Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic has told TV Happy that he doesn’t see where the referendum on NATO membership would take us since Serbia is a military neutral state.

Vucic says that Serbia has a parliamentary declaration on military neutrality and that the Serbian President also spoke about this referendum. “I highly respect the President, but my stand is that I don’t know where imposed questions are leading,” said Vucic, adding that citizens with whom he has spoken throughout Serbia are not interested in the referendum on NATO, but in jobs and daily problems. Vucic says that he is not ashamed of the agreement with NATO that was recently ratified by the Serbian parliament and pointed there is nothing bad in it. Speaking about the upcoming anniversary of the NATO bombardment on 24 March, Vucic says that it will be marked in Varvarin, where the little girl Sanja was killed. “Our intention is to go to Varvarin and to show that the victims in Belgrade, Batajnica and Varvarin are all important to us,” said Vucic.

Vucic believes that Croatia will not block the opening of Chapters 23 and 24 in Serbia’s negotiations with the EU. “I think everything will be fine with the opening of chapters and that Croatia will not block this,” said Vucic. He adds that relations between Serbia and Croatia have been difficult for many years and that they are perhaps somewhat more sincere than in the past.

Croatia will not receive long-range missiles from the U.S. and this is great safety for Serbia.

Vucic says that in talks with Pentagon representatives it was explicitly said that such weapons will be exported towards the borders with Russia and that Croatia will not receive these weapons.

Krichbaum: Time to drop the ball (RTS/Tanjug)

The Chairman of Bundestag Committee on EU Affairs Gunther Krichbaum has stated that European processes are no place for bilateral disputes and that when it comes to Serbia, the topic is opening and not closing of chapters. “It is time for us to drop the ball,” said the German official, without mention Croatia, but there is almost no doubt that he was speaking about the warnings of this country that it can slow down Serbia’s EU negotiations if Serbia doesn’t fulfill some expectations of official Zagreb. “Bilateral disputes have no place at the European level,” Krichbaum told a joint press conference with Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic in Belgrade. “I am an optimist when it comes to opening the next two Chapters, 23 and 24,” he said. “If the European Commission concludes that this is a bilateral issue, there is a possibility for these countries to address a court,” said Krichbaum.

Kovac: We will be firm but fair with Serbia (Tanjug/Delo)

Croatian Foreign Minister Miro Kovac said Tuesday has said that Croatia had interest in seeing Southeast Europe countries join the EU and the Croatian government would be firm but fair in relations with Serbia. Kovac told Slovenian daily Delo that in relationships with its neighbors, Croatia would behave as an actively involved and responsible member-state of the European Union. He said that Croatia supported Serbia’s European path, but membership negotiations would require certain changes in Serbian society. And that is not easy as these reforms must be very painful, something that Croatia experienced in making the changes and adjustments needed to become part of the European family. With Serbia, as well as with other membership candidates, Croatia will be firm but fair, said Kovac.

Djuric: ZSO will be formed (Tanjug/TV Top Channel)

The Head of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija Marko Djuric has stated that the Community of Serb Municipalities (ZSO) will be formed and that it will not divide people and territories. “ZSO is the guarantor of the survival of the Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija and it will not take away anyone’s rights nor will it decide on others. It doesn’t aim at dividing people and territories, but to grant the Serbs more rights,” said Djuric in an interview with the Tirana-based TV Top Channel. “We want functional relations with the institutions in Pristina that will enable a normal life to citizens despite apparent political disagreements regarding the status,” said Djuric.

According to this Albanian TV station, Djuric said that Serbia was interested to have good relations with all Albanians in the Balkan Peninsula since they and the Serbs are the two biggest nations in the Balkans. Djuric said that the parliamentary elections in the province would be held on 24 April according the 2014 model, i.e. in the OSCE organization. He assessed that opposition to hold elections in Kosovo was pointless and that every citizen registered as a voter would have an opportunity to use his/her civil right.

Djuric: Expert round of Brussels dialogue cancelled (RTS/B92)

Today’s planned round of the expert dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina in Brussels has been cancelled, the Head of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija Marko Djuric wrote on Twitter.

“We are here in Brussels with the people, we are sharing the difficult moments. Extremism knows no borders and Europe must be united in the fight against the evil,” he said.  Djuric added that the Serbian delegation “wished to go to the EU HQ and show solidarity with the colleagues” but that it was “not physically possible to reach the location”.

