LOCAL PRESS

Spokeswoman for Mogherini: Brussels talks are underway (Tanjug)

Catherine Ray, spokeswoman for the EU high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, said Monday that the latest round of talks in the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina was underway and focused on four topics – energy, Telekom, community of Serb municipalities and freedom of movement over the bridge in Mitrovica. Ray also said that the talks had started in the morning by High Representative Federica Mogherini holding bilateral meetings with the two prime ministers. Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic said yesterday that the Serbian delegation was leaving for Brussels in the hope that it would resolve the most important issues facing the Serbian people in Kosovo-Metohija. Kosovo Prime Minister Isa Mustafa wrote on his Facebook page today that it was in the best interests of Kosovo and its citizens to successfully finalize agreements with Serbia in several areas, with facilitation of the EU and support from the United States. The talks are expected to result in reaching an agreement on the framework and principles for the establishment of the community of Serb municipalities, which should give the community executive powers, something opposed to by Pristina.

Additional pressure of Washington and Berlin on Pristina may be required (B92)

Political analysts in Belgrade and Pristina note that additional pressure of Washington and Berlin on Pristina may be required as dialogue resumes, primarily in terms of acceptance of the principles for the establishment of the ZSO which have already been harmonized by Belgrade and representatives of the European Union. In particular, they are convinced that Albanians must agree that officials and employees of the ZSO have the status of “civil servants.” Otherwise, according to media reports, the Kosovo prime minister has practically already accepted that the ZSO is exempt of taxes and customs duties, while according to the text that has been agreed on so far, Serbia has unlimited right to finance the Serb community in Kosovo and Metohija. The Brussels document provides for concrete executive powers of the ZSO, and besides municipal jurisdictions, it includes supervision in education, health, urban planning, economic development, the return of IDPs. The bodies of the ZSO, to which Pristina has agreed, will include president (representing the ZSO in the province and beyond), a council of 30 members (a political body made up of mayors, representatives of the Serbian Orthodox Church, prominent citizens), the executive board (with seven members that will make operational decisions departmentally) and the Community’s chief who will answer to the board. In June, an agreement was reached on the call number for Kosovo, which respected almost everything Belgrade has asked for, and there was also an agreement in principle on Telekom.

Serbia contributes to drafting objective report on KiM (Tanjug)

National Assembly Speaker Maja Gojkovic met on Tuesday with Agustin Conde, rapporteur of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy, as part of the preparation of the report and resolution of the Council of Europe on the situation in Kosovo and Metohija. Gojkovic said that the Serbian Assembly stands ready to fully contribute to the drafting of an objective report on the situation in Kosovo and Metohija, adding she is sure the report would be objective and responsible. Gojkovic said that Serbia is committed to the implementation of the Brussels agreement as a viable option to normalize the life of the citizens in Kosovo and Metohija. Conde said that the report will focus on civil rights because the role on the Council of Europe is to ensure, on every territory, no matter what its legal status, that the citizens enjoy their rights and democratic standards, adding that the objective of the periodical checks is to improve the human rights situation.

Drecun: Resolution 1244 still current for Serbia (Tanjug)

President of the parliamentary Committee for Kosovo-Metohija (KiM) Milovan Drecun conferred Tuesday with Agustin Conde, rapporteur of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy, about ways to establish democratic standards and the fight against corruption and crime in KiM. Drecun briefed Conde on the Serbian committee’s activities, pointing to the active role of MPs in creating the Serbian government’s policy on KiM, the Serbian parliament’s media relations office issued in a statement. Drecun reiterated that Serbia sees no perspective in Kosovo’s unilaterally proclaimed independence, which he sees as an act of secession and a precedent in international law. He also said that Serbia considers KiM institutions as interim local institutions – in no way the state ones, adding that Resolution 1244 is still current for the country. “Stable relations between Belgrade and Pristina are important for the standard of living in KiM, for Serbia and its European aspirations, as well as for regional cooperation,” Drecun underlined.

