to hand control to Kosovo institutions. “While total eradication of corruption would have been impossible it should, nevertheless, have been possible to lay the foundations of a system capable of fighting corruption.” He says Eulex judges are failing to co-operate with each other. He says they should be subject to an independent oversight body and describes parts of Eulex’ internal governance as “dysfunctional”. He also says it needs a better registry of internal documents and better document security.
Prosecutions
Jacque, a 72-year old academic who used to work for the EU Council, wrote the report pro-bono after interviewing more than 30 people in Pristina and Brussels over three months. He says he spent half a day talking to Bamieh. A senior EU official told press in Brussels on Tuesday that his analysis is “professional” and proves that the EU is “not about covering up, about turning a blind eye”. He declined to speculate on when the criminal investigation into the corruption allegations will end. “It’ll be completed when it’s completed”, he said. He defended the fact the published version of Jacque’s paper redacts details for the sake of privacy and in order not to prejudice the case. In the past, international personnel indicted for crimes in Kosovo evaded punishment by skipping back to their home countries. The EU official said if the Eulex suspects are indicted for corruption, they “could be” tried in Kosovo, but if they aren’t, then he “thinks” they’ll be tried at home instead. The officials under investigation are from the Czech Republic and Italy.
Healthy?
For his part, Richard Howitt, a British centre-left MEP, commented that Bamieh “will be disappointed that her version of events is largely rejected, although it is accepted she was ‘sidelined’.” He noted that, in Jacque’s analysis, she isn’t eligible for either Kosovar or EU-level “whistleblower” protection. “This sends out a very wrong message to any other European official who has the courage to speak out in the fight against corruption”, the MEP said. Andrea Capussela, an Italian former official in Kosovo who, earlier this month, published a book on EU-Kosovo state-building, told EUobserver he’s “glad” Jacque’s report went beyond Bamieh. “I’m glad the report also discusses Eulex’ record and the condition of Kosovo’s judiciary”, he said. “It would be excellent if the mission could be reformed and given sufficient time to achieve at least a meaningful part of its mandate”. “To the extent that Jacque does criticise Eulex’ overall record, the EU foreign service is to be commended for publishing it”, he added. “The official line, until recently, is that Kosovo is progressing … and Eulex was not so bad. So, this is healthy”.
Macedonia Political Crisis Talks Resume in Brussels (BIRN, by Sinisa Jakov Marusic, 15 April 2015)
A second round of talks is being held between Macedonia’s ruling party and the opposition, aimed at resolving the political crisis in the country sparked by the illegal surveillance scandal.
Behind closed doors and without high expectations, negotiating teams from the main ruling VMRO DPMNE party of Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski and the opposition Social Democrats, SDSM, meet for the second time at the European Parliament in Brussels on Wednesday.
The parties have kept their strategies secret, but unofficially, both sides have little hope of a breakthrough at the meeting. The last meeting also ended with no progress apart from the willingness on both sides to meet again. Sources inside the SDSM told BIRN that their demands include the appointment of a new chief prosecutor as well as new prosecutor in charge of organised crime, the removal of government control over mainstream media and a new, transitional government that would prepare the country for fresh elections. At the last meeting on March 30, the VMRO DPMNE is believed to have rebuffed all these demands and has insisted that the opposition first return to parliament. The opposition started boycotting parliament following the April 2014 early general and presidential elections, which it alleged were fraudulent. Tapes of government ministers’ conversations revealed by the SDSM leader Zoran Zaev over the last two months appear to have offered fresh backing for the opposition’s earlier claims that the Prime Minister runs an authoritarian regime and pays scant respect to the law. The recordings suggest that state institutions have been tightly controlled by Gruevski’s VMRO DPMNE and routinely misused for political purposes. Zaev’s party says that on Gruevski’s orders, journalists, judges, prosecutors, mayors and even the government’s own ministers have been wiretapped. Gruevski has repeatedly insisted however that the tapes were “created” by unnamed “foreign centres” in order to destabilise his country. However, after almost nine years in power mostly unchallenged, the content of the tapes is thought to have seriously undermined his position. The talks with the opposition are being facilitated by MEPs Ivo Vajgl, Eduard Kukan and Richard Howitt. The SDSM team in Brussels is led by the party vice-president Radmila Sekerinska, while the ruling party team is led by Foreign Minister Nikola Poposki.Observers have been sceptical about the talks so far, saying that a more high-profile diplomat from the European Union or the United States would have to join in at some later stage in order to boost the possibility of success.