Visegrad Group supports opening of Chapters 23, 24 (Tanjug/Beta)

Serbian Minister without Portfolio in charge of EU integration Jadranka Joksimovic talked in Belgrade on Monday with the ambassadors of the Visegrad Group, who voiced their expectations that Chapters 23 and 24 would be opened by the end of the Dutch presidency. The Serbian Minister said Serbia had met all the criteria for the opening of the two chapters and would continue working on preparations for other chapters as well. Joksimovic and Ambassadors of the Czech Republic Ivana Hlavsova, Slovakia Dagmar Repcekova, Hungary Attila Pinter and Charge d’Affaires of the Polish Embassy Hanna Dalewska-Gren discussed the intensification of the cooperation between the Serbian government and the Visegrad Group in various areas, its deepening in the field of EU integration and the Group’s support for EU enlargement, the government’s press office said in a release. The Czech Republic is holding the V4 presidency until 1 July when Poland will take over.

Netherlands believes that Serbia will open Chapters 23, 24 in June (Politika)

I have not changed opinion regarding possible opening of Chapters 23 and 24 during the Dutch presidency of the European Union, Dutch Ambassador to Serbia Henk van den Dool has said, adding that he said earlier it could happen by the end of June, before the end of the Dutch EU presidency. Asked by Politika to comment on demands in connection with Chapter 23 arriving from Croatia over the previous few days, van den Dool said that it was not for him to comment on positions taken by individual EU member-states, but the Netherlands as holder of the EU presidency was working together with all member-states towards reaching an agreement. There is no need to speak to the press about every step in the process, said Van den Dool, adding that a decision to open a chapter necessitated consensus among all 28 member-states.

Pasztor slates Vojvodina elections (RTS)

Provincial elections in Vojvodina have been slated for 24 April, Vojvodina Assembly speaker Istvan Pasztor announced. He signed the Decision on slating provincial elections for 24 April, whereby conditions have been acquired to hold these elections at the same time with the republican parliamentary and local elections. The last provincial elections were held on 6 May 2012. The Assembly of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina has 120 deputies who are elected according to the proportional electoral system, for a period of four years.

Mirovic: I expect SNS victory; Gojkovic to head the list (Tanjug)

The SNS Deputy President Igor Mirovic has stated that he expects the SNS to also win at the elections for the Vojvodina Assembly. He says that the first on the SNS list will be the member of the SNS Presidency Maja Gojkovic. Commenting the slating of the provincial elections, he told Tanjug that the SNS wishes to change things in Vojvodina, and to elect a provincial government and, as he put it, “to promote cooperation of all local self-governments, provincial government and administration of the Republic of Serbia”. Mirovic points out that he believes that, after the provincial elections, Vojvodina will be able to build a policy that is completely complementary to the policy of the Serbian government.

PDD independently to take part in elections (Beta)

The Party for Democratic Action (PDD) will independently take part at the parliamentary elections on 24 April, and the head of the list will be the President of the PDD branch in Presevo Ardita Sinani, member of the PDD Presidency Belul Nasufi said today. He told Beta that the PDD Presidency agreed for the first on the list to be chemistry professor from Bujanovac Fatmir Hasani who is also the PDD Presidency member, the second on the list to be Ardita Sinani, who is heading the list, and the third on the list to be PDD official from Bujanovac Driton Rexhepi.

The candidate list doesn’t include the deputies who are currently sitting in the Serbian parliament Riza Halimi, who is the PDD leader, and Shaip Kamberi, who used to be the mayor of Bujanovac. Nasufi says that the negotiations on a broader coalition with other Albanian parties had failed. “Ardita Sinani was chosen to be the head of the list because she is already the President of the PDD branch in Presevo, and she already has the trust of the people. We expect her to motivate voters and increase turnout at the parliamentary elections,” said Nasufi. Halimi has so far been a Serbian MP four times, whereby he was in three mandates the only Albanian representatives in parliament.