Vucic about early elections, SZO and Thaci’s comments (B92)

It will be known by the end of September whether early parliamentary elections will he held, Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic told a news conference on Monday. He added that he “personally” was in favor of early elections – “but it will depend on the state interest.” “Whether or not there will be elections – I would choose the election option. There’s only one problem, when elections are called the whole economy comes to a halt. It is the party interest and my personal feeling to go to elections while the state reasons are against it. We’ll see how things will develop, you will know by the end of September,” Vucic said. Vucic, who is the leader of the ruling SNS party, added that “elections are an area with no surprises,” and that “things are clear there, as, for example, it is (clear) that Red Star (FC) cannot defeat Real Madrid or Chelsea.” “The ball is not round like people are saying,” the Serbian prime minister remarked, and added, “nothing is as predictable as election results – that is the thing in politics that’s the easiest to predict.” A summit on the Western Balkans in Vienna on August 27 will be, he stressed, “a great chance for Serbia to present its projects and ideas.” According to him, “Serbia will receive EU’s support for the policy of full political and regional stability that it leads, and its complete dedication to economic progress.” Vucic also said this was “important for our country,” and added he “believes first (EU membership) negotiations chapters will be opened soon, that we will be able to dedicate ourselves to making progress on the European path even more and even more fiercely.” He said this would enable Serbia to join the EU during the mandate of a future government, and added he was “not ruling out that possibility, although he was not making any promises it was easy to become a member, because that depends not only on all the things we will fulfill and be able to do, but also on the political situation in Europe.” Asked “how the Serbian side will respond” after Kosovo Foreign Minister Hashim Thaci said, ahead of a new round of Kosovo negotiations, that Pristina “will not accept executive powers” for the future Community of Serb Municipalities,” Vucic said that Thaci “does not know what executive powers are.” He added that “many have read ‘executive powers’ as a platitude and can’t say when he asks them what it means.” In his statement, Thaci said that “Kosovo will not allow a new Republika Srpska (RS) to be created,” while Vucic said on Monday that “Serbia will not accept for Kosovo to be a sovereign state like Bosnia and Herzegovina.” “We are going to Brussels to reach agreement. We will not agree to what runs contrary to the interest of the Republic of Serbia and our people in Kosovo and Metohija. We are going to Brussels and are ready to talk and reach agreements,” Vucic stressed. He then added he “does not like the game of shifting blame” – but that “last time, the only time so far, he said Pristina’s delegation was there not to sign anything,” and added: “I hope the situation will be different tomorrow.” The prime minister also “urged the public” not to lead a campaign against migrants and refugees coming from the Middle East. “Yesterday and today Serbia faced a huge number of people who arrived. We are doing this job conscientiously and responsibly. There is not a single reason to lead some campaign against those people,” said he. Vucic added there had been “only two incidents so far between migrants,” and asked “how many Serbs get into fights every day.” “We want to help them because we know what it’s like to be a refugee. They didn’t run away from prosperity but to protect their lives,” said Vucic.

Dacic: Elections unnecessary, but Vucic will decide (Radio Beograd)

Leader of the Socialist Party of Serbia Ivica Dacic believes that the country does not need early parliamentary elections, but adds that Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic is the one who will decide when they will be held. If he wants to call elections, he is free to do it. If he wants my opinion, I think they are not necessary at all, because there is no political or constitutional crisis that should be resolved through elections, said Dacic, also Serbia’s deputy prime minister and foreign minister. He told Radio Beograd 1 that he deals with matters of importance for the country, adding that these issues “do not interest him much.” Prime Minister Vucic said on Monday there is a number of arguments for and against holding early parliamentary election, but added that the decision on this will be made by the end of September.

UNHCR in Serbia: There’s no migrant crisis (RTS)

It is hard to predict how the situation with migrants will develop in the Balkans and Serbia, says head of the UNHCR office in Serbia Hans Friedrich Schodder. However he noted that the issue of an increasing number of refugees arriving in Serbia from the Middle East should not be qualified as a crisis, but that a crisis should be prevented. Most of the assistance for the refugees was provided by the UNHCR, Schodder told Serbia’s state broadcaster RTS, adding that the Serbian government reacted very quickly to receive these people. He also said that the assistance coming from the citizens and the civil society was. “It is very hard to predict what will happen. We saw a slight increase in the number of migrants in the last few months. We hope that the number will stabilize or decrease, but it is hard to tell, as there are so many factors,” he stressed. Schodder also pointed out that “the current situation in Serbia cannot be called a crisis”. “We should prevent it, especially when winter comes and when refugees will no longer be able to stay in the open,” he said. Asked “when he would start calling the migrant and refugee situation a crisis,” the UNHCR official said this would happen “if serious threats to their safety and health occurred.” Schodder described the Serbian government’s reaction “in this situation” as “very swift, especially compared to other countries in the region.”