Waiting for EU leadership: The worsening crisis in Macedonia (EurActiv, by Erwan Fouéré, 15 April 2015)
The EU’s reaction to the latest political crisis in Macedonia crisis has been very slow, and gives the impression that the EU seems out of touch with reality on the ground, writes Erwan Fouéré.
Erwan Fouéré is Associate Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS) and former ambassador to Ukraine. The op-ed was first published on the CEPS website.
The European Commission’s Progress Report on Macedonia published last year contained a clear warning to the government that failure to address the growing concerns over the politicisation of state institutions as well as the independence of the judiciary and freedom of expression would result in a withdrawal of the recommendation for opening negotiations. Six months later, not only has the government done nothing to address the Report’s findings, but the political situation has dramatically deteriorated. It is no exaggeration to suggest that of all the problems in the Balkan region, the case of Macedonia and the worsening crisis in the country is the most problematic and also the most acute. It is an example of how one should never take anything for granted in the Balkans – a positive narrative one day can become a nightmare scenario the next. This crisis also raises serious questions as to whether the EU is doing enough to deploy its foreign policy instruments in dealing with the situation at political level as well as to ensure effective follow-up to its Progress Report recommendations by the government. In 2005, Macedonia was regarded as a success story in overcoming inter-ethnic tensions and promoting courageous reforms – an effort the EU rewarded by granting candidate status for EU accession. Today it is a country governed by fear and intimidation with a ruling party, whose ethno-nationalist and populist agenda has created new fault lines in an already-fragile environment. The Prime Minister, Nikola Gruevski, and his ruling party (VMRO-DPMNE – The Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organisation –Democratic Party for Macedonian National Unity) have pursued a systematic campaign against all those who openly criticise the regime. The country has the worst record in media freedom in the Balkan region; the latest Reporters without Borders index ranks Macedonia in 123rd place, just above Angola, a drop of almost 90 places from 2009, when it was ranked in 34th place. Perhaps most alarming are the deep tensions that have reopened between the ethnic Albanian community, comprising 25% of the population (according to the 2002 census), and the main Macedonian community, with a level of mistrust not seen since the bloody conflict of 2001, when several hundred people were killed. Much of this increased mistrust is due to the divisive policies of the ruling party and a lack of sensitivity for inter-ethnic relations (the controversial Skopje 2014 urban renewal project being the most visible example). The latest crisis to rock the country is the revelation of a vast wiretapping operation providing evidence of alleged corruption by a government that seems to ignore due process and operates by its own rules. The voices on the released tapes are clearly recognisable, and include conversations between the Prime Minister and several Ministers and other senior officials, not least the chief of the state security, Saso Mijalkov, who also happens to be the cousin of Gruevski. The Prime Minister, while not denying the authenticity of the conversations, claims that the tapes were doctored and that those responsible for the wiretapping operation are foreign intelligence services, which he has refused to identify. He has accused Zoran Zaev, the leader of the opposition party SDSM (Social Democratic Union of Macedonia), who has been releasing the tapes to the public in a series of press conferences over the past two months, of plotting a coup against the government. Zaev has been charged with espionage and has had his passport revoked. The reaction from the EU to this latest crisis has been very slow and initially limited to expressions of ‘serious concern’, and calls for an “independent and transparent investigation”. This statement gave the impression that the EU seemed out of touch with reality on the ground, in addition to being inconsistent with the findings of the Progress Report, which had itself raised concerns over the independence of the judicial process. The Commissioner, Johannes Hahn, paid his first long-scheduled visit to Skopje on 17 February 2015. This was more than two weeks after the Prime Minister had accused the leader of the opposition with espionage. Yet the Commissioner made no reference to the wiretapping scandal during his visit, and confined his remarks to expressions of hope for the country’s progress on the EU perspective. The focus has now shifted to a mediation effort by a delegation from the European Parliament at the request of the Commissioner. The delegation is composed of the Rapporteur for Macedonia Ivo Vajgl, the former Rapporteur Richard Howitt, and Eduard Kukan, a member of the European Peoples Party (of which the VMRO-DPMNE party is a member). The first meeting which brought together in Brussels representatives from both the ruling party and the opposition took place on March 30th; a further meeting is scheduled for some time later this month (after the Orthodox Easter). However, if