Twenty four Montenegrin tribes against NATO (Politika’s Podgorica correspondent)

The leaders of twenty four Montenegrin tribes, gathered in the Council of National Assemblies (VNS), signed yesterday the Declaration against Montenegro’s NATO membership, with full respect towards all European nations. “The request submitted by the current Montenegrin regime to NATO to admit Montenegro will go down in history as one of the greatest dishonors. In order for this shame not to fall on the people of Montenegro whom nobody had asked anything, the VNS protests and opposes Montenegro’s NATO membership,” the Montenegrin tribal leaders said. The signatories of the declaration, seventy two of them, along with the signatures of the Presidents of the Assembly and Board of Directors Nikola Kusovac and Momcilo Vuksanovic, elaborated the motive for opposing Montenegro’s membership in the Alliance: “There is no shorter explanation why Montenegro should not be a NATO member than the fact that it has never been in any military alliance in the course of its centuries-long history. NATO answered this question with its criminal bombardment of Serbia and Montenegro. By joining NATO, we would join criminals and justify crimes against our own people.”

REGIONAL PRESS

Hahn: B&H to harmonize Coordination mechanism, adapt SAA, implement Reform Agenda and publish results of population census (Srna)

The EU Commissioner for Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn said that B&H should harmonize a functional Coordination mechanism, adapt the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA), make results in implementing the Reform Agenda and publish results of the population census by the end of April or the beginning of May. The Republika Srpska (RS) Prime Minister Zeljka Cvijanovic confirmed after the meeting with Hahn that the end of April or the beginning of May is a deadline by which the issues of publishing the population census results, Coordination mechanism and adaptation of the SAA should be resolved. Cvijanovic added that when it comes to the Coordination mechanism, the RS will not agree to go under its constitutional competences. RS Justice Minister Anton Kasipovic has said there is no possibility that the RS will lose any of its competences during the Structured Dialogue on Justice and that that is exactly why it opposes the formation of a supreme court in B&H. Meanwhile, B&H Presidency members Bakir Izetbegovic, Dragan Covic and the EU Commissioner said that last year B&H made visible progress as part of the new EU approach and returned to its European path after many years of stalemate, which was confirmed by the submission of a request for membership in the EU. After the meeting that followed, Cvijanovic said that an agreement on key bodies of a Coordination mechanism was reached yesterday in Sarajevo.

SDA: RS authorities shamelessly fueling radicalism (Fena)

While victims of persecution, the siege and genocide directed by Radovan Karadzic, await justice in the verdict of the ICTY in The Hague, which will be delivered on 24 March, the authorities of the smaller entity have embarked on the campaign of shameless fueling of radicalism, thus making future generations hostages of their own nationalistic frustrations, said the SDA. The Vice President of the RS Ramiz Salkic, also sharply reacted to the naming of the student dormitory in Pale by Hague inductee Radovan Karadzic.

Orucevic: Only fools and primitives could divide Mostar (FTV)

In an exclusive interview for the FTV Central News with Senad Hadzifejzovic, the former mayor of Mostar Safet Orucevic gives a candid critique of the last round of negotiations on status of Mostar. Without any hesitation, Orucevic sends a message to the strongest Bosniak and Croat parties in B&H that their idea “is not going to pass”. On the attempts to divide Mostar, Orucevic clearly says that only fools and primitives can do that, and invites citizens of Mostar to raise their voice against this kind of changes. The former first person of Mostar warns that, in 2002, when he left the mayor’s seat, the city was in a completely different state than it is today. “When I left Mostar, all issues were resolved. We achieved equality not of one, not of two, but of all three peoples in Mostar. What I left behind was a city council with 10-10-10 councilors, which was signed by Gojko Susak, Franjo Tudjman, Alija Izetbegovic, Safet Orucevic, Mijo Brajkovic and Muhamed Sacirbey. We will find those who are responsible for this, it does not have to be a group, it can well be an individual. We will find those who are responsible for Bosniaks and citizens of Mostar being now endangered in Mostar, says Orucevic. He underlines that there are neither Croat nor Bosniak municipalities in Mostar, and that the fact that Bosniaks are endangered is mainly caused by the top government in Sarajevo. This seasoned politician has a very clear opinion about goals of Croat people in Mostar. “We know very well what the HDZ wants. The HDZ wanta a predominantly Croat city and, by the virtue of voting, to start running Mostar as their capital city. That is what they wanted at the time of my mandate as mayor, yet they did not succeed. They wanted one Croat municipality but I did not let them have it – there is no such thing as Croat and Bosniak municipality, says Orucevic.