EU official on abolishment of Cyrillic in Croatian town (B92)

Respect for linguistic and cultural diversity is one of the cornerstones of the EU, the head of the organization’s delegation to Serbia has said. In a statement issued on Tuesday, Michael Davenport noted that “the Commission remains confident that the Croatian authorities will comply with their national and international commitments.” The statement came in the wake of the decision of local authorities in Croatia’s town of Vukovar to abolish bilingual signs on public buildings – those written in both Croatian Latin and Serbian Cyrillic. “The protection of minorities is one of the founding values of the European Union, and is a principle explicitly mentioned in the Treaty on European Union. In addition, any discrimination on the basis of membership of a national minority is explicitly prohibited in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union which applies whenever EU countries implement EU law. The Commission ensures that fundamental rights and non-discrimination are respected when EU law is implemented,” Davenport said, and added:

“Respect for linguistic and cultural diversity is one of the cornerstones of the European Union enshrined in Article 3 of the Treaty on European Union. While national language policies, including bilingual public signs, remain within the jurisdiction of each Member State, the Commission remains confident that the Croatian authorities will comply with their national and international commitments, in particular, among others, the application of the Council of Europe’s Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities as well as of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages by its Member States, which Croatia has ratified.”

VS to take part in two military exercises in Russia (Politika)

The Serbian Armed Forces (VS) will have 60 of its soldiers take part in a joint military exercise of special forces of Serbia, Russia and Belarus in Russia at the end of August and beginning of September, Belgrade-based daily Politika said in its Tuesday edition. “The main activity is a parachute and air assault as part of a special operation,” the Serbian Ministry of Defense told Politika. The trilateral military exercise, the holding of which has been objected to by Brussels, who argue that Serbia should align its foreign security policy to that of the European Union, is dubbed ‘Slavic Brotherhood 2015’ and will be held at a training ground near Novorossiysk, a city on Russia’s Black Sea coast. The Ministry of Defense said that a team comprising 15 members of the VS will participate in an air warfare tactical exercise, titled BARS 2015, at the Ashuluk training range in southern Russia in October. BARS 2015 is aimed at training aircrews to repel enemy assault and protect their own units and buildings, Politika said.

REGIONAL PRESS

Bakir Izetbegovic: Radoncic welcomed to join the coalition (Bosna danas)

President of the SDA party Bakir Izetbegovic said he will be glad to see SBB and HDZ 1990 joining ruling coalition in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FB&H). He said this after today’s session of the SDA leadership. Radoncic, leader of the opposition, was invited to join the ruling coalition by HDZ leader Dragan Covic this weekend. He reiterated that SDA has an agreement with DF and Alliance for Changes. “We will stick to those agreements, unless some of those parties decide to leave coalition, as DF did. SDA has also signed agreement with three parties on the entity level, and we will not give it up. Enlargement of the coalition in terms of talks between leaders of HDZ, SNSD and SBB, who would, as they said, give a strong support to the stabilization of the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) and its reform agenda, is welcomed”, Izetbegovic said. He said SDA with its partners will be happy to enter the enlarged coalition. “I would not guess how is that going to affect the executive power. With the entry of SBB and HDZ in the coalition in FB&H, we would have two-third majority in parliament which would enable us to change Constitution“, Izetbegovic said. He believes that there will be no big changes in the B&H Council of Ministers, but that it would be good for SDA to have SBB and HDZ 1990 with it at the entity level. He said there are no indications when he could meet with SBB leader Fahrudin Radoncic, but that he is ready for that meeting. Radoncic hinted earlier today on his Twitter account that he is ready to join the coalition, which lost majority several months ago when DF decided to be the opposition. He said compromise of all, including himself, Izetbegovic and Covic, is needed for B&H to survive.

Dodik: Offer resolution through reforms, and there won’t be a referendum in RS (RTRS)

If anyone cares to see the announced referendum in Republika Srpska (RS) on the Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) judiciary not being held, they must offer a resolution through reforms, and the opportunity for it will be on 10 September in Brussels at the new working discussion on structural dialogue, reiterated Milorad Dodik, entity president. “If clearly set goals for the four conditions of RS are not set, the referendum will be held,” said Dodik. He told RTRS that RS expects the B&H Court and Prosecutor to be independent in processing perpetrators of war crimes, through changes in the criminal code, and the B&H Court in processes cannot be retroactive in applying the law. Commenting on the reconfiguration of the government in the Council of Ministers, he repeated that the SNSD “has a principled relationship and is not going anywhere in a hurry.” “I think that this is not about any reconfiguration, nor is there a need,” said Dodik, repeating the accusation that the SDS, as he said, is leading a treacherous policy at the state level. He confirmed that no concrete discussions about the possible participation of the SNSD in the B&H government are underway.