past experience is anything to go by, it is doubtful that such a mediation effort with only periodic meetings spread over several months has much chance of success. It is clear that the only way out of this crisis is for a much more robust and direct involvement of the EU – both the European Commission and the European External Action Service (EEAS), which has been largely silent up to now. The Foreign Affairs Council at its next meeting should also focus on the crisis before it deteriorates further. The EU should push for an independent investigation of the wiretapping, with the participation of respected international personalities, which would have the power to call witnesses. Leaving this to the current Public Prosecutor would have no credibility in view of the many cases of direct interference by the ruling party in the judicial system. Several of the released wiretapped conversations relate to alleged government interference in judicial proceedings as well as in judicial appointments, giving further credence to the relevant findings of the European Commission’s Progress Report. The serious and repeated failings of the government in its reform record as reflected in successive Progress Reports, and in its management of the electoral process as reflected in successive OSCE/ODIHR election observation reports, point to a government that has lost all credibility. The setting up of a transitional government, which would prepare for a proper electoral process, is probably the only solution to overcome the crisis. This would help to restore some basic legitimacy to the institutions of the state and a restoration of the rule of law. To assist in this transitional process, the EU should consider the appointment of a Special Representative with political clout who would be deployed for a fixed period. The EU, and in particular the European Commission, also needs to reconsider its overall approach in dealing with the situation in the country. By continuing to insist in its last two Progress Reports that “the country sufficiently meets the political criteria”, despite the eruption of violence in the Parliament in December 2012, and many other serious shortcomings in its reform record, it will have given the Prime Minister and his ruling party the impression that they can continue to act with impunity. If the EU lets this latest scandal pass, it will be a serious failure of leadership on its part and that of the member states. It would also be a terrible blow for government accountability and respect for the rule of law in the Balkan region, and would undermine the EU’s own policy of putting the rule of law at the heart of its enlargement policy. There are undoubtedly reasons to explain the apparent lack of attention to and even understanding on the part of the EU on the severity of the situation in Macedonia, one of them being the low priority given to enlargement in many EU member states. A common refrain is that so long as there is stability in the region, whatever problems there are will sort themselves out. This is a dangerous assumption. Maintaining stability at the expense of the rule of law and government accountability is a sure recipe for failure in the long term. It is time for the EU to use all the foreign policy instruments at its disposal to address in a more decisive manner the crisis in Macedonia, not only for the sake of the country and its people, but also because of the potential impact in the broader region.
EU backs Montenegro in spite of shortcomings (New Europe, by Dan Alexe, 15 April 2015)
“Montenegro has submitted very timely its economic report, said today the Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn, and deserves to be backed in its further progress towards EU accession. Johannes Hahn held this morning a press conference with Milo Đukanović, prime minister of Montenegro, announcing also that new talks on regional cooperation in the Western Balkans in the area of transport and energy will take place next week. On 25 March, at a conference of six Balkan nations in the Kosovo capital Pristina, Johannes Hahn announced a fund of 1 billion euros to for infrastructure projects in the Western Balkans. Ministers from Serbia, Bosnia, Albania, Montenegro, Macedonia and Kosovo agreed to coordinate projects to create an integrated transport network. On Tuesday, Đukanović also met the president of the Commission Jean-Claude Juncker and Donald Tusk, EU Council president. “The EU remains committed to support the European and Euroatlantic future of Montenegro”, assured Tusk, after meeting Đukanović, who also visited the NATO HQ. Đukanović was in Brussels not only in order to receive promises of help for his country to join the EU and NATO, but also in order to discuss economic help. Last autumn, the EU decided to expand accession talks with Montenegro, by opening more chapters in membership talks, after Montenegro stepped up rule-of-law reforms. At the same time, last month the EU parliament adopted a resolution highlighting the need for further reform in the judiciary and for improvements to media freedom in Montenegro – while another resolution, on Serbia, made similar demands. The Parliament voiced concern about the state of media freedom and the weak professional and ethical standards among the media in Montenegro. It deplored the fact that attacks on journalists and on media property have continued.
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