FTV: Mr Orucevic, during the war you fought for one and whole Mostar, at the end of the war, you fought for the same. You were winning that fight. You did that together with President Izetbegovic. Now the initiative for division of Mostar comes from SDA. It comes for the political party headed by Bakir Izetbegovic. How do you comment his decisions? How do you comment the fact that he allows division of Mostar, and his father did not allow division of Mostar? That he allows for plan of Tudjman and Boban to be implemented and that he lets Covic see that plan through, the one you did not allow to happen back in 1992 and all the way through 2016?

Orucevic: I do not know very well the political structure of Bakir Izetbegovic. I know him only as a person; he is a good friend of mine from war times and we know each other very well. I have underlined that his role in the war was far larger than most of people think and wish to reduce it. Politically, I cannot evaluate him, but this is not going to pass, most definitely. Mostar citizens will not let this happen and he cannot do that with his SDA. There are other parties, he can’t decide on his own about destiny of Mostar regardless of number of votes he acquired. There is a whole group of patriotic parties that are not going to let this happen, I am absolutely sure. SDP, DF, SBB as their coalition partner; Nasa stranka, I also saw reactions from BPS and so on and so forth… one entire front. It is Mostar front, B&H front. Imagine someone saying we are going to abolish Brcko, it is no longer going to be District, it is going to be the territory of Republika Srpska (RS). What do you think who would rise against that – everybody would! Same goes for Mostar. We can’t let the idea of two Mostars. Not even in symbolic sense, not even a little bit of this, a little bit of that. Those are bedtime stories for children. I don’t know who stands behind that, but I think he has taken a wrong turn.

FTV: What do you then have to say about his moves given that he is considered the first Bosniak? He is the president of the strongest party. And all this happening between SDA and HDZ has consequences for Mostar.

Orucevic: That is the danger. Should this have such a consequence, than it could turn into something even bigger. We have to accept that Croats have to resolve their Croat question. Great, but we have to know how they are going to resolve it. This way of handling Mostar is leading to territorial handling of Bosniak and Croat issues. Each of those is allowed, equality each is needed, including that of Croat people everywhere; I’m sure they are endangered, I have seen it myself. Therefore, a full equality has to be given to them; only territorial equality and territorial division are out of question. That cannot pass.

FTV: Could this initiative lead to establishing of the third entity?

Orucevic: I think it would well be a trigger. It would trigger solutions for Croat question in other areas by which the Croat municipalities would be requested. Than Croat and Bosniak “stains” would appear all across the Federation. We all know what RS looks like – that’s not how I see B&H. What I do see is a difficult historical period that we have to live through. Unfortunately, it is not going to be easy because the war was hard but B&H will outlive us all. B&H has international borders, B&H has been saved, yet it is important that its interior structure does not break it into pieces.

FTV: How do you comment political moves of Dragan Covic? Since he came to power at the last elections, he got everything he wanted. And, as it seems, he will get what he wants even when it comes to Mostar?

Orucevic:  No, I don’t believe he will get that. I absolutely do not believe. There is a Serb side and their hands (votes) and they too take part in decision making. There is also a certain number of Bosniak hands; I think that SDA will remain alone on this. That’s what I think. I could also be wrong, but this will not pass. I think it could trigger other bad solutions for B&H, but there are many other forces. HDZ is fighting their own battle. Dragan Covic is a wise politician. Wise, he knows what he is doing, for his people and let it be so. He fights and fires shots and that is his right. What’s on the other side is important.

FTV:  Why do not Bosniak leaders do that?

Orucevic: Well, let them!

FTV:  But we see how they work!

Orucevic: Well then, we will criticize them! Then we have to talk about who and how and where is representing us! If Bosniak leaders want it that way, the question is if they really want or do not want B&H as such? It is too soon to tell and I’m not competent to talk about things that may happen. I can only talk about this particular moment in time.

FTV:  What is the worst thing that can happen?

Orucevic: Surely those are people who do not wish for war. Last summer, Center for Peace gave them Charters for Peace because we are convinced that the three members of Presidency are not people who are for war. Had it been for the previous leaders, with problems like these, people would have been fighting again. There would have been war again. Therefore, these people do not want war, they will try out all peaceful solutions, they will take the country to EU, and they will fight for integration into NATO. However, they will continue to outsmart each other as regards internal issues. They will try to outsmart each other and we should not stop them.