INTERNATIONAL PRESS

Serbia, Kosovo Leaders Meet to End Stalemate (BIRN)

Serbian and Kosovo officials meet on Tuesday in Brussels for a potentially key round of the EU-facilitated dialogue, which is crucial for both sides’ European integration processes

The two sides, headed by prime ministers Aleksandar Vucic and Isa Mustafa, are due to meet on Tuesday to finalize key deals on energy, telecommunications and the Association of Serbian Municipalities, the EU said. They will also try to find the solution to the issue of freedom of movement across the Ibar river bridge, which splits the divided northern Kosovo town of Mitrovica into Serbian and Albanian parts. The EU Foreign Affairs and Security Policy chief, Federica Mogherini, will chair the meeting. Nenad Djurdjevic, from the Forum for Ethnic Relations, an NGO in Belgrade, on Monday predicted that the two sides will make progress, two years after the so-called Brussels agreement on improving their mutual relations was signed. “Both side needs to unblock the European integrations process and to do that they need to make compromises. That is why I expect agreements will be reached on Tuesday. The most difficult questions will be the Association of Serbian Municipalities and the energy issues,” Djurdjevic told BIRN. The association is designed to link ethnic Serbian majority municipalizes in Kosovo and give them a degree of autonomy from the Kosovo authorities over economic development, education, health, and urban and rural planning. The extent of that autonomy remains contested, however.

Leaders of Serbia and Kosovo previously met on June 29 but failed to reach an agreement, blaming each other over the outcome. However, a source in the Serbian delegation told BIRN that progress was in fact made at the last meeting but no agreement was signed because Kosovo wanted everything signed in one package. The same source said the biggest obstacle would likely be the statute and powers of the Association of Serbian Municipalities. Serbs want the association to have its own president, parliament and a board with executive powers. They also want Serbia to be able to finance its work. Marko Djuric, head of the Serbian government’s Office for Kosovo, on August 20 said the formation of the Association was in the interest of both Serbs and Albanians.

“The association would not be oriented against anyone in Kosovo but an instrument and factor of stability … in Kosovo,” Djuric told reporters in Belgrade. However, Edita Tahiri, Kosovo’s chief negotiator, said the association could not have all the powers that the Serbs demanded.

In an interview with Pristina-based daily Epoka e re she said the association’s powers have to be “in full accordance” with the Kosovo constitution. Kosovo’s nationalist Self-determination party has announced it will launch protests if the association is formed, adding that it will cause further ethnic divisions in Kosovo. On the other hand, representatives of ten municipalities with a Serbian majority in Kosovo on August 19 urged both Belgrade and Pristina to form the association urgently, saying it would “enable full implementation of the Brussels agreement and normalization of relations in Kosovo”. The meeting on Tuesday is widely seen as a crucial for both sides. Serbia wants to open the first negotiating chapters with the EU by the end of the year. “I hope that we will manage to reach the agreements with Pristina…so we can open the first chapters in October. It is my hope… that we will open these chapters before the end of the year,” Serbian Prime Minister Vucic said recently. On the other hand, Kosovo wants a visa liberalization agreement with the EU and some experts believe that finalizing agreements with Serbia would be an important step towards achieving this goal.

Balkan migrant emergency shifts to Serbia (ANSAmed)

The migrant emergency in the Balkans has shifted to Serbia, where hundreds are arriving every day after Macedonia decided not to block the border with Greece, resulting in an improvement of the situation along the Gevgelija border. Over 23,000 migrants have arrived over the past two weeks and almost 90,000 since the beginning of the year. Over the past weekend, some 10,000 migrants have crossed into Serbia’s southern Presevo region, which has an Albanian Muslim-majority population. Among them are many women and children, with entire families willing to walk hundreds of kilometers to flee the war and desolation of their home countries. On Sunday night alone, 70 buses crammed with migrants arrived carrying mostly refugees from the war zones of Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. There are also some Pakistani, Sri Lankan and African migrants arriving. The number is large for a country with only 7.5 million inhabitants that has not yet become an EU member and with very limited funds. Nevertheless, Serbia for the moment seems to be responding in a composed manner to the humanitarian emergency. Four migrant reception centers have been set up: two in the south, in Presevo and Miratovac, and two in the north along the country’s borders with Hungary in Kanidjia and Subotica. Hungary is the country where almost all of the refugees plan to go, to then move on towards Austria, Germany, Sweden, France and other northern European countries. However, to get into the country it is necessary to get over a four-meter-high metallic and barbed wire fence that the conservative government under Viktor Orban built as a ‘defensive’ measure along the entire 175-kilometer border with Serbia. The fence, which was initially to have been completed in November, was sped up and will be finished by the end of August. Once in Serbia, refugees and migrants can request asylum, but most of them get a 72-hour temporary stay permit to be able to cross Serbian territory and reach Hungary.