Judge Peric: Radoncic’s case will cause severe damage for the judiciary system (ATV)

The Banja Luka based Alternativna TV broadcasted the telecast “Judiciary in B&H – obstruction and self-obstruction”. The speakers were the Vice president of the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council (HJPC) B&H Ruzica Jukic, judge of the Court B&H Branko Peric, attorney Milan Romanic and legal expert Krstan Simic. Regarding the case of the SBB B&H leader, Fahrudin Radoncic, the Vice President of HJPC B&H said that his rights were violated. “So, the moment you create the atmosphere of someone’s guilt, you violate the principle of innocence and person’s right to fair trial” Jukic said. She underlined that it was necessary to find out who publicized the transcripts of Radoncic’s conversations. “I first made a verbal request for that. One should be serious and open an investigation so that in future such things do not happen” said Jukic. “We cannot discuss now if he is guilty or not, but we can say that his right of presumption of innocence has been violated – by people who submitted that transcript” Jukic said. The judge of the Court B&H Branko Peric said that the judiciary should be in the interest of citizens of this country. “People have issue with speaking openly about problems and indicating them. I keep indicating problems, and it is risky. Problems in the judiciary system – judges should state their opinion about them and reveal them. The more you discuss them, the better is the possibility to reach good solutions” Peric said. Political folklore – the host quoted former Peric’s statement that the Radoncic case is “the last precise diagnosis of the sick society”. “Yes, it is. There is some unbelievable political folklore in all that. I don’t know how to explain that. It is the most insignificant criminal offense which caused the biggest fuss. It is something that is likely to become the legal and political history where a high-level politician and owner of the most powerful media is persecuted and arrested in the middle of the electoral campaign. If I were a prosecutor, I would give it a second thought and I don’t think that I would move for the custody for that type of the criminal offense regardless of the certitude of the existence of the offense. And there is the strong likelihood that it is also questionable, at the end of the day” Peric said. Legal expert Krstan Simic said that the case of Fahrudin Radoncic will raise some strategic questions. “First of all, the question is whether we have an independent judiciary and whether it is under certain influence – said Simic, presenting the data of the public survey obtained by the Regional Cooperation Council, according to which 78% of respondents believe that the judiciary is not independent, while even 83% said that there is no justice at court”. “We are all absolutely aware that there is no independent judiciary. I believe that first of all, the major cause for that is the absence of social maturity and the judges and prosecutors dealing with this work do not know of whom they are scared. However, they are scared. And the so called self-censorship is dangerous” Simic underlined. “I support the standpoints of the colleagues – attorneys that custody is easily ordered in this country. Custody is an exceptional measure because you dare to deprive of liberty a person who is not finally convicted. Is there a bigger crime? No, there is not! Here, custody has transformed into punishment. Spectacular arrests are shows and serve to some extent to conceal poor results in the judiciary” Simic added. Attorney Milan Romanic pointed out that the prosecutor has legal right to move for custody. However, it is the court that is supposed, in accordance with laws, to decide whether custody is grounded or not. “I agree with my colleague Simic that custody is easily ordered. It has become a sort of a habit, especially when the reason for custody is such that the release from prison would disturb the public or public peace and order – big mistakes are made there and human right to freedom of movement is seriously violated. HJPC B&H should do something about that. They should start the procedure to amend the law,” Romanic said. “Shameless lies”, added Peric, saying that the Radoncic case will become legal history and cause severe damage for the judiciary system. “Perception is being created that the judiciary system serves the politics that makes a court case of a high-level politician who constitutes government in one entity. Therefore, the fragile trust, my colleague Simic spoke about, is now lost. Nobody trusts that the prosecutor’s office or the judiciary system is the system of justice but rather a system of political destruction of some people. Why do we need that? Because of the obstruction of the work of the judiciary, a criminal offense that has been emerging for ten years in one case” Peric said. Simic said that the judiciary would have to deal with people who easily dare to appear before court and lie shamelessly. “The question is the ground for suspicion that is an element of starting prosecution, investigations and actions, especially custody. Those who accused Dragan Covic, Mladen Ivanic, Mirko Sarovic should have closed the door of their office and leave their position. No prosecutor has done that; and they are not going to do that” Simic said. Romanic further stated that the attorneys submit criminal reports against those who give false statements, however they end up with the prosecutors where certain procedures are conducted. Speaking of a large number of cases that “fail”, Peric said that the Prosecutor’s Office should enact the document defining the policy of persecution. – A serious prosecutor’s office shall deal with 10 cases of grave crime and corruption on an annual basis. However, in our country there is no planning and dealing with grave crime. As long as we have bad people in the judiciary system, politicians will manage to find channels to reach them,” Peric added.

URA, SDP and Demos answered DPS on Friday, in secret (CDM)

The same day they received the offer of DPS on the draft agreement for free and fair elections, URA, SDP and Demos on Friday responded to the party of Milo Djukanovic, CDM unofficially learns. “We sent them formulations we want to see included,” news portal found out from the opposition circles. DPS explained that the offer submitted is not final, but it remains unknown what the opposition was seeking in this reported correspondence. “This text is not available to the public, but its contents are a common response of SDP, Demos and URA,” a source told CDM adding that they did not, however, time-limit the response of the ruling party to their demands. “We just asked that the answer be given as soon as possible,” said the source. URA, SDP and Demos confirmed on Friday that they had received the offer of DPS, adding in a joint statement that the DPS proposed deletion of two topics – postponement of Tivat elections and the powers of the Special Prosecutor’s Office in the electoral process. URA proposed rotation of moderators – they believe this should not be just one person, but rather suggests a succession of representatives of the government and the opposition. If the agreement is signed, its application will be monitored by a forum of leaders of parliamentary parties, who would, in case of problems, work together to solve any outstanding issues. In addition to the substance of their negotiations, the citizens remain unhappy about the fact that politicians correspond in secret without any deadlines.

Lukovac: To be friends with Russia (RTCG)

As a future NATO member, Montenegro should be interested in and should be committed to developing friendly relations with Russia, relying on centuries-long tradition of good relations between Montenegro and Russia, regardless of the framework of these relations – whether it was Czarist Russia, SSSR, an independent Montenegro or part of Yugoslavia, on the basis of full equality, mutual respect, non-interference in internal affairs, considers the URA Council president, Branko Lukovac. “As a NATO member, Montenegro should strive to overcome the state of distrust that exists between NATO and Russia, to be committed to developing the partnership between NATO and Russia as being reflected not only in the common fight against international terrorism, but also in resolving international conflicts, regional or wider. The mutual goals could include combating the proliferation of nuclear weapons, climate change, even the construction of a system of regional and global security,” said Lukovac. He believes that the state authorities of Montenegro should take the initiative to organize a meeting as soon as possible at the highest level between representatives of Montenegro and Russia, in order to overcome the current crisis in relations and to lay the foundation of a new relationship jointly built by Montenegro and Russia.

Macedonian President urges putting end to political crisis and dangerous political divisions (MIA)

Sending clear message that the migrant corridors are closed, creating conditions for peace and stability and sustainable economic development in the countries of origin as well as implementing common approach in the fight against illegal migration are necessary in resolving the refugee crisis, President Gjorge Ivanov said. Ivanov said that migrant crisis apart from being a challenge, also represents an opportunity to restore the sense of statesmanship and responsibility of political parties in Macedonia, both the ruling and opposition parties. Parties must not misuse the crisis for narrow political interests and scoring cheap political points during pre­-election period in Macedonia, he said urging on putting an end to political crisis and dangerous political divisions in Macedonia. As long as economic movements, security risks and conflict exist, we will be exposed to the migrant crisis. Interviews conducted by our offices at the border show that 90 percent of all migrants that have passed through Macedonia have used services from criminal groups, while according to the latest EUROPOL report the profit of the criminal structures from offering services to migrants amounts EUR 6 billion last year, Ivanov said. As solution to the crisis Ivanov firstly underlined the necessity of sending clear message to the countries of origin of the migrants and refugees that the migrant corridors are closed, as it was agreed between the European Union and Turkey, but also that the countries must respect what was agreed and to build common positions. Secondly, Ivanov said, it is necessary to create conditions for peace and stability and sustainable economic development in the countries of origin. A new Marshal Plan for the Middle East and North Africa is necessary that will restore hope to the people of these regions for quality life. At the same time, European countries must implement sustainable policies for integration without assimilation and to avoid danger of ghettoization. And lastly Ivanov emphasized that key to successful dealing with the migrant crisis lies in transitional countries and that we must learn to believe, to implement agreement, to apply common approach in the fight against illegal migration because no country can handle such a burden on its own. The crisis represents an opportunity for the neighbors to overcome mistrust and chance to begin to cooperate.