Hungary fencing its border, Russia sends tents to Serbia (New Europe)

A four-meter high barbed wire fence is currently being built by the Hungarian army on the Serbian border in order to prevent migrants and refugees from entering the country. But it’s not working.

As reported by Deutsche Welle, Germany’s international broadcaster, Hungarian border guards can be bribed. This is based on interviews from Syrian refugees waiting to cross the border into Hungary and from there to Germany. Speaking to Deutsche Welle, one Syrian refugee said he and his parents will pay a total of about €4,500 to a man known as the “Pakastani” in order to be smuggled across the border all the way to Germany. The cheapest alternative is €50 for directions to the weak points along the border. In other related news, Russia’s global news network RT said thousands of migrants fleeing conflict zones in the Middle East and North Africa are finding a transit shelter in Serbia, made possible by the Russian-Serbian Humanitarian Center (RSHC), which throughout the year has donated vital supplies to those in need. Russia has reportedly taken a unilateral initiative to help Serbia build a camp for more than 89,000 refugees passing through Serbia this year on their way to Western Europe. Russia is helping Serbia within the framework of a bilateral intergovernmental agreement, so the aid can be extended if necessary, reported RT.

Meanwhile in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), authorities are trying to control the “transit” flow of refugees that has reached 2,000 a day. A large group of migrants, including families with young children and babies, were prevented from entering FYROM from Greece last week. On August 22, FYROM police decided to allow only the most vulnerable – women and children – to enter.

Republika Srpska referendum will spur reforms (EUobserver)

Republika Srpska’s (RS) planned referendum on the Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) Court and Prosecutor’s Office is an opportunity for RS citizens to help spur reforms to institutions that were illegally forced on B&H by the Office of the High Representative, the international bureau which oversees implementation of post-war accords. RS president Milorad Dodik has issued a detailed report and legal analysis explaining why the referendum is legal and necessary. The referendum is part of the RS’s longstanding efforts to bring about essential reforms to the B&H Court and Prosecutor’s Office – reforms that many European observers agree are necessary. For example, the B&H Court and Prosecutor’s Office must end its pattern of discrimination against Serb victims of war crimes and its deference to the wishes of the Bosniak SDA party. The International Crisis Group has criticized the Prosecutor’s Office for its failure to prosecute some of the war’s worst war crimes against Serbs. Even US deputy chief of mission Nicholas M. Hill recently observed that the chief prosecutor is “largely believed to be heavily influenced by Bosniak political forces” and that there are “complaints that the prosecutor’s office has too many strong-willed SDA acolytes on its staff”. Out of 7,480 Serb civilian war deaths, just 10 have led to a final conviction in the B&H court. The B&H Court and Prosecutor’s Office have also expanded their jurisdiction through unlawful means, taking jurisdiction over cases under entity law charges essentially whenever they see fit. EU officials and experts have agreed with the RS government that the Court’s jurisdictional practices violate European standards on legal certainty and the principle of the natural judge. The RS government has long sought reforms to address these and other problems, including through the EU’s structured dialogue on justice. Unfortunately, the B&H Court and Prosecutor’s Office, backed by Bosniak politicians, the EU’s high representative, and some officials of foreign governments in Sarajevo, have fiercely resisted any reforms. The RS hopes the referendum, by registering its citizens’ lack of confidence on the Court and Prosecutor’s Office, will help bring about reform.

Referendums are fully consistent with the B&H constitution and the practice of democratic states throughout Europe and around the world. As the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly said in a 2007 resolution, “Referendums are an instrument of direct democracy which belongs to the European electoral heritage.” The proposed referendum is protected by the B&H constitution, the European Convention on Human Rights, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) as a peaceful and legally structured mechanism for freedom of expression by RS citizens of their views and opinions dealing with public institutions and the high representative.

The high representative has foreclosed all constitutional challenges to his orders and has punished B&H citizens for their individual expression. The B&H Court and Prosecutor’s Office were created in 2000 and 2002, respectively, by decrees of the high representative after the B&H Parliamentary Assembly declined to create them. The high representative, a position created under Annex 10 of the post-war Dayton Accords, has never had any authority to decree laws, as the text of Annex 10 makes clear. Former UK ambassador to B&H Charles Crawford, who helped invent the “Bonn Powers,” the high representative’s mandate, has written: “As far as I could see the Bonn Powers had no real legal basis at all.” The RS is hopeful that the upcoming referendum, in addition to giving RS citizens a voice about institutions that wield power over them, will promote long-overdue reforms of the B&H Court and Prosecutor’s Office. Mario Djuragic is head of Republika Srpska’s representation in Brussels

* * *

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.