INTERNATIONAL PRESS

Kosovo Ex-Guerrilla Slams Serbia After Macedonia Release (BIRN, by Petrit Collaku, 21 March 2016)

Former Kosovo Liberation Army guerrilla Gafurr Dugolli, released at the weekend after being detained in Macedonia over Serbian war crimes allegations, said Belgrade’s claims against him were lies.

Gafurr Dugolli told BIRN on Monday that he was a soldier, not a war criminal, and Serbia’s warrant for his arrest that led to his detention in Macedonia was based on falsehoods. “The case is built based on defamations. I was a soldier who fought against soldiers,” Dugolli said. “I have a clear conscience and I don’t have any reason to be concerned over the allegations,” he added.

Dugolli, who is now the director of the protocol office at Kosovo’s Ministry of Security Forces, was released on Saturday after being held for eight days in Skopje. He was arrested on March 11 by Macedonian police at the border with Kosovo on an Interpol warrant requested by Serbia, which accuses him of committing war crimes during the fighting in Kosovo. He said it was strange that the Macedonian authorities arrested him because Skopje has recognised Kosovo’s independence. “Kosovo is facing this difficulty since it’s not member of Interpol, but a way should be found to avoid such arrests in the future,” Dugolli said. “Kosovo should discuss this issue with countries in the region, and in particular with neighbouring countries that have recognised us,” he added. According to Serbian police records, Dugolli is suspected of participating in the killing and abuse of Serbs in four prison camps in Klecka and Lapusnik/Llapushnik in 1998. Some of these crimes were prosecuted at the UN court in The Hague, although Dugolli himself was not indicted. Among those who were indicted was Fatmir Limaj, a Kosovo opposition politician who was also on the Serbian wanted list alongside Dugolli. Limaj was charged with crimes against humanity and war crimes allegedly committed in 1998 at the KLA’s Lapusnik/Llapushnik detention camp. The Hague prosecution alleged that Limaj should be held accountable for murders of more than 30 people at the camp. However, he was acquitted of the charges.

Serbia could lose EU pipeline funds if fails to reform gas firm-watchdog (Reuters, 21 March 2016)

BELGRADE, March 21 Serbia could lose European Union funding for a major pipeline project if it fails to reform indebted gas company Srbijagas by July, an organisation in charge of extending the EU’s energy policy to would-be member states said on Monday. Under pressure to liberalise its gas and power markets on the road to EU membership, Serbia in 2014 adopted a plan to separate the transport and supply arms of the state-owned utility by the end of June, turning it into a holding company incorporating the two units. But Janez Kopac, who heads the Energy Community – an international body established by the EU and eight aspiring member states – said “there has been little progress since.” Saddled with debts of 1 billion euros ($1.2 billion), but a valuable source of political influence, Srbijagas has for years avoided being broken up due to fears among company executives and their political overseers about losing market monopoly. “We gave the government a July deadline to complete restructuring and if that does not happen we will propose sanctions for Serbia,” Kopac told journalists in Belgrade. He said sanctions would include withholding 50 million euros of EU funds allocated for a gas pipeline link between Serbia and Bulgaria. “From what we have seen so far, we have no credible reason to believe Serbia will meet this deadline,” Kopac said. Serbia is in the midst of the campaign ahead of April 24 parliamentary elections and it could take weeks to form a new government after that, though Kopac said this had not caused a delay. The gas pipeline with Bulgaria is crucial for Serbia’s aim to diversify its gas supplies and reduce dependency on Russian gas, which accounts for more than 80 percent of its needs. It would also make it possible for Serbia to receive gas from the Trans-Adriatic Gas Pipeline (TAP) and the Trans-Anatolian Gas Pipeline (TANAP), as well as from the liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in Alexandroupolis, Greece, which will be connected to TAP. The Energy Community was established in 2006 under a treaty signed by the EU and a number of countries in southeastern Europe that aspire to join. It reports annually to the bloc on progress made in harmonising energy legislation.

(Reporting by Ivana Sekularac; Editing by Adrian Croft and Mark Potter)